READY IN 20 mins

Spinach Basil Pesto

Read Reviews (196)

"This sauce is perfect for freezing in an ice cube tray. I just pop out a couple of cubes from the freezer and add to a pasta dish for a quick and easy meal. The Parmesan cheese can be omitted and added after thawing. Pour any pesto you aren't using immediately into an ice cube tray, cover with plastic wrap, and store in freezer." — Dianne

Directions

Blend the spinach, basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a food processor until nearly smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary. Drizzle the remaining olive oil into the mixture while processing until smooth.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 20 mins
READY IN 20 mins

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Aug 14, 2009

How delicious! I have never made pesto sauce before, so this was my first attempt and it was exquisite! Finding at the last minute that I did not have pine nuts, I looked up on the internet to find a suitable substitute, and finding almonds were appropriate (and I had them) I used almonds. They cut up beautifully in the food processor and I have some left over which I am going to freeze for another treat some summer evening! I highly recommend it!

—Valentine de Villefort

See full review »

Most Helpful Critical Review

Jul 31, 2012

I don't know what I did wrong with this recipe. I used fresh homegrown basil, toasted the pine nuts and just followed the recipe. Neither my husband nor I cared for it. BTW, I do like pesto.....in the jar.

—Festie

See full review »

280 Ratings

See other versions of this recipe!

Mar 10, 2010

This was fantastic! This was my first attempt at homemade pesto, and I will never be buying that nasty stuff in jar again. It is so fresh and all the flavors come together beautifully. I used 3 cloves of garlic because of previous reviews, but I don't think the extra clove would have been too much. I guess it depends on the strength of your garlic. I also used fresh parmesan, which I think is crucial to the taste of the pesto. I served it with gnocchi and shrimp. I don't have ice cube trays, so I divided the leftovers into little pesto "cookies" on waxed paper, put them in the freezer and then wrapped the frozen pesto in plastic wrap and then put them in a freezer bag.

—HUGSMOMMY

See full review »

Oct 13, 2009

really easy and yummy - substituted frozen spinach and basil and still turned out great!

—Felecia

See full review »

Oct 01, 2010

Perfection. I was a little wary because other reviewers mentioned this tasting a little 'earthy' because of all of the spinach. I was also worried because once I blended mine all up the mixture only smelt of spinach. I had made this in the afternoon and stuck it in the fridge for a few hours. Once it came time for dinner it smelled much more like pesto. Actually one of the best pestos I've even had, this is one for the recipe books!

—misscarolb

See full review »

Sep 18, 2009

My 4, 7, and 9 year old love anything with pesto in it so I wanted to find a way to make it as healthy as possible since they eat it almost every day. The spinach adds veggies and I used Walnuts to add Omega I added 1/2 cup more walnuts than the recipe called for. Really good recipe. I have huge crops of Basil in the summer time so I double the recipe and freeze in ice cube trays so it lasts for a few months.

—JDS8000

See full review »

Jan 20, 2010

Yummy!!! I thought the spinach may alter the flavor too much but it was awesome! I would slowly just add garlic to taste next time..it's a bit much (or maybe try roasted garlic?) and this is coming from a garlic lover! My cloves were pretty big tho. Great recipe!

—liquidfaith

See full review »

Jan 12, 2011

This is the real deal, truly amazing flavor. I followed the recipe exactly and since I do not have a food processor, I made this in my Kitchen Aid blender. I had to add all of the oil before turning it on with this method. I was pleased it worked just great. I used pine nuts and had no trouble finding them, I didn't think they were terribly expensive as some others have mentioned. Thanks Dianne for yet another wonderful recipe.

—House of Aqua

See full review »

Edit

Glad you liked it! Your friends will, too:

Did you tweak the recipe? Edit and save your own version of it!

Edit this recipe

More Recipes Like This See all

Simple Garlic and Basil Pesto

Basil Pecan Pesto

Spinach Almond Pesto

Summer Herb Pesto

Lighter Basil Pesto

Faux Pesto

Rudy's Garlic Scape Pesto

Spinach and Garlic Scape Pesto

Basil Pesto Sunshine Sandwich

15-Year-Old Pesto Sauce

Nutrition

Calories
67 kcal
3%

Carbohydrates
0.8 g
< 1%

Cholesterol
1 mg
< 1%

Fat
6.6 g
10%

Fiber
0.2 g
< 1%

Protein
1.5 g
3%

Sodium
87 mg
3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Spinach Basil Pesto

Serving Size: 1/24 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 24
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 67
Calories from Fat: 59

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 6.6g 10 %
Saturated Fat 1.2g 6 %
Cholesterol 1mg < 1 %
Sodium 87mg 3 %
** Potassium 37mg 1 %
Total Carbohydrates 0.8g < 1 %
Dietary Fiber 0.2g < 1 %
Protein 1.5g 3 %
Sugars 0.1g
** Vitamin A 5 %
** Vitamin C 2 %
** Calcium 3 %
** Iron 4 %
** Thiamin 3 %
** Niacin 3 %
** Vitamin B6 1 %
** Magnesium 4 %
** Folate 4 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.