This spicy tahini baked penne with broccoli & spinach will quickly become your new favorite easy, prep-ahead weeknight dinner. And would you believe me if I told you I spend less than 30 minutes a night in the kitchen on weekdays? I’m partnering with Cascade to share with you the two things that make it possible...
Spicy Tahini Baked Penne
Ingredients
Spicy Tahini Sauce
- 1/2 cup tahini
- ½-1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- 6 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 lemon juiced
Pasta
- 1 head broccoli separated into florets
- 8 oz. spinach
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 lb. pasta
- 8 oz. mozzarella shredded
- 15 oz. ricotta cheese
- ½ cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F and bring a pot of water to boil for your pasta.
- In a blender, add your tahini, ½ cup of vegetable broth, half your jalapeno pepper, the 6 peeled garlic cloves, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth. Add more vegetable broth as needed. You are looking for the consistency of a smooth marinara sauce. Add the rest of the jalapeno pepper if you want it to be spicier.
- Cook your pasta 3 minutes less than suggested on the box. Drain and set aside.
- Mix your pasta, broccoli, spinach, ⅔ of the mozzarella, ricotta, spicy tahini sauce, salt, & pepper. Toss well to coat.
- Transfer to a 13x9 glass baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Bake 25-30 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted.
Nutrition
Step-by-step baked tahini pasta
First, make your pasta sauce by adding all your sauce ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth. Add more vegetable broth as needed. You are looking for the consistency of a smooth marinara sauce.
Next, add your undercooked pasta, broccoli, spinach, ⅔ of the mozzarella, spicy tahini sauce, salt, & pepper.
Toss well to mix.
Transfer to a 13x9 glass baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Bake 25-30 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted.
How do you have time to cook dinner on weeknights?
This is the number one most asked question I get from friends, followers, EVERYONE. And guess what? It’s only two things, and they’re more than easy for you to take on! (1) Going to the grocery store once a week (or less) and (2) using Cascade pure essentials for easy clean up.
Go to the grocery store ONCE a week.
I share with you my free meal
plans with grocery list already written for you so you have no excuse not to
meal plan! It’s cheaper, I always have
food ready to be made without having to figure out what to eat, and it saves me
a million trips to the store. Plus, my meal plans include prep-ahead tips like
getting this pasta ready to bake over the weekend leaving zero prep time and just 30 minutes of baking time
during the week!
Easy clean up.
I throw everything in the dishwasher and let Cascade do the clean up for me! I already used Cascade products, so I was excited to give the new Cascade pure essentials ActionPacs a try. The simplified formula is free of phosphates and chlorine bleach (yay!) and infused with biobased ingredients…PLUS you can get $1 off any Cascade pure essentials item with an online eSaver on Kroger.com now through May 25!
Afraid of cleaning the pan after a baked pasta?
No need to be afraid anymore! Cascade pure essentials even cleans baked on foods and is tough on stuck-on messes like the melty, baked cheese. And you can even do your part to save water by skipping the pre-washing at the sink!
Looking for more pasta dishes other than this spicy tahini baked pasta?
Check out more of my favorite pasta dishes here!
This post has been sponsored by Cascade. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Where does the ricotta go? It’s not mentioned anywhere in the recipe
You add it in when you add the mozzarella. Sorry about that... correcting it now!