5-Minute Spinach Pesto (No Basil Needed!)

When basil season disappears, which in Michigan happens fast, this spinach pesto steps in as the perfect swap for my 5-minute basil pesto. It's bright, garlicky, and comes together in just five minutes with simple ingredients. The best part? Spinach is available year round, so you can make this any time the pesto craving hits.

This isn't just a pasta sauce. Spread it on a sandwich, use it on pesto salmon, stir it into a spinach omelette, or use it as a base for sheet pan pesto gnocchi. Once you have a jar of this in the fridge, you'll find yourself reaching for it constantly.

Key Ingredients

• Baby spinach: Fresh is best here. If you're using frozen in a pinch, make sure you squeeze out every bit of liquid before it goes into the blender. Extra moisture will make the pesto watery and dull the flavor.
• Pine nuts: The classic choice. To extend the life of an open bag, store them in the freezer. The oils in pine nuts go rancid quickly at room temperature.
• Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated from a block gives you the best texture and flavor. If you want to keep things simple, pre-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano works great. Just skip the green shelf-stable can, it won't melt in properly.
• Garlic: Fresh is ideal, but the frozen garlic cubes are my everyday shortcut. Two cubes does the job perfectly.
• Lemon juice: Don't skip it. It brightens everything up and keeps the pesto from tasting flat.
• Olive oil: Stream it in slowly while blending. This will gives you that smooth, emulsified consistency rather than a chunky paste.

How to make spinach pesto in 5 minutes

Step 1: Put the cheese, garlic, pine nuts and lemon juice into your blender (I used my Vitamix) or a food processor and blend until well combined. Start by pulsing or use a low speed before going to full speed. It will prevent the nuts from just spinning around at the bottom.

Step 2: Add the spinach to the blender container.

Step 3: Stream in the oil while blending, you're looking for a thick, scoopable consistency, still with a little texture.

Step 4: Use immediately in your favorite recipe. Or store it for later in your fridge or freezer.

One tip worth knowing: if you have time, let the pesto rest in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving. The flavors come together and it tastes noticeably better than eating it straight from the blender.

Best ways to use spinach pesto

• In a simple pasta dish: The spinach pesto is a great base quick pasta dishes. The basic method is to cook the pasta as directed, reserving about ½ cup cooking water before draining. Add spinach pesto and a splash of pasta cooking water and stir together. Then season to taste.  Swap for the spinach in this spinach lemon orzo dish.
• As a swap for basil pesto: Try it in any recipe you have that calls for pesto.  I especially like it in my creamy pesto pasta.
• As a flavor boost: Add the pesto to any pasta sauce you are making for an extra flavor boost.  Try using it as a layer in my spinach ravioli bake or a dollop in a spinach artichoke spaghetti.
• With a protein: Top a piece of salmon with the spinach pesto in this popular 2-ingredient pesto salmon recipe.

Recipe FAQs

Make ahead and freeze the pesto

This pesto keeps beautifully and is worth making in a big batch. Store in a clean jar with a tight lid in the fridge for up to 10 days. The tight seal helps prevent oxidation and keeps it bright green longer. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface before putting the lid on for extra protection.

To freeze, scoop into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid, then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag. Pull out however many cubes you need and thaw overnight in the fridge. One frozen cube is just enough to stir into one pan lemon garlic pasta or gnocchi marinara for an instant flavor boost and ½ cup of pesto is what you need for spinach pesto pasta.

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