A weeknight pasta that turns cream cheese dip into dinner by thinning it with pasta water and tossing with hot noodles. The artichokes and spinach are already there, so you're just cooking pasta and making sure the sauce coats it.

Serves 2. 20 minutes, 15 at the stove.

About 640 calories a serving, 22 g protein, 91 g carbohydrate, 20 g fat. From USDA figures for 100% of the ingredients; amounts are the recipe's.

Cook mode

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and salt it well. Add 8 oz pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water before draining.12 min
2. While the pasta cooks, mince 2 garlic cloves and melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds, stirring constantly so it does not brown.1 min
3. Add the entire 8 oz container of spinach and artichoke cream cheese dip to the skillet and stir constantly until it begins to soften and warm through, about 2 minutes. Start adding the reserved pasta water 1/4 cup at a time, stirring until the dip loosens into a sauce that moves easily across the pan.3 min
4. Add the hot drained pasta to the skillet and toss to coat every strand with sauce, adding more pasta water if needed to keep it loose. The sauce should flow around the pasta, not cling to it.2 min
5. Divide the pasta between two bowls, top each with 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan, a grind of black pepper, and taste for salt before serving.

Note Swap in cream or half-and-half instead of pasta water if you prefer a richer sauce. Leftovers keep two days refrigerated; reheat gently over low heat with a splash of water. Serve with a simple green salad or roasted vegetables alongside.