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Spinach Pesto

Spinach Pesto

This spinach pesto is so quick and easy to make, you’ll wonder why you ever bought pesto!  It’s the perfect, flavourful addition in so many recipes! Plus a quick recipe video!

Watch how easy this Spinach Pesto is to make here:

 


This spinach pesto is so quick and easy to make, you'll wonder why you ever bought pesto! It's the perfect, flavourful addition in so many recipes!

Do you love pesto?  Add it to anything and everything?  Or hate it?

I’m starting to really love it.  I’ve been making a pesto pasta recipe with it incessantly lately, and I’m kind of loving the fact that the kids think it’s the best meal ever.  And these are the same children that refuse to eat spinach.  For the most part my kids aren’t too picky, but they won’t eat spinach.  Unless it’s sneakily hidden in a pesto pasta sauce that is (or smoothies, they’ll usually drink those).  We’ll see how long I can keep up that deception by just calling it green sauce.

This spinach pesto is so quick and easy to make, you'll wonder why you ever bought pesto! It's the perfect, flavourful addition in so many recipes!

This spinach pesto is my new favourite recipe because it is so quick and easy to make, but also because I am completely incapable of growing basil (which is the usual green stuff in pesto).  For some reason it will never grow for me, even when I buy the plants that are well started instead of just planting seeds.  It still dies.  I don’t know what I’m doing wrong – isn’t basil supposed to be one of those plants that is easy to grow?

But then, I can’t grow zucchini either, which is completely baffling.  It’s only the most prolific plant ever – except in my garden.  In my garden it  inexplicably dies.  Every. Single. Year.

At any rate, I can’t grow basil, so I’m definitely not harvesting boatloads of the stuff to make pesto with.

This spinach pesto is so quick and easy to make, you'll wonder why you ever bought pesto! It's the perfect, flavourful addition in so many recipes!

So I made spinach pesto – because I love spinach, I can grow spinach, and spinach is always available at the store.  And evidently, spinach pesto is one way to get the green stuff into my children without any tears.

Clearly, it’s perfect.

Tips for perfect Spinach Pesto:

Yield: about 1 cup

Spinach Pesto

Spinach Pesto

This spinach pesto is so quick and easy to make, you’ll wonder why you ever bought pesto! It’s the perfect, flavourful addition in so many recipes! Plus a quick recipe video!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves, packed
  • 1/2 cup pecans
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 5-10 minutes until fragrant. Let cool.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the spinach, pecans, parmesan, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and zest, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
  3. Pulse a few times to combine everything.
  4. With the processor running, drizzle in the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil until the pesto is well combined.
  5. Use immediately or portion it into an ice cube tray to freeze to use later.
  6. Once it’s frozen you can pop out the pesto cubes and store them in a ziplock bag in the freezer until you’re ready to use them, up to 3 months.

Notes

Source: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8 servings

Serving Size:

2 tablespoons

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 174Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 343mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 4g

Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.


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Michele @ Bacon Fatte

Thursday 25th of May 2017

LOVE it - on anything and everything! And I love the spinach twist in your recipe... It's going to taste so good on our sammies this weekend! And tossed with some orzo and cherry tomatoes, and... Yes, on anything and everything! ;-)

Mariah @ Mariah's Pleasing Plates

Friday 24th of April 2015

This pesto is almost too pretty to eat! Almost ;-)

Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar

Thursday 23rd of April 2015

This pesto sounds great. I really need to make my own more often!

Erin @ Miss Scrambled Egg

Thursday 23rd of April 2015

Oooh, yum! This looks so refreshing. I love pesto, but always substitute in walnuts for pine nuts! I'm glad you do, too. Thanks for sharing.

Kelly - Life Made Sweeter

Thursday 23rd of April 2015

This pesto is gorgeous, Stacy! I can't really grow much either but for some reason my basil plant is the one that usually grows best so I am a huge pesto lover and making it with spinach sounds fantastic!

stacey

Thursday 23rd of April 2015

Haha, well I think basil IS supposed to be easy to grow! I just can't for whatever reason. :) Thanks Kelly!

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