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”
For all of you 'freezers', how do you best suggest thawing your pesto? I froze my leftovers in regular-muffin-sized glass containers with lids. How should I defrost them? If I microwave, I assume that would cook the pesto and or melt the cheese in it… not ideal I assume. Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated. Thank you!
I've got to try this. Adding spinach makes it more nutritious anyway. I hope it doesn't dilute the basil taste too much though since I'm such a big basil fan.
great recipe! trying it today, and will somehow incorporate pomegranate in it for a POM recipe contest. thinking of a pasta salad with pomegrante. will freeze leftovers!
we freeze our homemade pesto in plastic containers saved from the soups that we order from the local Chinese takeouts. Just pour 1/4 to 1/2 an inch of olive oil on top of the pesto in the container,leaving about a 1/2 inch of headroom for expansion when it freezes and it will keep until next year.I once found an old container hidden in the back of the freezer that was several years old and it still tasted great with no loss of taste and no freezer burn at all!
Mike S. <:{{><
Anonymous, great idea.
Zoe, very glad to hear it!
Ok, I used walnuts in place of pine nuts and liked the result very much. I think cutting the amount of basil with spinach also helped me like it more than I usually like pesto. Hubby and I both approve!
I like to freeze pesto in a mini-muffin tin. This creates perfect portions of pesto to use throughout the year as needed. To do it, lightly grease your mini-muffin tin with Pam. Place a good tablespooon full of pesto in each muffin compartment. Place the filled tin in your freezer on a flat surface. Freeze overnight. Take the tin out of the frezer and let it thaw for just a minute or two. Remove pestos from the tins and transfer to a container with a sealed lid. Now you have individual sized frozen pesto portions to use as needed!
Thanks for the suggestions of walnuts and almonds to use. Both sound good. I’m in an almond kick right now, so I might try that first.
I love pine nuts but I actually like toasted walnuts in my pesto better.
Not sure if I would like them better with the spinach though.
Looks yummy Kalyn.
Wow! Great pesto recipe! I love adding the spinach. Pesto rules the world. :):)
Ari, have fun in that pesto phase. Sounds like a good phase to be in.
Katie, soon. Your pesto time will come.
Simona, sounds delicious on gnocchi.
Tanna, great idea, but it’s not cauliflower. I do think I’ll try that next though!
I’m always looking to add spinach to everything but I’ve not put it in pesto . . . why not . . . no early reason I can think of except I didn’t think of it. I’m thinking this would be heavenly on cauliflower among other veggies.
I use pesto on potato gnocchi as well as pasta. And yes, the fact that you can freeze it is just fantastic. I don’t have basil in my garden, so when I buy it I need to use it fast and making pesto is the ideal solution.
One of the best parts of summer is homemade pesto! Adding spinach sounds like a nice variation.
Now, to just wait for the basil glut. My garden is a slow starter this year due to cool rainy weather… but we’re finally getting sunshine so I have hope!
I’ve made one batch of pesto but way too little for the freezer…
Mmm mm mm! I’m in a bit of a pesto phase right now and I love spinach, so this sounds perfect!
Ari (Baking and Books)
Nicole, pesto is so great on pizza. (And *someday* I AM going to make a pizza.)
Zoe, I think the spinach makes this a lot milder than regular pizza. And agree, use a different type of nuts if you’re not hot on pine nuts. I think almonds are good in pesto. Pesto is all about changing the proportions to what you like.
Debbie, good idea about using different nuts. I actually have frozen pesto with cheese plenty of times. It’s the raw spinach that I was wondering how it would freeze. I should have tried it! Next time.
Kelly, this would be a lot cheaper,. I didn’t think of that since I have quite an abundance of basil.
I really appreciate these recipes. I love pesto, but it can get quite pricey to buy all the ingredients fresh. I imagine the spinach pesto would go quite a long ways and could be used on a variety of dishes.
Zoe, I’ve always made my mom’s walnut pesto. Maybe you’d like that.
Kalyn, this sounds like a great idea! I love spinach. I am going to try this as a pasta side dish, with pesto’s best friend, cherry tomatoes, thrown in.
As for freezing, all the cookbooks I’ve ever read on the subject say it freezes beautifully if you don’t add the cheese. (you add the cheese later when you thaw and use it)
This sounds like a pesto I might be willing to try. I’ve had pesto a few times at restaurants and have never liked it (I know, I’m strange). But I think if it has a lot of extra stuff in it to mask the pine nut taste, I’m ok. For instance, I buy a sun-dried tomato pesto that I like. How similar do you think this tastes to traditional pesto?
Sounds great! I’m dying to know what vegetable you ate with this! The last time I had pesto, it was on pizza :-)h