Spinach Pesto Pappardelle

Spinach Pesto on Pappardelle pasta is an easy, tasty way to get some nutritious spinach onto the plate quickly and easily.

Spinach pesto.

Originally published Feb 2014. Updated August 2024. 

I’d never made pesto using spinach before. But with half a large bag desperately in need of being put to good use I decided to give it a try for lunch.

The kids in particular loved it and Olivia even had the pasta for lunch again the next day.

Spinach pesto on pappardelle pasta.

I was a little worried about using the spinach completely fresh as you would use basil in pesto. That’s mainly because I wanted to preserve the color, so I blanched it and patted it dry between layers of paper towels.

That method worked like a charm and the color was just as bright and inviting in the leftover refrigerated pesto even 2 days later.

This recipe is a great way to get the kids to eat their spinach and makes for a great side dish as well as a delicious lunch.

Spinach pesto on pappardelle pasta.

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Spinach pesto on pappardelle pasta.

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Spinach Pesto Pappardelle

Yield: 4 servings with pasta

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Spinach Pesto on Pappardelle Pasta is a tasty way to get some nutritious spinach onto the plate quickly and easily.

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Ingredients

• About 4 cups baby spinach leaves 1 cup wilted spinach
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• pinch black pepper
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 2 cloves finely minced garlic
• 1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Have a large bowl of ice water standing by. Drop the spinach into boiling water for only about 30 seconds.

2. Drain immediately and plunge the spinach into the ice water.

3. Drain and lay the spinach out on a few layers of paper towels and pat them dry before adding them to a blender or food processor along with the Parmesan, pepper, pine nuts and garlic.

4. I toast the pine nuts in the oven on a cookie sheet for a few minutes but you can toss them in a non stick saute pan for a couple of minutes until they begin to brown a little. Either way, watch them carefully, they can burn quickly.

5. Process on medium speed until the spinach and other ingredients begin to form a paste, then reduce the speed to low and begin slowly drizzling in the olive oil. If you want to use the pesto as a dip you can cut back on the amount of olive oil to make it thicker.

6. Makes enough pesto to coat about 1/2 pound dry pasta, like pappardelle, when cooked; enough for 4 servings.

7. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 404Total Fat 37gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 28gCholesterol 11mgSodium 387mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 6gSugar 1gProtein 12g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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