• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Life is but a Dish

Easy, approachable recipes for the everyday home cook

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • About Me
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Cakes, Cupcakes & Cookies
    • Chicken
    • Dessert
    • Dinner
    • Drinks & Cocktails
    • Dressings & Sauces
    • Fish & Seafood
    • Gluten Free
    • Grilling
    • Healthy
    • Instant Pot & Slow Cooker
    • Lunch
    • Meat
    • Muffins & Quick Breads
    • Pasta
    • Pizza
    • Quick & Easy
    • Salads
    • Sides
    • Snacks
    • Soups & Stews
    • Turkey
    • Vegetarian
    • Veggies
  • Cook with Confidence
  • Shop
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About Me
  • All Recipes
  • Quick & Easy Recipes
  • Cook with Confidence
  • Shop
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Easy Spinach Pesto

    Oct 3, 2018 / by Laney Schwartz / 52 Comments(updated Aug 2, 2021)
    ★★★★★ from 23 reviews

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
    Grilled Flank Steak w/ Spinach Pesto

    Sometimes you just need a good, simple pesto recipe. I love this one because it’s a little different (I use spinach instead of the traditional basil), but the recipe is so flexible you can get creative! This Easy Spinach Pesto is gonna be your new go-to sauce for everything.

    Grilled Flank Steak w/ Spinach Pesto

    How to make pesto you ask? Throw all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and boom bam pow you have pesto!

    This goes great over my Grilled Flank Steak or really any steak, chicken, fish or veggie recipe!

    Grilled Flank Steak w/ Spinach Pesto

    You can also make this ahead of time and pop it in the fridge or freeze for longer use! Hope you love it! For more recipes that make dinnertime rock, head to my free 5 Days of Dinner Meal Plan that takes the hard work out of that “What’s for dinner?” question. I got you!

    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
    Grilled Flank Steak w/ Spinach Pesto

    Easy Spinach Pesto

    ★★★★★ 5 from 23 reviews
    • Author: Laney Schwartz
    • Yield: 6
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Description

    Easy Spinach Pesto that goes great over fish, chicken, steak or veggies!


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 3 cups spinach (can also use basil, arugula or any greens!)
    • 1 clove garlic
    • 1/3 cup pine nuts
    • 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • pinch of pepper
    • 1/2 cup olive oil
    • 1/2 lemon

    Instructions

    1. In the bowl of a food processor or blender add the spinach, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, salt and pepper and pulse until well combined, but not totally smooth. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while pulsing. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

    Notes

    Pesto can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for 7-10 days or frozen for 3 months.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @lifeisbutadish on Instagram and hashtag it #lifeisbutadish

    Share this recipe!

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Filed Under: Dressings & Sauces, Gluten Free, Healthy, Quick & Easy

    Reader Interactions

      Leave a comment & rate this recipe Cancel reply

      If you love this recipe, please consider giving it a star rating when you post a comment. Star ratings help people discover my recipes online. Your support means the world and is greatly appreciated!

      xo, Laney

      Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

      Comments

    1. Alexyss

      May 15, 2022 at 7:57 pm

      Thank you for this great recipe! I use only 2 tbsp olive oil and then another 2 tbsp water and a very small amount of salt because I am making this for my 1 year old. Trying to add more iron and greens to his diet and he enjoys this sauce with his chicken! *huge win for me, happy mommy* haha thanks again!!!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Laney Schwartz

        May 25, 2022 at 5:38 pm

        Yessss!! Huge win for everyone!!

    2. Sue D.

      April 11, 2022 at 8:48 am

      This was terrific! I actually liked it just as much as pesto made with all basil. I had all the ingredients in my pantry. Oregano is just coming up in my yard so I added a couple tablespoons of that. It tasted so fresh and delicious on sundried tomato & goat cheese ravioli with fresh grape tomatoes.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Laney Schwartz

        April 24, 2022 at 6:49 pm

        Oh wow that sounds delicious, Sue!! Thanks so much for the 5 star review!

