Easy Spinach Walnut Pesto (Without Pinenuts!)

A good sauce can turn any bowl of rice, pasta, or salad into a great dinner. This includes my current obsession, Spinach Walnut Pesto.

I am a total sauce junkie. I want all the condiments on the table, all the time. Sometimes when I can’t decide what I want for dinner, I start by making a batch of a sauce or dressing that I love, and figure out what to make to go with it.

Why is this Spinach Pesto so great?

Generally speaking, pesto is a really nice way to get your greens in. If you've ever made pesto, you've seen first hand how grinding up greens with a food processor or a mortar and pestle transforms them from a massive pile of leaves into something that fits nicely into a mason jar. A spoonful of this Spinach Walnut Pesto has the same amount of green veggies in it than your average side salad. A spoonful of pesto over some tortellini is always a family favorite. Plus: It’s a great way to use up that bag of baby spinach that’s lurking around in your crisper drawer.

In a nutshell:

• This pesto packs a ton of leafy greens into a tiny package, helping you get your nutrients in.
• It's often a hit for picky eaters and kids. (Green pasta is always a hit!)
• It helps reduce food waste by extending the life of delicate, perishable greens (plus, you can freeze pesto to make it last even longer!)

Why no pine nuts?

I made this pesto recipe without pine nuts or basil to show just how versatile pesto can be. In fact, I rarely make the traditional Genovese-style basil & pine nut pesto. Basil isn’t readily available all year round, at least not where I live, and who can afford pine nuts anyway? I make my pesto based on whatever I have around. I use basically any nut or seed I have on hand, and any green thing that looks fresh and calls out to me. Nut-wise I tend to go with almonds, walnuts, or pumpkin seeds, and my favorite options for greens are parsley, spinach, arugula, or a combination of a few of those.

No greens? No problem!

Here's a curve ball: Pesto doesn’t have to be green! Directly translated, pesto means paste, so in theory it could be made from anything. For example you’ve probably seen the jar of sun-dried tomato pesto in your travels around the grocery store. It tends to live right next to the green one on the shelf.

Other types of pesto to try:

• Trapaneze pesto - made with tomatoes and almonds
• Sicilian pesto - made with ricotta cheese
• Pesto Calabrese - made with roasted peppers

Check out this article from the Pasta Project and this video from Pasta Grammar to learn more about regional pesto recipes!

Ingredients needed

• Walnuts - I like to use raw walnuts because of their buttery, neutral flavor. But if you prefer a toasted flavor, feel free to toast them!
• Spinach - I like buying the pre-washed baby spinach for convenience.
• Fresh parsley - You can also use more spinach instead, but I love the flavor of parsley in this pesto.
• Garlic - We're using raw cloves here. But if you don't like raw garlic, you can roast the garlic cloves first.
• Extra virgin olive oil - For silkiness and richness.
• Salt - To bring all the flavors together.

Wait, no cheese?

That's right! You may have noticed there's no cheese in this recipe. That's because when I first made it, I didn't have any Parmesan or other dry, crumbly cheeses available to me. But I loved the result so much, that I made the recipe without it! That said, you can absolutely add cheese to this recipe, but you should add it and taste it before adding the salt, so you can adjust the salt level.

How to make this Spinach Walnut Pesto

This little sauce is a cinch to make, as long as you have a food processor or a high-powered blender. A mortar and pestle works too, but it’ll take much longer.

1. Start by grinding the walnuts, garlic, and salt in the food processor until everything is roughly chopped.
2. Add in the spinach and parsley, pulse until it’s mostly chopped up, then continue to blend while you slowly drizzle in the olive oil.

That's it! Told you it was easy! 😄

How to customize this Spinach Walnut Pesto

This basic spinach walnut pesto recipe can be altered in many ways.

• If you want to thin it out for a dressing, squeeze in some lemon juice and/or water.
• If you want it to be cheesy (which pesto usually is) by all means, get some Parmesan in there!
• Add a few red pepper flakes to turn it into a spicy pesto.
• Roast the garlic to swap out that raw flavor for a mellow, sweet garlic flavor

What goes well with pesto?

Around my house, this bright green multi-purpose magic sauce makes its way onto things like roast chicken, roasted sweet potatoes or other veggies, french lentils, salads, and so much more. It’s hard to think of anything that won’t be improved with a dollop of this stuff! Here are a few of my favourites:

• Add a spoonful to a bowl of soup
• Serve on the side of roast potatoes or other roast veggies
• Use as a topping for baked potatoes
• Serve on the side of roast chicken
• Add lemon juice to turn it into a quick salad dressing for your at-home salad bar

Let me know what you love to eat your pesto with! Tag me on Instagram @howtomakedinner with your pesto creations.