Effort: 2 of 3

Prep 12 min · Cook 18 min · Total 30 min

Garlic-spinach meat sauce pasta

Name: Garlic-spinach meat sauce pasta
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 54 g Protein pasta, dry (chickpea); 100 g Ground beef 90/10, cooked; 80 g Marinara, jarred; 50 g Spinach; 6 g Garlic; 5 g Fresh herbs (dill/parsley/cilantro); 5 g Extra virgin olive oil

Updated 2026-10-24 · data v2026-10-23.1

Not Real Food — does not meet the guideline recipe rule (Protein pasta, dry (chickpea) and Marinara, jarred).

Portion scale1×Amounts and estimated macros update below.

Estimated macros at 1×

545 kcal

Percent of calories

Protein 33 percent of calories
Carbs 31 percent of calories
Fat 36 percent of calories

Protein per 100 kcal: 8.1 g
Cost: $3.84 est.
Cost per 10 g protein: $0.87 est.

Source: USDA FoodData Central.

Protein pasta, dry (chickpea) (FDC 387681)
Ground beef 90/10, cooked (FDC 171794)
Marinara, jarred (FDC 171192)
Spinach (FDC 168462)
Garlic (FDC 169230)
Fresh herbs (dill/parsley/cilantro) (FDC 170416)
Extra virgin olive oil (FDC 171413)

Recipe keys

High Protein
Gluten-Free
Dairy-Free
Meal-Prep
Freezer-Friendly

Gluten-free if your protein pasta and marinara are labeled gluten-free.

Why this recipe is worth the hype

44 g protein for about $3.84 (est.)
Spinach wilts into the sauce so the portion feels bigger.
Herbs make a jar sauce taste cooked-from-scratch.
Batch it once and reheat all week.

Fast, Flavorful, Feast

Per serving · USDA-based totals from repo data

Dish

kcal

Protein (g)

Carbs (g)

Fat (g)

Est. cost

Vs current

Fast

Effort: 1 of 3

Protein pasta with turkey marinara

551

$3.09 (est.)

kcal +6 higher
Protein +1 g higher
Carbs 0 g same
Fat +1 g higher
Cost −0.75 lower est.
Time −7 min lower

Flavorful

Effort: 2 of 3

Garlic-spinach meat sauce pasta

545

$3.84 (est.)

Current level

Feast

Effort: 3 of 3

Bolognese-style ragù with parmesan

548

$3.63 (est.)

kcal +3 higher
Protein 0 g same
Carbs 0 g same
Fat 0 g same
Cost −0.21 lower est.
Time +15 min higher

Ingredients at 1×

Amounts scale with the portion buttons above.

Protein pasta, dry (chickpea)1.9 oz (54 g)
Ground beef 90/10, cooked3.5 oz (100 g)
Marinara, jarred0.33 cup (80 g)
Spinach2 handfuls (50 g)
Garlic2 cloves (6 g)
Fresh herbs (dill/parsley/cilantro)2 tbsp (5 g)
Extra virgin olive oil1 tsp (5 g)

Steps

Boil the pasta.
Brown the beef with garlic in oil.
Add marinara and spinach and simmer until the spinach wilts.
Toss with pasta and herbs.

Macros use USDA FoodData Central per-100g values times the gram weights in this recipe.

Recipe text and nutrition numbers on this page are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Food art is not covered by that license.

Cite as: Garlic-spinach meat sauce pasta, Macro Friendly Meals, https://macrofriendlymeals.com/recipes/protein-pasta-meat-sauce-flavorful (updated 2026-10-24).