    3. Aline

      March 27, 2022 at 8:02 pm

      Just made this pesto and I have to say thank you so much for the amazing recipe! It was so easy and tasted sooo good! I used it to make farfalle pasta with pesto and peas! And my 3 year old and 1 year old both devoured it!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Laney Schwartz

        March 28, 2022 at 3:36 pm

        Such a win that the kids love it too!

    4. Sylvia

      January 19, 2022 at 10:07 pm

      I had spinach that was sitting in my fridge for quite a few days now. I was looking at leftover pasta that was asking for topping. Not sure how I ran across this recipe, but remembered it. I had cheese and garlic and fancy olive oil. Did have to go get pine nuts (expensive but worth it) and whipped up this pesto. OMG! Sooooo yummmy!!! I had no idea it was this easy and the pesto is sooooo delicious. Thank you for posting.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Laney Schwartz

        January 20, 2022 at 8:22 am

        Sooooo easy and delicious!! Thanks for the awesome review!

    5. Pam

      September 25, 2021 at 9:15 pm

      The best spinach pesto!! Made Italian Club Sandwich on Focaccia bread and spread it on the bottom focaccia bread, and it was excellent. Didn’t have pine nuts, so I used slivered almonds….so good!!!! Thank you

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Laney Schwartz

        September 26, 2021 at 7:57 pm

        Oooooo, love the idea of using almonds for this!

    6. Susan

      September 18, 2021 at 9:13 am

      This recipe is awesome. I changed it slightly since my daughter is vegan. I used Violife vegan parm and added extra. I also decreased the olive oil to about 1/3 cup and it came out GREAT. We have used this as a pasta sauce and as a pizza sauce:) Today I am going to try to use it in a pesto bread recipe. Spinach is our go to “green” for it’s nutritional value so I was very happy to find this pesto recipe. Thanks!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Laney Schwartz

        September 18, 2021 at 9:27 am

        Love how you were able to make swaps Susan! Thanks for the awesome review!

    7. Betsy

      March 17, 2021 at 9:20 am

      This looks great!
      Could I use almond flour? Since it’s just almond ground up. We really want to make this for st P day. But don’t have any pin nuts on hand. But I have everything else.
      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        March 17, 2021 at 12:01 pm

        Hmm, not sure how that would work. Even when the nuts are ground, they still have some texture. It’s worth a shot!

    8. Caroline Hornsey

      March 11, 2021 at 12:55 pm

      Hello and thank you so much for this delicious recipe! Three hungry kids and a very tired and hungry mama with no husband home…no pesto or basil in the house but a big bag of spinach so I looked up spinach pesto and found myself here…and I’m so glad. I had to use walnuts as we ran out of pine nuts but I’m sure it would be equally delicious! We all had seconds and there’s just enough left for my lunch tomorrow, win win! This is now my go to pesto recipe and next time I will be making x4 and freezing some! (Only sad we ate too quickly to take a photo for Instagram!)

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        March 11, 2021 at 2:14 pm

        Oh I love this Caroline! Thank you for the review!

    9. Kenny

      March 09, 2021 at 11:20 pm

      Can this be frozen? Without the cheese? Just the olive oil? It sounds so good, when spinach is ready!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        March 10, 2021 at 2:42 pm

        I think it would freeze well!

    10. Reggie

      March 07, 2021 at 9:00 am

      Excellent recipe! I wanted to make some Pesto for my Avocado Eggs and realized I was out of Basil! Thank goodness for your recipe! Im added an extra tablespoon of parmesan for flavor rather than adding salt directly. Substituted the pine nuts with brazil nuts my wife had sitting around. Added a little more pepper than a pinch for extra flavor. And my love for garlic added an extra tablespoon. Came out great! Thank you again!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    11. Felipa

      October 25, 2020 at 7:14 pm

      really easy and yummy – substituted frozen spinach and basil and still turned out great!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        November 02, 2020 at 3:02 pm

        Good to know! So glad you loved it

    12. Damian

      October 21, 2020 at 2:42 pm

      I love this. Have also added Jalapeno’s to this for a little extra KICK! Really great stuff! Who knew pesto would be so easy?!?!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        November 02, 2020 at 3:04 pm

        Hooray!!

