Steak Pasta with Spinach
This steak pasta with spinach is an easy 30-minute dinner with tender steak, penne, fresh spinach, and a tangy balsamic-Dijon dressing. Serve it warm, at room temperature, or cold for an easy pasta dinner that’s especially good during the warmer months.
Why You’ll Love This Steak Pasta
- It’s ready in 30 minutes: The steak and pasta cook at the same time, so everything comes together quickly.
- It’s filling without being heavy: Steak and pasta make it satisfying, while spinach, fresh parsley, and the tangy balsamic dressing keep it fresh.
- You can serve it three ways: It’s delicious warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
- It’s great for summer: You can cook the steak on the stovetop or grill it and toss everything together for an easy warm-weather dinner.
Ingredients
- Steak: Use a tender cut that cooks quickly. I like New York strip steak or sirloin steak. Readers have shared in the comments that tenderloin, filet mignon (fancy!), and ribeye steak are great choices, too.
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- Penne
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Dijon mustard
- Spinach
- Parsley
- Crumbled feta cheese: If you’re not a fan of feta, grated or shredded Parmesan cheese would work well, too.
How to Make the Recipe
- Season the steak with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Boil the penne until al dente.
- Cook the steak in a hot skillet with the olive oil until it’s seared and cooked to about medium-rare (or your desired doneness). Or you can cook it on a hot grill.
- Mix the olive oil, vinegar, and mustard together in a large bowl.
- Slice the cooked steak against the grain and place it in the bowl with the sauce. Add the spinach, parsley, and cooked pasta. Toss to coat it all evenly – as you toss, the spinach will wilt a bit from the hot steak and pasta.
- Garnish the steak pasta with the feta cheese, and it’s ready to serve!
Recipe Tips
- The cooking time will vary based on how thick your steak is. I like to use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature – once it hits about 140°F I take it out of the pan and let it rest. It will continue to cook for a few minutes.
- This is also a great recipe to use up leftover steak – just toss it in with the other ingredients.
- I love this recipe because it’s great served warm or at room temperature. You can also pop it in the fridge for later and serve it cold. Just give it a good toss before serving it.
- Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for three to four days.
More Steak Pasta Recipes
Steak Pasta with Spinach
This easy steak pasta with spinach is ready in 30 minutes! Tender steak, penne, and fresh spinach are tossed with a tangy balsamic-Dijon dressing. Serve it warm, at room temperature, or cold for a delicious pasta dinner.
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Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 8 ounce New York strip steak see note
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 ounces of penne pasta
- 1/4 cup olive oil plus 1 tablespoon divided
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cups fresh spinach roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Season the steak on all sides with the mixture and set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve one tablespoon of the starchy water before draining the pasta.
- While the pasta cooks heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a medium-sized pan over medium heat. Cook the steak for 5-7 minutes on each side (depends on how pink you like it – 7 minutes will be barely pink). Remove the steak from the pan and leave it on a plate to rest.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, and mustard until it’s thickened.
- Thinly slice the steak, against the grain and place it in the bowl with the dressing along with the pasta, reserved pasta water, spinach, and parsley. Toss it all together. As you toss it the spinach will wilt.
- Garnish with the feta cheese and serve the pasta warm, at room temperature or you can chill it before serving. If you chill it, hold off adding the cheese until serving and give the pasta and steak a toss before serving.
Notes
Any quick-cooking and tender steak will work well for this recipe. Readers have used sirloin, ribeye, filet mignon, and tenderloin instead of the New York strip. Depending on how thick the steak is you may need to adjust the cooking time.
Adapted from Food Network
Nutrition Estimate
Calories: 672kcal | Carbohydrates: 49.2g | Protein: 37.7g | Fat: 36.1g | Saturated Fat: 8.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 25.7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 1046.8mg | Fiber: 3.2g | Sugar: 4.9g
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More Easy Pasta Recipes
I hope you give this steak pasta a try soon! It’s a favorite at our house and perfect for a warm summer night.
Happy cooking!
Post and photos updated from the archives. First published in April 2015.
I have made this twice now and it’s a huge hit with my family. We had a chest freezer go out and I had to cook some steaks or lose them. I grilled, sliced then froze them. I have used those precooked frozen strips both times and it is a terrific use for them. Quick, easy and flavorful the recipe trifecta if you ask me.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe! Thanks for the tips with the frozen steak, too 🙂
I made this tonight! It turned out really really well. I added mushrooms and red onions!
My family loved this!! My 4 and 6 year old boys gobbled it up! We used elk steak since we are a hunting family and it was excellent. Thanks.
So glad your family loved it!
Hi. This looks YUMMY! However….I detest Balsamic vinegar. Can I sub something else for it?
You could try red wine vinegar – hope that helps!
If you like a sour, salty, oily dish fit only for the garbage, this is the one!
Sorry you didn’t like it!