Spinach and Basil Pesto
Whenever you don’t have much fresh basil, you can make this Spinach and Basil Pesto to stretch out your basil! And for pesto fans, this post has links to more interesting pesto variations.
PIN Spinach and Basil Pesto to try it later!
One of my favorite things about having a garden is Pesto, something I make many times every summer. Pesto is a great way to use and preserve huge bunches of basil, but when I don’t have that much fresh basil I love to make this Spinach and Basil Pesto to stretch out my basil.
When I am lucky enough to have a surplus of basil, I freeze some of the fresh basil for winter or make it into Basil Pesto with Lemon, which I also freeze.
This double green pesto is delicious on grilled or sauteed vegetables, grilled chicken, grilled fish, and even pasta. Of course, there are as many ways to make pesto as there are cooks who make it; check below to see more interesting pesto variations.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- fresh spinach leaves
- fresh basil leaves
- garlic puree or finely minced fresh garlic
- pine nuts
- good quality grated Parmesan cheese
- extra virgin olive oil
Is it important to follow the recipe to make Spinach and Basil Pesto?
I think the proportions of equal amounts of spinach and basil is great in this recipe, but if you don’t have that many basil plants, you could use less basil. I like my pesto a bit heavy on the cheese and pine nuts compared to some people, but pesto is something that’s always easy to adapt to your own taste so have fun experimenting with this delicious combination.
How to make Spinach and Basil Pesto:
(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)
- Two cups of packed basil is a big salad spinner full; give the basil is good wash and spin dry.
- You’ll need 2 packed cups each of basil and spinach leaves (or adapt proportions to the amount of basil you have).
- Use the food processor to chop the spinach and basil, stirring a few times as needed to get it going.
- Then add the garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan and process until it’s well blended.
- Finally, add the olive oil through the feed tube of the food processor and process until it’s as smooth as you’d like.
- That’s it! Make a big batch of pesto on the weekend and eat it on things all week long!
More Interesting Pesto Variations to Try:
Asparagus Pesto with Pasta ~ Simply Recipes
Garlic Scape Pesto with Chard ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Beet Pesto ~ A Veggie Venture
Artichoke Pesto ~ Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
Dandelion Pesto ~ David Lebovitz
Kale and Basil Pesto~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Broccoli Pesto ~ Family Fresh Cooking
Artichoke Lemon Pesto ~ The View from Great Island
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto ~ Simply Recipes
New Mexico Green Chile Pesto ~ Letty’s Kitchen
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a new category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Spinach and Basil Pesto
This Spinach and Basil Pesto is a great way to make pesto when it's early summer and you don't have that much fresh basil yet!
Ingredients
- (Pesto is always made to taste, so feel free to use more or less of any ingredient, whatever appeals to you.)Â
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- 2 cups (packed) fresh spinach leaves
- 2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves (washed and spun dry or dried with paper towels)
- 2 T garlic puree or finely minced fresh garlic
- 2/3 cup pine nuts (more or less to taste)
- 1 1/3 cup good quality grated Parmesan cheese (more or less to taste)
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (more or less to taste)
Instructions
- To make this successfully you’ll need a food processor. There are many good brands, but for many years I’ve used a Cuisinart Food Processor DLC 10. (affiliate link)
- Spinach and basil should be washed and dried well.
- Put in food processor with steel blade and pulse repeatedly until both are well chopped, stirring a few times as needed.
- Add garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan and blend for 2-3 minutes until nuts are finely chopped and mixture is well combined.
- With lid on and processor running, drizzle olive oil in through the feed tube until mixture is the consistency you prefer. I don’t like my pesto to be too thick, but if you prefer a thicker texture, you won’t need as much oil.
- This is good as a sauce on pasta, used as lasagna sauce, or served over vegetables, chicken, or fish. The pesto will keep for about a week in the refrigerator. You can freeze it if you're lucky enough to have some left!
Notes
Nutritional information is based on 1/4 cup serving size.
This recipe created by Kalyn when she had fresh basil and spinach in the fridge and a craving for pesto!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 213Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 222mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Olive oil, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese are all high in fat, but you don’t eat pesto in huge amounts. Eaten over vegetables, chicken, or fish, this would be acceptable for low-carb, Keto, or low-glycemic diets or any phase of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Fresh Herbs or Sauces to find more recipes like this one.Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This delicious Spinach and Basil Pesto was first posted in 2007, probably without a photo! It was last updated with more information in 2022. And now that I don’t have a garden I would love to make this pesto to stretch out my basil!
38 Comments on “Spinach and Basil Pesto”
Looks good and wanna try it with your sautéed zucchini recipe but two cups of basil would cost me a fortune. What else can I replace it with? Would cilantro and spinach work together you think? Thanks.
I'm not sure about spinach and cilantro. You could cut the recipe in half, or just use more spinach and less basil and that will still be good.
Thanks. Will try that!
Finally made this tonight and used with the grilled zuchinni recipe as well as spread some on my grilled salmon. Yummy, yummy, yummy! The spinach taste gave a nice edge to everything. Never thought I'd see another pesto overthrow my beloved cilantro pesto. lolllllll
Abi, so glad to hear you liked it! And it sounds like cilantro pesto needs to go on my must-try list!
Oh my goodness me oh my! This was GREAT! I had a bag of spinach in the fridge begging to be used. Our basil in the garden is growing wonderfully right now, but I didn't want to sacrifice too much of the plant. This was the perfect pairing of the two, without using too much of my basil. I used my little 4 cup chopper to make this and it was perfect! The only thing I modified, at the request of my husband, was to add some lemon juice. I eyeballed it, but it was about 2 TBLS. According to him, it keeps the pesto a bright green. I liked the extra zing as well. I served this over GF noodles. Now I've got to decided what to use it on next.
Christin, so glad you enjoyed it. And I love the idea of adding lemon.
Brand new to the pesto world. But I love the starbucks tomato and mozzarella panini sandwich that calls for spinach basil pesto. So here i go, into the new world of pesto 🙂 wish me luck and thanks for all the advice
Debbie, there are so many fun variations; hope you enjoy this one!
Katrina, I agree. Love pesto on so many things.
Just made a half batch of this with my first harvest of basil for the summer. I used walnuts. Mmm! So happy for basil/pesto season!
Eileen, I love arugula, and I have tried it in pesto. I agree, it's a winner! Glad you like this idea too.
I haven't tried pesto with spinach, but I'm definitely going to! I find straight basil pesto to be too "basily"! My favorite is another variation, using arugula and basil. Arugula has a wonderful, nutty flavor and grows pretty easily in the garden. Give it a try!
Thanks Jeanette and Wanda; glad you like it!
I love pesto! and to combine basil with spinach sounds delectable. I will try it this weekend. Thanks, Kalyn.
I always look forward to summer pesto made with all sorts of veggies – spinach, kale, Swiss chard and garlic scapes I even tossed in some beet greens last summer. Recently, I blended some basil pesto w/ sundried tomatoes and garlic and spread some on chicken breasts before coating it in bread crumbs and baking it. The kids loved it.
This is my favorite pesto recipe! I use almonds for my nuts and make a pesto cream out of it using butter, cream, and more cheese. I freeze this pesto in an ice cube tray, then take out as many as I want about an hour before I want to use them. They thaw really quickly. I also use this pesto to make pesto meatballs. Yum!
Delight I try to thaw pesto overnight in the refrigerator. If I forget to plan ahead, I thaw in the sink in hot water. (Put the container in the sink and fill with just enough hot water that it won't leak into the container.)