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Spinach Basil Pesto Sauce and Tips for Bright Green Pesto

March 12, 2017 by Emily Brees Leave a Comment - This post may contain affiliate links.

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Spinach Basil Pesto Sauce is bright green and creamy. This recipe will show you tips and tricks for making smooth, creamy and bright green pesto sauce that uses Pecorino Romano cheese. Option to make a vegan spinach basil pesto with just one clever ingredient.

ingredients

Fresh herbs are one of the greatest benefits of a summer garden. Every year I grow 2 types of basil – Genovese and Thai.  Both have distinct flavors – I use Genovese for pesto and the Thai for fresh noodle salads and soups.

I love mixing pesto with cannellini beans and cherry tomatoes for a quick garden salad, using it as a spread for a veggie melt or making savory crepes with fresh tomatoes, artichokes and pesto. 

This recipe is quite versatile. Any combination of herbs, greens, cheese and/or nuts can be blended into a delicious pesto!

Here are some of my favorite combinations:

  • Arugula, Toasted Walnuts + Parmesan
  • Cilantro, Roasted Hatch Chili + Lime
  • Kale, Lemon, Pistachio + Manchego

Spinach-Basil Pesto Sauce in white bowlI lived in Italy for a short time while studying abroad in college and I vividly remember the bright green pesto sauce served in Genova. From that point forward my life changed and I became a pesto fanatic.

Initially I struggled to get the process down perfectly, but I’ve learned a lot along the way and have compiled a few tips.

Tips for Making Basil Pesto Sauce:

  1. Keep Your Basil Cool. Basil is temperature sensitive. When making pesto you don’t want to rely on your food processor to do all the work. Plus running your food processor can start to heat up the pesto. So I recommend starting with crushed nuts + roughly chopped garlic. Then add those with the greens to a food processor. In fact, sometimes I put my mini food processor blade and cup in the freezer the night before to keep things really cold when I’m ready to blend!
  2. Blanch Your Basil. Giving your basil a quick dunk in boiling water, followed by an ice bath, will help preserve the bright, vibrant green color. It’s not necessary, but I find it very helpful.
  3. Use Young Basil. You definitely want to use young basil leaves which are sweeter. Once your basil plant starts to flower, the leaves will be bitter and so will your pesto.
  4. Sensitive to Garlic? There’s nothing worse than pesto with a sharp garlic bite. Taking a few extra minutes to pan roast your garlic clove will help tremendously with that problem!
  5. Dairy Free? Pesto can easily go dairy-free, but I have a special trick for giving it that creaminess. I use this trick for both vegan and traditional pesto sauce. Add a little boiled potato. If you’re blanching your basil leaves you’ll already have the boiling water ready to go. Adding potato gives pesto a creaminess that is especially delicious when using it as a spread.

Spinach-Basil Pesto Sauce verticalHow to make Spinach Basil Pesto

This pesto sauce recipe uses fresh spinach to create a well- balanced flavor and bright green sauce. Sometimes I find basil pesto a bit too strong, so adding a little spinach not only adds nutrition, but gives mellows out the flavor. Spinach is also much less expensive and adds bulk to your sauce if you are making pesto for a crowd.

Step 1: Toast nuts.

Make sure to cool them before grinding. You can also warm the garlic clove with the nuts – this will mellow the garlic out a little for your sauce.

Step 2: Blanch basil leaves + boil potato (optional).

These steps are optional.

A quick blanch will keep the basil nice and green. Make sure to dry your basil completely before using.

The potato is a great way to make creamy pesto without adding cheese. Creating a vegan spinach basil pesto.

Step 3: Blend the Spinach Basil Pesto.

Add the basil, spinach and salt to the blender. Pulse until roughly mixed.

Step 4: Slowly add olive oil.

It’s important to add the oil in very slowly, otherwise it won’t emulsify well. Add the potato, if using.

Step 5: Mix in cheese.

Finishing it off with cheese and a squeeze of lemon juice brings out the bright summer flavors!

Check out my summer Puttanesca Sauce recipe and Broccoli Pesto recipe too!

PIN IT!

spinach pesto sauce in white bowl
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Spinach Basil Pesto Sauce
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
20 mins
 

Special tricks to create your greenest and creamiest pesto yet!

Course: Dressing / Sauce
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: pesto
Servings: 3 /4 cup, 4 servings
Calories: 171 kcal
Author: Emily Brees | OatandSesame
Ingredients
  • 1.5 Tbs toasted pine nuts cooled + crushed
  • 1 garlic clove pan roasted and roughly chopped
  • 1.5 cups packed basil leaves blanched
  • 1/2 cup packed baby spinach
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 small potato peeled + boiled (about 1/4 cup)
  • 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano optional
  • squeeze of lemon
Instructions
  1. Begin by toasting the nuts and garlic clove in a pan on the stove top. Depending on the nut, this should take 2-5 minutes. The garlic clove can be done simultaneously.

    Once cooled, adding them to the Cuisinart or blender and pulse until crushed into small pieces.

Blanching basil leaves (optional)
  1. Prepare an ice bath. Boil water in a small pot & blanch the basil leaves - 10 sec max. Immediately transfer them to an ice bath, reserving water for boiling the potato. Dry the basil leaves with a paper towel or herb spinner.
Using a boiled potato (optional)
  1. Boil the potato - cutting it into quarters will speed up the time it take to soften. 5-8 minutes. Set aside to cool or run under cold water to do this quickly.
Blend the Spinach Basil Pesto
  1. Add crushed nuts + garlic, basil leaves and fresh spinach to the Cuisinart. Add salt. Pulse a few times until roughly chopped.

  2. Slowly drizzle olive oil into the bowl and blend until emulsified and smooth. About 1-2 min. It's important to add the oil in very slowly, otherwise you'll end up with a chunky, oily mess.
  3. Add the potato (if using), pulse to incorporate into a creamy sauce.

  4. Transfer to a bowl and mix in finely grated cheese, if using, and a squeeze of lemon for brightness.

FOR STORING + FREEZING:
  1. Fridge: Pesto will store for 3-5 days in the fridge. Place a think layer of olive oil over the top to keep it green or lay plastic wrap directly onto the top of the pesto sauce. This keeps the air from oxidizing the pesto.
  2. Freezing: I use ice cubes trays for quick access. I recommend freezing without the cheese included. When defrosting, you don't want to heat it. Herb sauces are not meant for heating up! Defrost at room temp.
Notes

TIP: pesto is delicious in mashed potatoes. Boil a few extra to make some later with your finished pesto!!

Nutrition Facts
Spinach Basil Pesto Sauce
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 171
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.


bowl of pesto sauce

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I'm Emily - a home cook, gardener and recipe creator located in Flagstaff, AZ.

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