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Spinach pesto exists for one extremely real reason. You bought a bag of spinach with good intentions and now it's in the fridge looking at you like "sooo what's the plan here, chief?"
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Toss it in a food processor with simple ingredients like basil and pine nuts and suddenly your spinach pesto pasta got a nourishing upgrade that just happens to be completely vegan and gluten-free too!
Before anyone starts waving a tiny Italian flag about traditional pesto authenticity, relax dear bestie. Pesto has been remixed all over Italy forever, and homemade spinach pesto just happens to be one of those clever glow-ups. But spinach pesto WITHOUT basil? Come on. That's not a flavor orchestra. It's a fully drunken one-man-band guy (like wearing one of those one-man-band outfits) straight-up falling down a flight of stairs to his perilous fate below. We will use some basil in this recipe yet, and you can't convince me otherwise.
Swirl some into vegan pesto pasta and watch the noodles celebrate your birth in the Earthly realm. Spoon a little over vegan carbonara, or dip a piece of vegan garlic bread straight into the bowl and experience what scientists and therapists alike call peak happiness.
Now enough flirting with the idea of homemade pesto, let's actually make the stuff before some God-forsaken nightmare-person eats all the garlic bread without us.
Jump to:
🥰 Why you'll adore this spinach pesto recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Spinach, basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil. No parmesan cheese anywhere and 0 cholesterol, just a wildly green sauce ready to run your pasta. If that kind of nonsense brings your heart sanctum copious amounts of joy, you'll probably want to explore all of my gluten-free vegan recipes.
⚡ 5 Minute Kitchen Wizardry: Lightly toast pine nuts, throw stuff in a food processor, press a button, drizzle oil, and you are pretty much done. You'll finish and clean up from this delicious recipe before your pasta water even comes to a boil.
✅ Tested Worldwide: All of my vegan recipes get made by over 1,000 recipe testers from all around the world before I hit publish. If this pesto had issues they would absolutely tell me, loudly, and with screenshots and strong words.
🤫 Learn the secrets for perfect vegan Italian meals
This guide to my most popular plant-based Italian recipes is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🥬 Spinach Pesto Ingredients
Pine Nuts
I know pine nuts can be pricey, but do try to avoid the cheap Chinese ones because they can cause something called pine nut mouth (look it up), where everything tastes weirdly metallic for a couple days after eating them. Blanched almonds or walnuts make a fantastic backup if you are trying to make this on the cheap.
Baby Spinach
I love using boxed baby spinach because it makes life easier. It's already triple washed and ready to toss straight into the blender. You can use fresh spinach if you wash it well, arugula or kale are fine too, but frozen spinach will suck so don't even give it the time of day.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A fruity tasting, first cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil actually makes a pretty noticeable difference in pesto. Since the sauce isn't cooked, the oil is front and center.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯 Variations
Pistachio Pesto
Pistachio pesto is what happens when buttery pistachios bring a rich, slightly sweet twist to the classic basil sauce.
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
Sun-dried tomato pesto is almost like a tapenade, but with condensed tomato flavor, and a little acid from red wine vinegar.
Walnut Pesto
Another great pesto recipe to try is my walnut pesto. It's another budget-friendly variation where toasted walnuts create a creamy, earthy sauce blended with tons of fresh herbs and olive oil.
50+ of my own family's fave recipes. Carefully concocted to win over even your most anti-vegan friends.
📖 How to make spinach pesto
Feeling hangry enough to start eyeing the pine nuts like a little snacky? I got you, m'goose. Follow these step-by-step instructions for my easy spinach pesto recipe and you'll have pesto ready before your pasta even hits the drink.
Step One
Pine Nutty Professor:
Place the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir and flip them frequently for a few minutes until they are fragrant and just lightly browned. Transfer them to a plate and allow them to cool completely.
Step Two
You Spinach Me Right Round:
Add the cooled pine nuts to a food processor along with the spinach, basil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. Pulse several times until the mixture is finely chopped and begins forming a coarse paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed so it processes evenly.
✅ If you want to add a few tablespoons of grated vegan parmesan cheese here, nobody can stop you.
Step Three
Oil's Well That Ends Well:
With the machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil in a steady stream so the mixture emulsifies and becomes smooth.
Step Four
Blend It Like Beckham:
Stop the processor and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Process again until the sauce is smooth and well emulsified. Taste and tweak the seasoning if needed.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
My spinach basil pesto recipe combines both leafy greens so the sauce is cheaper, and more nourishing, while still pulling off classic pesto flavor, which kinda can't be done without basil.
Yes, you can make vegan spinach pesto with a blender. Just run it on a lower speed and stop it before it looks like a green smoothie.
🧊 Refrigerating
Transfer the spinach pesto to a sealed airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 5 days. A thin layer of olive oil on the surface helps limit air exposure and keeps the color vibrant.
❄️ Freezing
Spinach pesto freezes well for longer storage. Spoon it into small containers or ice cube trays, freeze until solid, then keep the portions in a sealed container for up to 3 months.
✌️You'll also love these vegan Italian sauces:
Learn to make plant-based red sauce masterpieces in a super-fun recorded cooking class with Chef Adam Sobel!
Spinach Pesto Recipe
Equipment
- blender (optional)
Ingredients
- ½ cup pine nuts
- 2 ½ packed cups baby spinach
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir and flip the nuts frequently for 3-4 minutes until the nuts (uh, technically they are seeds, but whatever) are fragrant and lightly browned. Transfer to a plate and let cool fully.
- Add the cooled pine nuts to a food processor. Add the spinach, basil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. Pulse several times until the mixture is finely chopped and begins to form a coarse paste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed so the mixture processes evenly.
- With the machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil in a steady stream so the mixture emulsifies and becomes smooth.
- Stop the machine and scrape the sides of the bowl. Process again until the sauce reaches a smooth, cohesive consistency. Taste and tweak the seasoning if needed.
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