Mushroom Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Pasta {A Meatless Monday Recipe

If you love spinach and artichoke dip then, you will love this recipe Mushroom Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Pasta. This delicious vegetarian pasta dish mixes mushrooms, spinach, artichokes and pasta in creamy homemade Alfredo sauce. This easy to make weeknight dish has all the goodness of a rich creamy artichoke dip nestled together in a nest of pasta. It’s like having your favorite restaurant appetizer for supper!

Inspired by recipes I see online, I then come up with my own version of how to make them. If you have been following this blog, then you know my main goal when creating new recipes is to make recipes less processed and healthier, regardless of the amount of time it takes. I don’t like to sacrifice flavor and I want pure whole ingredients and none of those quick over-processed ingredients.

I am usually confident in my abilities in the kitchen. However, the Meatless Monday when I created this recipe for Mushroom Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Pasta, David led me to believe I had a failure.

I was pretty excited about the recipe but wasn’t sure how the marinated artichokes would do with the Alfredo sauce. I was worried that somehow the tangy brine the artichokes would cause a chemical reaction with the milk and cause the sauce to separate somehow.

Since I had tasted for seasoning along the way during the individual phases of putting this dish together, I didn’t taste the dish as a whole when they were all combined. I simply served a dish of pasta for David and then went outside to the deck rail to get my pictures in the dying evening light. When I came back inside he had a seriously weird look on his face when I asked how he liked my new dish:

“Well, how is it?” I asked.

“It’s okay.” He said, with the most hesitant pause.

I know this man and the way he said it I knew he was trying not to hurt my feelings. I quickly grabbed my fork and shoved a big mouthful of pasta into my mouth to taste it. It was awesome! He grinned and said:

“It’s really good, baby.”

I could have knocked him out, but I was too busy eating this yummy pasta to care…

How to make Mushroom Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Pasta

First, drain the artichokes. Coarsely chop the drained artichokes and set aside.

In a large pot or skillet, melt butter and heat olive oil. Add garlic and stir around until oil is fragrant; about 30 seconds. 

Add mushrooms. Sauté, until the mushrooms have browned, and are tender. Add the spinach to the pan in batches as necessary and wilt.

When the spinach has wilted, add the artichokes and stir well to incorporate.

Pour the spinach mushroom and artichokes into a sieve and allow them to drain while preparing the noodles and Alfredo sauce.

Prepare the pasta:

Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook the penne according to package instructions. Drain and set aside, reserving 1 cup of salty pasta water.

While penne is cooking prepare the Alfredo Sauce:

Heat butter and milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until margarine is melted. Stir in cheese, and grate in the fresh nutmeg into the sauce.

Pour sauce over penne; stir until the pasta is coated with the sauce.

Add the vegetables and ¼ cup of the salty pasta water at a time to the pasta and stir well. You may not need all of the pasta water. The pasta water will help loosen up the sauce and will help to better incorporate all the ingredients.

When adding the pasta water, use your best judgment. The sauce will tell you how much pasta water to add.

Simmer another 1 to 2 minutes while the sauce thickens, then salt and pepper to taste.

Serve this Mushroom Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Pasta with extra parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley.

Like spice? Kick this Mushroom Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Pasta dish up by adding some red pepper flakes!