Pork Meatballs and Spinach Pasta
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Description
This quick, easy dinner is full of flavor and vegetables. The pork is higher in fat, resulting in a juicy and delicious meatball. I use freshly ground cinnamon and Parmesan.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds ground pork
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- ½ (16 ounce) package mini penne pasta
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
- 1. Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
- 2. Mix pork, pine nuts, cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a bowl; shape pork mixture into 1/2-inch meatballs and arrange on a baking sheet.
- 3. Bake meatballs in the preheated oven until browned and center is no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Turn the tray around once to be sure the meatballs roast evenly; flip meatballs halfway through cooking.
- 4. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook mini penne in the boiling water for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach and continue cooking until pasta is cooked through but firm to the bite, about 3 minutes more. Reserve about 1/4 cup pasta cooking water and drain remaining water.
- 5. Return pasta and spinach to the pot and stir in olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and reserved cooking water. Top pasta with meatballs before serving.
Nutrition Facts
serving: 4 servings
calories: 641.5 kcal
carbohydrates: 44.3 g
protein: 42.9 g
saturated fat: 11 g
cholesterol: 114.6 mg
sodium: 482.4 mg
fiber: 3.7 g
sugar: 2.4 g
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