You guys know that I like pesto right? Are you sure? Ok. Because if you don’t already know, I’ll be glad to tell you again. I love it. I mentioned last week, when I posted my recipe for Smoked Turkey Pesto Pasta Salad, that I would share my recipe for my favorite pesto sauce, spinach basil pesto, and now I am. It really is my favorite. It’s my favorite because it’s the best. It’s the best because it’s adding the spinach makes the basil go a lot farther, and basil can be expensive. Even when I grow my own, there’s never enough.
This recipe makes it easy for you to enjoy any of your favorite pesto-based meals for a lot cheaper. It’s a 2:1 ratio of spinach to basil, so whatever you make will be extra green. I also opted to skip the pine nuts – although you’re more than welcome to use them yourself if you want – and I went for sliced almonds this time. In the past, I’ve used walnuts and even mixed cocktail nuts in a pinch. You really can’t go wrong, but I would steer clear of straight up peanuts since the flavor is so overwhelming.
Next up for my pesto crazy self? Pesto fries inspired by the ones I just had at a local restaurant!
Spinach Basil Pesto Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: about 2 cups
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups basil leaves (2.5 ounce package)
- 4 cups spinach leaves
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 2/3 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Nutrition
- Calories: 0
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
In the mood for more pesto recipes? Check out these:
- Smoked Turkey Pesto Pasta Salad
- Cilantro Pesto
- Savory Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
- Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
- Pesto Chicken Salad
- Cilantro Peanut Pesto
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10 Comments
Amy | Club Narwhal
April 16, 2014 at 10:36 amOh, I am so with you–pesto for life! I love that you bulk things up with spinach, especially since basil runs out so quickly in our house 🙂 We made pesto over the weekend and it was gone in pretty much a split second.
Fawn @ Cowen Park Kitchen
April 17, 2014 at 7:15 pmI love this idea! I too am a pesto-maniac. I’ve made parsley pesto, cilantro pesto, kale pesto, broccoli pesto…so many lovely green options!
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Maryam
April 30, 2014 at 10:40 amHey –
Quick question regarding the basil and spinach. Do you pack it in, and that’s 1 cup….or is it just lightly measured by not shoving it in?
x
Melissa Belanger
May 1, 2014 at 2:51 pmYou don’t have to pack it in. Just fill the measuring cup so that there isn’t a ton of space for air. 🙂
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