Fusilli with White Beans, Spinach, Basil Pesto, and Ricotta

Fusilli tossed with canned white beans, rinsed, spinach, and basil pesto. Save some pasta water. It is the difference between a sauce that coats and one that sits in a puddle. Serves 4.

Serves 4 · 34 min · Dinner

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Ingredients

Units: US Metric
  • 15½ oz canned white beans, rinsed
  • 12⅔ oz fusilli
  • 9⅞ oz spinach
  • 0.8 g black pepper
  • 3.2 g kosher salt
  • 2⅛ oz whole-milk ricotta
  • 2⅛ oz fresh basil
  • 2 clove garlic
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1⅔ oz Parmesan
  • 1⅛ oz pine nuts
Make it lactose-friendly
  • 60 g whole-milk ricotta → lactose-free milk, oat milk, or almond milk

Swaps are suggestions, not medical advice. Check labels if lactose is a serious issue for you.

Steps

  1. Bring 15¼ cups water to a rolling boil and salt it with about 8 g salt. Add 12⅔ oz fusilli and cook until tender with a firm center, about 11 minutes. Reserve a mug of the water, then drain.
  2. Season 15½ oz canned white beans, rinsed with a little salt. Cook it in a wide skillet with a spoon of the sauce's oil or butter until hot and sauced, about 3 minutes. Add 9⅞ oz spinach and cook until just tender.
  3. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients to the skillet and simmer 3 to 5 minutes. Loosen it with a splash of the reserved pasta water if it looks thick.
  4. Toss the drained fusilli with the sauce in the skillet. Fold in 2⅛ oz whole-milk ricotta. Add more pasta water a spoon at a time until the sauce clings. Serve immediately.

We refine our recipes every week — check back for sharper, clearer steps.

This is a variation — Ricotta instead of Parmesan. Base recipe: Fusilli with White Beans, Spinach, Basil Pesto, and Parmesan →

Make it yours (61 variations)

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Source

Synthetic recipe corpus — ⚠ Machine-generated — not a sourced recipe, never counted in the sourced catalog