    13. Nicole T

      October 20, 2020 at 10:59 am

      turned out great!! I substituted greek yogurt + water for the oil to be a bit healthier. This is my new favorite pasta sauce!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        November 02, 2020 at 3:05 pm

        Sounds awesome!

    14. Ana Feeney

      October 08, 2020 at 8:11 pm

      Oh man, this looks gorgeous and absolutely delicious!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    15. Dandre

      September 07, 2020 at 6:52 pm

      This pesto was absolutely delicious! So easy to make and love all the fresh flavors in this.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    16. Lesslie

      August 12, 2020 at 2:53 am

      This looks so delicious and beautiful! Can’t wait to make it! 💚
      Thanks for sharing

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    17. Lisa

      August 12, 2020 at 1:00 am

      So yummy! Love that gorgeous colour!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    18. Angelica

      August 09, 2020 at 6:41 pm

      This just looks so perfect, Katerina. I love spinach pesto even more than basil pesto (I know, I know… blasphemy).
      I love the addition of ricotta, too!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    19. Robert Marshall

      July 17, 2020 at 1:38 pm

      Is the spinach packed tightly, or is it just three loose cups?

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        July 30, 2020 at 1:28 pm

        I would say somewhere in between. I usually do 3 large handfuls

    20. Thegiftsports

      July 09, 2020 at 8:21 pm

      I cannot buy pine nuts. So I replaced it with walnuts. It was also great.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        July 14, 2020 at 6:50 pm

        Glad to know!

    21. Teetine

      July 09, 2020 at 8:18 pm

      Easy and delicious. My steak is better thanks to it. I love your recipe.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        July 14, 2020 at 6:51 pm

        Hooray!

    22. Kelly

      May 31, 2020 at 5:56 pm

      Thank you for a great recipe & beautiful pictures without a full-on manifesto of text…oh, the scrolling! I will be back for more recipes.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        June 01, 2020 at 12:18 pm

        You’re so welcome!

      • Penny

        August 19, 2020 at 2:14 pm

        This was the first time I saw this site I signed up!). I made the spinach pesto with walnuts, and it was deli pious. Thank you for the recipe
        I served it as the 1st layer in a plain glass bowl. Second layer was plain ricotta cheese. The 3rd layer was tomato jam I made earlier. It was beautiful and oh-so good. Next day, everything was even better, so I put the leftover on some pasta and enjoyed a wonderful lunch.

    23. Tarikk

      May 14, 2020 at 10:14 pm

      Does it have to be cooked/steeamed spinach or can I work with raw?

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        May 15, 2020 at 4:08 pm

        I’ve only used raw

    24. Anne

      April 29, 2020 at 6:35 am

      I used a full lemon and almonds with spinach and I had no leftovers. My hubby actually put extra pesto on his food. This is a very nice easy recipe for pesto that I’m going to have fun playing with..trying different nuts, different greens, etc. thank you!!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    25. C

      January 15, 2020 at 9:15 pm

      Also not as strong of flavoe as basil.

      Reply
    26. Kimberly Savage

      December 28, 2019 at 11:05 pm

      More a question than a comment. Why use spinach vs basil? Maybe just that spinach is cheaper? Like the advice to use walnuts or pepitas vs pine nuts to save money. I’m definitely on a budget!

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        January 06, 2020 at 8:46 pm

        Just a twist on the classic pesto!

      • Nancy Clark

        September 25, 2020 at 3:00 am

        I haven’t made it yet, preferring pesto made with basil, but I had no luck growing basil this year and buying large quantities is impossible, so I needed an alternative. My parsley is doing great and have made a combination of basil and parsley, but was still looking for other combinations. I am looking forward to using spinach..

