Spinach Pesto
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Spinach Pesto is perfect for pasta, sandwiches, or drizzling over roasted vegetables, made simple ingredients and ready in less than 5 minutes!
I’m a big fan of spinach pesto, partially because it’s made with really fresh ingredients, and partially because it’s so incredibly easy to throw together. This recipe pairs well with gluten free pasta, spread on sandwiches, over fresh mozzarella and tomato, or make a pesto pizza. You can also swap out the spinach for other greens, like kale.
This is also a great way to use up extra spinach before it goes bad. You’ll still get the flavor of classic pesto, plus you’ll get in more veggies with your dinner. You cold also use this is a dipping sauce paired with something like Garlic Parmesan Wings, or drizzle on my Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Incredibly Easy! Homemade pesto looks very fancy, but it’s actually very easy to make. Just blend everything together in the food processor and you’re done!
Fresh Ingredients: This recipe uses really fresh ingredients, which gives a ton of flavor to any dish that you’re adding it to. This will be one of your new favorite sauces!
Gluten Free! You can be sure that everything is 100% gluten free because we’re using whole foods, and you added the ingredients yourself.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Fresh Spinach. I like to use baby spinach because it’s a little more tender and sweet compared to regular spinach. It just blends into the pesto really easily and gives it a nice green color. You can also use regular spinach for this recipe, it won’t be a major difference.
I don’t recommend using frozen spinach for this recipe. It won’t have that bright green color, and the flavor will be a little different.
Basil. This gives pesto its traditional flavor. You need fresh basil leaves for this recipe. For a regular basil pesto, you’d leave out the spinach and just use 2-3 cups of fresh basil leaves.
Garlic. You’ll get the best flavor from garlic cloves, but you can use garlic powder, too. If you’re a garlic lover, you can add more to taste.
Parmesan Cheese. You can use parmesan, asiago cheese, or Romano cheese for pesto. You’ll often find these already blended together with parmesan. The quality of parmesan you use can really take the pesto from a good flavor to amazing. I like a nice sharp parmesan cheese.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. You can add extra olive oil until the texture is right. Olive oil has its own flavor, which adds to the pesto. You can also use avocado oil, but the flavor will be slightly different.
Make sure you’re using extra virgin olive oil, because it has a stronger flavor than regular olive oil, making it better for pesto.
Cashews. You can use cashews, almonds, pine nuts, or walnuts for pesto. I like cashews because the nutty flavor is nice and they help make the pesto a little creamy.
Fresh Lemon Juice. This adds a brightness and balances out the flavor of the garlic. If your pesto has bitterness, you can add more lemon juice.
Spices. I like to add fresh garlic, so the only spices you’ll need are kosher salt and black pepper. You can add these to taste.
Kitchen Tools
For this spinach pesto recipe, you’ll need a medium to large sized food processor.
How to Make Spinach Pesto
Time needed: 5 minutes
- Add Ingredients.
Add all ingredients to the food processor.
- Blend.
Pulse the food processor a few times, then blend until the pesto is smooth and everything is well combined. Add more olive oil as needed to achieve the desired consistency.
Recipe Variations
- You can use other leafy greens, like kale, to make this recipe. Just add a small amount of basil leaves to keep the flavor of pesto.
- If you don’t have olive oil, you can substitute avocado oil. But the flavor of the pesto may change slightly as well.
- Make your pesto spicy with some red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne pepper.
- If you want a creamy pesto, add a few tablespoons of heavy cream while blending. Hold back a little bit of olive oil, to make sure the cream doesn’t thin the pesto out too much first.
Recipe Tip! For an even deeper flavor, try roasting your garlic first! I have instructions on how to do this over here. Roasted garlic will have a sweeter, richer flavor than raw garlic, and less bitterness or bite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pesto is perfect with pasta, but it also has a lot of other uses! Try pesto as a spread on a sandwich, in rice, on pizza, as a charcuterie board dip, in soups, mashed potatoes, or on chicken. This is really versatile and adds incredible flavor in a lot of different ways!
It’s hard to thicken pesto once you’ve gone too far with the olive oil. I recommend adding a little more spinach and basil to the pesto, then pulsing it in the food processor until it reaches the desired texture. Give it a taste, and add salt, pepper, and parmesan as-needed.
Recipe Tip! Try freezing this pesto in ice cube trays! Pour the pesto into the tray, then top off each cube with a little bit of olive oil to prevent darkening. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. Use the ice cubes in recipes as-needed.
More Pasta Recipes
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
- One Pot Chicken Alfredo
- Gluten Free Mac and Cheese
- One Pot Chicken Parmesan & Pasta
Storage
Refrigerate your homemade pesto in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freeze basil spinach pesto in a freezer-safe container for 2-3 months.
Cooking Tips
- If your pesto is too thick, add a small amount of olive oil as-needed until you like the texture of the pesto.
- Pesto isn’t supposed to be completely smooth. The garlic and cashews will add a little bit of texture to the pesto.
- If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this the old fashioned way with a mortar and pestle.
If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!
Spinach Pesto
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup cashews, roasted
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Equipment
- 1 food processor medium to large size
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to the food processor. Pulse the food processor a few times, then blend until the pesto is smooth and everything is well combined.
Notes
- If your pesto is too thick, add a small amount of olive oil as-needed until you like the texture of the pesto.
- Pesto isn’t supposed to be completely smooth. The garlic and cashews will add a little bit of texture to the pesto.
- If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this the old fashioned way with a mortar and pestle.
Nutrition
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