Lemony Spinach & Pea Pesto Pasta

06/30/22

(Updated 02/04/24)

Calling all pesto pasta fans! This evergreen nutritious pasta dish uses spinach and peas as its sauce base, making it jam-packed with vegetables. Enjoy a bowlful as is, or add your pick of protein-rich foods for a nutritionally balanced meal.

Are you looking for a tasty dish to boost your vegetable intake? Look no further than this lemony spinach and pea pesto pasta.

It’s fresh, flavourful and packed with vegetables (a mini Mount Everest pile of baby spinach!). The sauce is similar to classic pesto, featuring key ingredients like pine nuts and olive oil, but with its own spin – it’s dairy-free, and champions parsley instead of basil as its herb hero.

It’s a scrumptious quick and easy vegan-friendly dinner idea, taking less than twenty minutes to whip up.

Ingredients Needed & Subsitutions

  • Baby spinach. A nutritious leafy green that’s rich in plant-based iron. You could use a larger leaf variety if you can’t find baby spinach.
  • Frozen peas. A super convenient and economical veggie to keep handy in the freezer. Their light and mild flavour work well at helping bulk the pesto out.
  • Parsley. I recommend curled leaf, aka common parsley, but you could use Italian parsley or even substitute with fresh basil.
  • Pine nuts. The nut of traditional pesto! Pine nuts are gorgeous here, but they can also be a bit spendy – feel free to substitute in another nut (like almonds, cashews or walnuts) or even seeds (like sunflower or pumpkin).
  • Lemon. Lemon juice and zest bring vibrancy and brightness to this dish. If you’re a big lemon fan, go heavier with the juice – make sure to add another lemon to the shopping list.
  • Garlic. Two cloves make this nice and punchy in the flavour department. Garlic cloves can range in size from small to extra-large. Use cloves in the middle – if you have larger cloves, you might want to cut down, and if your cloves are teeny tiny you might want to throw in an extra.
  • Extra virgin olive oil. An incredibly nutritious ingredient to keep in the cupboard. EVOO is the kingpin ingredient of the Mediterranean diet and a rich source of antioxidants and heart-healthy fats.
  • Spaghetti pasta is my pasta pick here, but you could substitute another type. Aim for 85g dry weight/person. Go for regular or gluten free.

Kitchen Tips

  • Flash boil spinach and peas for just a few short minutes before blending. This will defrost the peas and soften the flavour of the spinach.
  • Reserve some magical pasta water. When boiling pasta, you might notice the water becomes cloudy as it cooks – this is starch being released by the pasta. It has impressive binding properties, and when combined with something fat-rich (like olive oil) will create an emulsion aka a smoother, tastier sauce.
  • Season, to taste. We have different taste buds preferences, which is why all my recipes advise seasoning until it tastes balanced to you. Have fun and play here – just remember that you can add but you can’t take away!

Serving Suggestions

Many of the meals on Nourish & Tempt follow a balanced eating approach– they feature good nutrient diversity across the various food groups.

While we never need to be all-or-nothing with our diet, if you do want to make this dish more nutritionally balanced for lunch or dinner, look to add a serving of protein-rich food.

Pan-fried chicken thigh is incredible sliced and tossed through, or, to keep this vegan or vegetarian friendly, add a tin or two of cannellini beans.

Thanks for reading! Looking for another vegetable-packed meal idea? Try this lentil-walnut bolognese sauce🍝

Spinach & Pea Pesto Spaghetti Pasta

Serving Size: 4
Rating:

Ingredients:  

  • 120 g fresh baby spinach
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup finely chopped parsley
  • ½ cup pinenuts
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice of (should equate to around 3 Tbsp of fresh juice)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 340g (85g per serve) dry spaghetti pasta (regular or gluten free)
  • ¾ cup reserved pasta water
  • Salt and pepper

To garnish (optional)

  • Extra pine nuts, chopped parsley, shaved dairy or vegan parmesan cheese, and lemon juice

Method:

  • In a large saucepan bring water to boil. Cook pasta accordingly to packet instructions.
  • Bring a small saucepan of water to boil. Add spinach and peas, and boil for a few minutes.
  • Drain spinach and peas in a colander. Rinse with cold water.
  • Add to a food processor the spinach, peas, parsley, pine nuts, lemon juice and zest, and garlic. Blend on a medium speed until relatively smooth (a little texture is AOK). You may need to stop your machine and scrap down the sides a few times.
  • Add a generous pinch of salt and a few turns of the pepper shaker. With the machine running, slowly pour in the oil and blend until smooth.
  • Taste test. Add more salt and pepper until it tastes well seasoned to you.
  • Once the pasta has finished cooking, before draining remove a cup of water from the pot and keep cup aside – be careful as you do this as it will be very hot.
  • Add drained pasta back into its pot. Add pesto and ¾ cup of the reserved pasta water. Mix well – the water will help loosen the pesto and make a sauce that coats the pasta. Add another splash of water if needed.
  • Taste test and adjust seasoning – you may need more salt or pepper, or a squeeze more lemon if handy.
  • Add to serving bowls. Garnish with extra pine nuts, parmesan or vegan cheese, and chopped parsley (optional).

Notes:

If reheating the next day, rehydrate with a good glug of olive oil. 

Leave a Comment & Rate this Recipe

If you enjoyed this dish, please consider giving it a star rating when you post a comment. Star ratings help others discover my recipes online (and your reviews make my day! 🙂 ). Happy cooking and baking. Danijela x

5 from 5 votes (1 rating without comment)

Recipe Rating




    10 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Just tried this today and it was absolutely delicious!! Taste sensation,
    Seriously!
    Added bonus that my 1 year old and 4 year old also loved it, great to get all the greens into them. Thanks for the wonderful recipe I’ll be making this many more times that’s for sure.

  2. 5 stars
    This was so delicious, I love quick and easy meals and minimal washing up and this was amazing. 😍

  3. 5 stars
    made this as a last minute dinner, and added 200ml of coconut milk instead of the water, absolutely delicious and very fast to make

  4. 5 stars
    Lovely simple pesto just fits the bill perfect quick simple supper. I’ll be keeping this recipe to make again. Really fresh and bright flavour goes beautifully with dry Sherry or white wine.

  5. This looks amazing. Is there any information available about nutrients for this recipe e.g calories, fats, carbs, fibre per portion etc?

    • Hi Miri, thanks for your comment. I don’t currently upload nutritional information alongside recipes (I may change this ahead as you’re not the first person who has asked!). My favourite easy web tool for nutritional analysis is Cronometer, I find it quite accurate xx