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Roasted Garlic Pasta with Tomatoes and Spinach

Roasted garlic pasta with tomatoes and spinach uses two whole heads of sweet and buttery slow-cooked garlic to form a spaghetti sauce.

Whilst this recipe takes longer than most pasta dishes, most of the time is not active, you are just waiting for the garlic to cook. Active cooking time is around 15 minutes.

Roasted garlic pasta with tomatoes and spinach being picked up with a fork.

Roasted Garlic Spaghetti

I may be an outlier when it comes to garlic in the foodie world… I definitely think that garlic can be overdone in a recipe.

Not every recipe that contains garlic should only taste of garlic as far as I am concerned.

But when garlic is the point of the dish then garlic needs to be front and centre!

It does not matter whether it is a curry like my garlic chilli chicken, a classic garlic chicken Kyiv or my garlic lemon chicken breast there should be a mountain of garlic in the recipe.

This recipe uses two whole roasted heads of garlic… for two portions of pasta!

The garlic is roasted until it becomes gloriously mellow, and then it forms the base for a simple pasta “sauce”.

If garlic is your mojo then you need to stick this simple garlic spaghetti recipe on your dinner plan for the week.

Close-up roasted garlic spaghetti with tomatoes and spinach garnished with parmesan cheese.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does roasted garlic taste like?

Don’t worry if you’ve never tried roasted garlic, it is not the same as raw garlic!

The process of roasting removes all of garlic fiery elements, what remains are the most beautiful and mellow flavours that are like garlic… but different!

The taste is almost sweet and nutty and it has a beautiful buttery texture.

Do I have to roast the garlic?

For all of the reasons that I have mentioned above, yes!

Can I roast the garlic in an air fryer?

Yes! This recipe has been on my site for a very long time, but I tried roasting garlic in an air fryer fairly recently and it works a treat.

Follow my instructions for the preparation and then pop fo the foil packets in an air fryer and cook them for 30-35 minutes at 170°C or 340°F for 30-35 minutes.

Can I make this in advance?

No, this dish does not reheat well if it is made in its entirety!

But you can roast the garlic up to a couple of days in advance if you like, which will cut down on the amount of time spent in the kitchen just before eating.

Roasted garlic pasta with tomatoes and spinach garnisheed with parmesan cheese.

Serving Suggestions

A simple bowl of pasta needs just one thing as a side as far as I am concerned and that is some form of garlic bread.

I’d usually choose a small garlic baguette but some cheesy garlic bread would work well too!

Your biggest serving choice with this roasted garlic pasta recipe is the type of pasta, I usually opt for spaghetti.

But this recipe works equally well with most types of longer pasta. I’ve served it with everything from linguine to pappardelle and tagliatelle to malfadine.

Overhead roasted garlic spaghetti with tomatoes and spinach garnished with parmesan cheese.

Equipment Used

I only mention brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

  • Oven.
  • Stovetop.
  • 20cm or 8″ saucepan.
  • 30cm or 12″ frying pan.
  • Kitchen knife.
  • Chopping board.
  • Kitchen foil.
  • Mixing bowl and fork to mash the garlic.
  • Weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.
  • Colander.
  • Stirring and serving spoons or kitchen tongs.
Roasted garlic pasta with tomatoes, wilted spinach and grated parmesan.
Yield: 2 Servings

Roasted Garlic Pasta with Tomatoes and Spinach

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Two whole heads of roasted garlic (one per serving) form the flavour base for this delicious garlicky pasta recipe alongside tomatoes and spinach.

Ingredients

For the Pasta:

  • 175g (6oz) Spaghetti
  • 150g (1 Cup) Cherry Tomatoes
  • 100g (2 Packed Cups) Baby Spinach Leaves
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • Salt for boiling the Pasta
  • Parmesan Cheese to Garnish

For the Roasted Garlic:

  • 2 Heads of Garlic
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • ½ Tsp Coarse Sea Salt

Instructions

  1. Cut the top of each head of garlic and place them on separate squares of tin foil.
  2. Divide the olive oil and sea salt for the roasted garlic and pour/sprinkle the top of each head of garlic with them.
  3. Wrap each head of garlic, place them in the oven and roast them for 40 minutes at 180°C or 350°F. Then remove and allow to cool until they are cool enough to touch.
  4. Remove the garlic cloves from the skins, mash them and set them aside.
  5. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
  6. Pick the spinach and clean it well.
  7. Bring a 20cm or 8" pan of well-salted water to a boil and cook the pasta as per the instructions on the packet. I use 1½ teaspoons of salt in a pan this size.
  8. Whilst the pasta is cooking heat a 30cm or 12" saucepan over a high heat and add the olive oil for the pasta.
  9. When the live oil is hot lay in the cherry tomatoes cut side down and allow them to sear for two minutes.
  10. Add the cleaned spinach, pour over the balsamic vinegar, add a lid and then cook for 2-3 minutes or until the spinach has wilted.
  11. Drain the pasta reserving around 75ml (⅓ cup) of the cooking water.
  12. Remove the lid from the spinach, add the cooked pasta and roasted garlic and give everything a stir adding as much pasta water as is required to form a nice emulsion.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 577Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 627mgCarbohydrates: 87gFiber: 15gSugar: 4gProtein: 11g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

Did you make this recipe?

If you made this recipe, I'd love to see what you did and what I can do better, share a picture with me on Instagram and tag me @krumplibrian and tell me how it went!

Karly

Wednesday 11th of October 2017

Roasted garlic is magic. That's truth. This looks SO amazing-- cannot wait to try!

Brian Jones

Friday 13th of October 2017

Thanks Karly, have fun.

Helen of Fuss Free Flavours

Tuesday 10th of October 2017

I love a simple pasta dish that is full of flavour and this looks really delicious, and perfect. I love the way you have presented the spaghetti, looks fab.

Brian Jones

Friday 13th of October 2017

Cheers Helen.

Chris

Tuesday 10th of October 2017

Roasted garlic is my absolute fav! Thankfully so is sipping on wine waiting for it to cook. This recipe looks delicious, can't wait to give it a go!

Brian Jones

Friday 13th of October 2017

Recipes like this allow you to get your daily medicinal glass of wine in ;)

Emily

Tuesday 10th of October 2017

Oooh the more garlic the better as far as I'm concerned, Love it!

Brian Jones

Friday 13th of October 2017

I'm not quite so punchy the vampire scaring stuff, but roasting it really takes off the harshness so the more the merrier.

Meymi-Pastry and Beyond

Tuesday 10th of October 2017

Looks and sounds delicious! I like the colors and how you present them.

Brian Jones

Friday 13th of October 2017

Thank you.

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