What’s better than everyone’s favorite oozy, creamy party dip? That very same dip transformed into your next quick weeknight meal. Frozen spinach and canned artichokes—two hard-working ingredients that you should always have around—join forces with penne to live their best cheesy life. And if that isn’t enough, it all comes together in one skillet—no separate pot needed to boil up the pasta—before getting a kiss under the broiler for a burnished finale. It may at times feel like there’s too much or too little liquid, but trust the process (it will also continue to thicken up off-heat). Hot sauce is a must here.
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What you’ll need
Large Straight-Sided Skillet
$200 At Amazon
Box Grater
$9 At Amazon
Chef’s Knife
$115 At Hedley and Bennett
Recipe information
Total Time
40 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
3
2
3
2½
1
1
8
2
4
2
¼
4
Preparation
Step 1
Heat broiler. Heat 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large high-sided ovenproof skillet over medium. Add 2 large shallots, coarsely chopped, 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in one 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained, coarsely chopped, and one 10-oz. package frozen spinach, thawed, drained.
Step 2
Add 8 oz. penne or other short tube pasta, 2 cups whole milk, 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1½ cups water to pan and carefully stir to combine. (The pasta should be mostly submerged.) Increase heat to medium-high; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally and adding up to ½ cup water a little at a time as needed if liquid absorbs too quickly, until most of the liquid is absorbed and pasta is al dente, 16–18 minutes.
Step 3
Remove pasta from heat. Add 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature, cut into pieces, and stir until incorporated. Add 2 oz. Parmesan, finely grated (about 1 cup), and stir until melted and combined. Add ¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper; taste and season with more salt if needed.
Step 4
Scatter 4 oz. part-skim mozzarella, coarsely grated (about 1¼ cups), evenly over pasta. Broil until cheese is melted, golden brown, and bubbling, about 3 minutes (watch it carefully). Let pasta cool slightly (sauce will thicken as it cools).
Step 5
Serve pasta directly from skillet with hot sauce.
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