Garlic Olive Oil Pasta with Meatballs and Spinach
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Garlic Olive Oil Pasta with Meatballs and Spinach is a delicious pasta recipe without red sauce. Serve up this filling and satisfying meal in less than 30 minutes!
Have a kiddo or family member that despises Spaghetti Sauce? This recipe is super simple and a staple in our home and we think you’ll love it too! No sauce, just protein, a carb, a veggie, oh and don’t forget the cheese!
I’ve learned that there are fresh meatballs at my store that I can cook up quickly without loading them with a tomato sauce base. Our family loves garlic olive oil pasta and then I can easily make this a complete meal by adding in some spinach and serving with a side salad or soup!
Ingredients for Garlic Olive Oil Pasta with Meatballs and Spinach
- Cooked Perfect Fresh Meatballs, Italian Style (Beef & Pork): Pre-cooked, flavorful meatballs made from a blend of beef and pork, seasoned with traditional Italian herbs and spices. Ideal for quick meals, as they only require reheating. You can also use homemade turkey, chicken, or beef meatballs.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is a must for this recipe, we do not recommend jarred garlic.
- Olive Oil: A good quality olive oil enhances the flavor any pasta dish!
- Pasta : We chose to go with linguine as it provides a nice balance between thinner noodles like spaghetti and wider ones like fettuccine.
- Fresh Spinach: Adds color, flavorm and nutrition! We recommend using fresh, also keep in mind it wilts quickly so you may want to use more!
- Parmesan Cheese: We love a bit of fresh parmesan cheese, you can leave out if you prefer but we find it adds great flavor!
- Salt and Pepper: We use salt and pepper to taste.
I prefer using baked turkey meatballs or refrigerated prepared meatballs. I want to be able to cook the food right away and I don’t want the spongy texture or the added water in the recipe from a frozen meatball. You can definitely use frozen, but there will be a bit more prep using them.
How to make Garlic Olive Oil Pasta with Meatballs and Spinach
Bring a pot of water to boil and cook pasta.
Heat up a skillet with the olive oil, garlic, and meatballs.
Once the meatballs are just about done you can add in the spinach and toss.
Add the pasta to the meatball skillet and toss. Add in some pasta water if needed.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan.
This garlic and olive oil pasta recipe would work really well with the chicken meatballs as well if you’re avoiding beef!
You may also like these meatball recipes
- Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Warm Pasta Salad with Chicken Meatballs
- Korean Style BBQ Meatballs with Warm Coleslaw
Garlic Olive Oil Pasta with Meatballs and Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 package Cooked Perfect Fresh Meatballs in Italian Style Beef & Pork
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 lb pasta we used linguine
- 2 cups spinach fresh
- parmesan cheese
- salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil and cook pasta.
- Heat up a skillet with the olive oil, garlic, and meatballs.
- Once the meatballs are just about done you can add in the spinach and toss.
- Add the pasta to the meatball skillet and toss. Add in some pasta water if needed.
- Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan.
This was Delicious!! I added the whole 9 0z. bag of spinach. The directions did not state what to do with the garlic (mince it or chopped) so I just minced them. I also just used Costco’s frozen Italian meatballs.
So glad you enjoyed!
Made this for last nights dinner! It was absolutely delicious. Only change I made was using my own meatball recipe. I cooked the meatballs on there own. Added the spinach and cooked pasta to the oil and garlic then added the meatballs to toss altogether . Will be adding this to my rotation for sure. Thank you
This is my easy quick go to meal!
My family loves it. They Even eat the spinach.
This makes us so happy! Yay for everyone eating their greens too! 😀
Really, really delicious, and easy to make vegetarian (I use portobello mushrooms) and/or vegan (I use vegan parmesan). My husband literally said “definitely found a new favorite!” He loves wider noodles, like linguini. So easy to make and modify (more or less garlic, different meatballs or chicken sausage, etc). Thank you!!
I’m so glad you guys loved it! So easy to swap vegan too 😀
Made this for my family and the children begged this to be done again though the week so we’re having it again tonight, lovely recipe! Thank you ♡
Yay! So happy to hear that you guys, especially the kiddos enjoyed and want more! 🙂 You’re so welcome!
It was so delicious that my 10 year old daughter asked to have it every day!
Oh wow! So happy you guys enjoyed it, especially your daughter! What win 😀
Made this just like the recipe stated and it was delicious! I passed it on to friends who also made it and found it simple and quick with no fuss.
We’re so glad you enjoyed and thank you so much for sharing our recipe!! 😀
How many ounces should the frozen meatballs be? I see large bags and smaller bags at my grocery store.
I would go for a standard size. This used 16 meatballs.
This recipe is so good plant based! I use Impossible homestyle or Italian meatballs roasted in the oven for 15 minutes. I then add them with the spinach to the Olive oil and Garlic and toss. Season per the recipe and top with parm or pecorino Romano!
My meat eating hubby loves this recipe! Cheers! 🍷
My family loved this!
So glad you and your family enjoyed!!
Grateful for this quick solution to a non-tomato meatball dinner. I had southern style collard greens (from my winter garden in Sonoma) simmering on the stove. So I drained the greens, tossed as suggested in your recipe with other ingredients. Superb.
Oh my gosh, delicious with the collard greens!! I’m so glad you enjoyed!