Penne Rosa
I've been holding out on you guys. For a few weeks now, I've been stockpiling recipes so I could have some fun yumminess to share while I was chillaxing on the beach this week.
I felt particularly guilty about holding onto this one because it had all the elements of my favorite kind of recipe: supremely easy, speedy, delicious and healthy. But think of it is my gift in exchange for disappearing for a week. I go hang out on the beach for a week and you get a delicious recipe. Fair trade, right?
Okay, maybe not. But this is still a good one!
The inspiration for this weeknight pasta dish actually comes from my eternal laziness. My office is directly above a Noodles and Company restaurant and more often than not, laziness wins out when I need lunch and I just make the quick trip down there to grab lunch.
A lot of times I get their Med Salad (so yum!) but sometimes I'll go for their Penne Rosa. You can serve this dish up vegetarian, but I often will add some plumped sautéed shrimp or cooked chicken breast to help up the protein factor.
My husband said this was his favorite pasta dish I've ever made (and I've made quite a few). I take that as high praise! Oh, and the best part? Start to finish: ready in 15 minutes. Yeah. You need to make this.
Want more recipes like this one?
- Canned Diced Tomatoes. Learning how to can tomatoes means that you can put up so many staple ingredients for winter, including the diced tomatoes you need for this pasta dish.
- Pumpkin Pasta. Want to try your hand at making your own noodles? This pumpkin pasta recipe only calls for two ingredients.
- Garden Tomato Soup. This fresh tomato soup is always a winner when you are looking for some comfort food.
- Homemade Spaghetti Sauce. The only dinner simpler than this penne rosa? Popping open a jar of canned spaghetti sauce you made in the summer and pouring it over some noodles.
- Spaghetti with Canned Clams. Clam pasta is a great weeknight meal that you can make almost entirely from pantry staples, as long as you have canned clams.
- Split Pea and Ham Soup. If gloomy weather has got you down, try this warming, hearty split pea soup with ham.
And check out these reader favorites!
- Healthy Overnight Oats. Overnight oats are our meal prep go-to because they are so simple to make, and they are endlessly customizable-we have 15 recipe to get you started!
- Homemade Limoncello. Our homemade limoncello recipe is the best place to start with making your own liqueurs because it is so dang easy. Drink it yourself, or give bottles as gifts.
- Lofthouse Cookies. Make the bakery classic puffy sugar cookies right at home!
- 109+ Meal Prep Recipes. If you need even more kitchen time savers, check out all of our meal prep recipes in one place.
📖 Recipe
Penne Rosa
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 8 ounces button mushrooms sliced
- 2 medium tomatoes about ½ lb. chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- ½ cup marinara sauce
- 12 ounces whole wheat penne cooked
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
- In a large skillet with a lid, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-low heat. Add in 4 cloves garlic and 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes, cook for 2 minutes or until garlic begins to soften.
- Add in 8 ounces button mushrooms, 2 medium tomatoes, Salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, or until mushrooms begin to release their water.
- Add in 4 cups fresh spinach and cover skillet. Let spinach wilt for 2 minutes. Remove lid, and stir in ½ cup marinara sauce. Remove the skillet from the heat, and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Stir in ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt, and then add 12 ounces whole wheat penne. Stir until sauce is mixed well and all pasta and veggies are coated. Heat until just warmed through. Divide into pasta bowls and serve topped with ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe?
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
I found this recepie on Buzzfeed and tried it yesterday.
Because of lower calories I substituted the greek with a low fat yoghurt and left the Parmesan.
It was highly delicious!
Me and my Boyfriend loved it and it shurely will be done again 🙂
(For Information - a 400g serving had about 275 calories - just perfekt!)
Glad to be on board. Always looking for new recipes. Live alone love different foods.
hi! i am loving your blog! i came because of the penne rosa {one of my all time favs from noodles} and stayed because of your sites layout! may i ask.. 1} how you format your recipe at a glance' at the top? is that a plugin! and 2} what plug in you're using for your recipes!
any insight would be so appreciated.. i am fairly new to the food blogging game + am using foodie pro as well!
Hi Kelly! The "At A Glance" thing is hard coded with HTML/CSS (in a previous life, I was a web designer). The recipe plugin is Easy Recipe Pro. Highly recommended, I love it! 🙂
Just made it and didn't change a thing. Amazing!
I don't usually comment, but I had to on this one.. It is by far my favourite recipe found to date. I have a hubby who isn't usually fond of healthy eating (likes white bread and pasta vs whole grain, disposes non fat dairy products, etc.) and a son who's finicky about veggies. Both of them gobbled it up! I made it again for guests, and everyone including the picky kids ate it and loved it (kids don't lie to spare your feelings). I highly recommend 🙂
Yum! This looks so delicious! What a beautiful recipe 🙂
Hi there, I was just wondering if you know the nutritional value of this dish if I don't put shrimp in it? Thanks in advance!
I omitted the shrimp and used tortellini instead. So good!! Arugula would be a great alternative to the spinach too. This one is a keeper!!
Hi is this recipe supposed to be watery or dry? The shrooms and shrimp release a lot of water so I don't know?? The picture looks like it goes dry
wondering if this could be turned into a penne vodka. Obviously vokda takes away some of the health factor but wondering if it would be weird with the yogurt.
I don't see why not!
Hi! Could you tell me the nutritional information if the shrimp is omitted?
You can figure out nutritional info here: http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
The penne rosa with shrimp sounds so good, and I could see that you used Greek yogurt to lighten up the dish. A great recipe!
I tried this for me and my boyfriend last night and we both loved it. I left the mushrooms off because he's a mushroom hater but I might use them next time and just tell him to pick around! I also didn't have any red pepper flakes so I just used some paprika. It turned out so tasty!
I'm thanking my lucky stars that I stumbled upon your blog. This recipe is terrific!
Does anyone know the calorie count per serving or recipe?
I love the penne rosa from noodles and comp!
Thank you for the healthy makeover recipe.
Any suggestions for more veggies to add in?
What marinara sauce do you use?
Whatever is on sale, usually. We aren't picky!
This dish is sooo satisfying and tasty! I was really worried about trying the greek yogurt in cooking (not the biggest fan), but I tried anyway. And I am so glad that I did. It didn't take long to put this dish together and I added a little extra spinach. Perfect, definitely going to have this again soon! Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
My boo & I LOVED this dish very healthy, simple, and not too heavy. You've blessed us with one to add to the menu!! THANX CASSIE !
This was absolutely delicious! I was worried about experimenting with greek yogurt since it is so tart but you would never be able to tell it had yogurt in it. The yogurt was an excellent substitute for the cream--so many less calories and much more nutritious! My mom eats like a bird and she ate more than I did! She even had seconds which is a very rare ocassion! I can't wait to make it again!
I thank you for your comment. I am usually worried about using greek yogurt as a substitute but your comment has me pretty excited to try this recipe. 🙂
Can somebody tell me how much a serving of this is? PLEASE!!
1.5 cups is a serving. I measured it out myself.