Name: Spinach Pesto (With Basil)
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 cups Baby spinach (packed); 1 cup Basil leaves (packed); ½ cup Walnuts; ¼ cup Vegetarian parmesan cheese; 3 cloves Garlic; ⅓ cup Extra virgin olive oil; Salt & Pepper (to taste); 3 teaspoons Lemon juice

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This flavorful spinach pesto is a delicious spin on the pesto made with fresh baby spinach and basil, rich olive oil, bright lemon, bold parmesan, garlic and nutty walnuts. It’s a healthy Italian-inspired sauce and there are countless ways to use it.

Spinach basil pesto in a bowl with a spoon inside.

❤️About This Recipe

Easy: Just add ingredients into the food processor and blend, your spinach pesto is ready.
Quick: It takes under 5 minutes to make this spinach basil pesto.
Hesitant to use spinach? Don’t worry, you won’t taste the spinach at all. It just gives the vibrant green color of the pesto. Plus, spinach is good for you.
Taste & Flavor: It tastes herby (from basil), very fresh, creamy with a quite noticeable garlic undertone.
Cheaper alternative to classic pesto: Spinach is a whole lot cheaper than buying a ton of basil. So this spinach pesto is budget-friendly

🍽 Ways To Use It

Toss with cooked pasta (any type works but tortellini and gnocchi are the best options)
Use it to enhance pasta salad (e.g. pesto tortellini salad)
Use as a spread for sandwiches or burgers.
Use as a pizza sauce
Spread over crostini or make pesto bruschetta
Drizzle over steamed or roasted veggies
Add a dollop of it to a soup like minestrone or other creamy soup

2 plates of tortellini pesto salad with 2 forks and a bowl of pesto.

🧾Ingredient Notes

Baby spinach: I highly recommend using fresh spinach. Frozen doesn’t work here.
Basil: Again, fresh is recommended. Dried basil in spinach pesto doesn’t work.
Garlic: Use fresh garlic or use readymade minced garlic.
Walnuts: It adds a nice nutty flavor. Another classic option is to use pine nuts.
Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice is the best choice over bottled juice.
Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil should be used while making any pesto as it has a mild flavor. Plus, pesto is eaten raw, and fresh so extra virgin should be used.
Parmesan cheese: As being vegetarian, I only buy vegetarian parmesan cheese and not the original Parmigiano Reggiano that has rennet.

Spinach basil pesto ingredients with label on marble surface.

👩‍🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions

To a food processor, add baby spinach, basil, parmesan, walnuts, garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
Also, add oil.
Cover and run the processor until it is a pesto consistency.
You may need to stop and scrape the sides with a spatula and blend again.

Collage of 4 images showing spinach pesto ingredients in food processor, adding oil, running and ready pesto.

💭Expert Tips

Make a thin layer of olive oil on the surface of the spinach pesto when your store it in the jar to keep it fresh longer.
Store the spinach basil pesto in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. It can be frozen for 3-4 months.
For an extra nutty flavor, you can toast the walnuts before adding them.

Check out another pesto recipe - Parsley pesto

Spinach pesto in a bowl with spinach leaves and lemon slices in the back.

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