Quick and Easy Vegetarian Pasta With Spinach and Ricotta Cheese

This quick and easy recipe for vegetarian pasta made with ricotta cheese and spinach is a one-dish meal that you can't beat for simplicity. It all comes together in about 30 minutes or less and is the perfect vegetarian dinner idea for a weeknight family supper.

Try it a couple of times as is and then experiment to your heart's content. You can add a drizzle or two of lemon juice to brighten the flavors, add some tomatoes, perhaps sun-dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives if you're feeling up for something a bit Mediterranean.

And if you and your family love getting your greens, you might want to add even more spinach or make it with another type of green like Swiss chard (although chard will need more cooking time than the spinach so plan accordingly).

Not counting salt and pepper and optional garlic powder, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese, only four ingredients are needed to make this meal, so be sure they are of good quality. It's so worth it, particularly in simple vegetarian dishes such as this one. There are no real strong or pronounced flavors due to its simplicity, so you really want to make what is there shine.

This would be a great time to use homemade pasta or purchased fresh pasta since the flavor of the pasta itself is what you want to taste. 

If you're going to use the optional olive oil and Parmesan cheese, make sure they're top-notch (this is not the time for Parmesan cheese out of a shaker can). And using sea salt, kosher salt, or another high-quality salt will always pay off when cooking.