    27. Amy

      November 16, 2019 at 6:39 am

      I made this today with pepitas, very good!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    28. Theresa Gunderman

      September 14, 2019 at 6:52 pm

      Use walnuts instead of EXPENSIVE pine nuts

      Reply
    29. Pam

      October 04, 2018 at 7:33 pm

      Any place special you get your pine nuts? They are quite pricey!!

      Reply
      • Life is but a Dish

        October 09, 2018 at 2:31 pm

        Trader Joe’s!

      • Sonya

        October 02, 2021 at 7:18 am

        You can also use sunflower seeds 😊

        ★★★★

      • Laney Schwartz

        October 02, 2021 at 7:35 am

        For sure!

    Primary Sidebar

    About me

    Welcome to Life is but a Dish! I create easy, approachable recipes for the everyday home cook. Behind every recipe, photo and blog post is me – just an everyday mom, home cook and girl who’s obsessed with food. Let me tell you a little bit about what makes me, me!

    READ MORE…

    6 cheat sheets to help jumpstart your success in the kitchen

    AS FEATURED IN:

    Life is but a Dish is featured in: Shape Magazine Buzzfeed Huff Post Los Angeles Magazine FeedFeed

    lifeisbutadish

    Recipes you can trust ⬇️

    LANEY - Easy Everyday Cooking
    Quick 5-minute lunch! Quick 5-minute lunch!
    7-Ingredient Chimichurri Sauce that goes on litera 7-Ingredient Chimichurri Sauce that goes on literally EVERYTHING! You gotta try it. Full recipe on the blog.
    2 minutes. 4 ingredients. Let’s go. ⁣ ⁣ 💚 2 minutes. 4 ingredients. Let’s go. ⁣
⁣
💚 Greek yogurt⁣
💚 Lime zest & juice⁣
💚 Salt ⁣
💚 Pepper⁣
⁣
Mix together and drizzle on everything. ⁣
⁣
Recipe: search Life is but a Dish Lime Crema
    Are we ready for salads yet? ⁣ ⁣ If so, this S Are we ready for salads yet? ⁣
⁣
If so, this Simple Kale Mango Salad is the perfect transition into spring. ⁣
⁣
The colors tho! 😍😍😍⁣
⁣
Recipe: Search Life is but a Dish Kale Mango Salad⁣
⁣
https://www.lifeisbutadish.com/kale-mango-salad/
    DINNER TONIGHT: Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas with Lime DINNER TONIGHT: Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas with Lime Crema. ⁣
⁣
✅ quick ⁣
✅ easy⁣
✅ delicious⁣
⁣
Who’s in? 🙋🏻‍♀️⁣
⁣
Recipe: https://www.lifeisbutadish.com/sheet-pan-shrimp-fajitas-with-lime-crema/
    This recipe is SO GOOD!!! Sautéed Zucchini, Corn This recipe is SO GOOD!!! Sautéed Zucchini, Corn & Mint Salad! 
.
Recipe: https://www.lifeisbutadish.com/sauteed-zucchini-corn-mint-salad-w-lemon-parmesan/
    I couldn’t love you any more if I tried. Happy b I couldn’t love you any more if I tried. Happy birthday to my baby, the sweetest, most gentle soul. ❤️
    FAQ: How do I get my chicken to be juicy and flavo FAQ: How do I get my chicken to be juicy and flavorful? ⁣
⁣
ANSWER: An awesome marinade. ⁣
⁣
There are some other key factors to making sure your chicken doesn’t taste like rubbery cardboard, 😝 but a marinade is an easy and great place to start. ⁣
⁣
Try this 5-minute Mexican Lime Chili Marinade that will leave you with delicious and juicy chicken every time. ⁣
⁣
Who’s ready for spring? 🌱⁣
⁣
https://www.lifeisbutadish.com/5-minute-mexican-lime-chili-marinade/
    Last minute dinner idea, inspired by you!⁣ ⁣ S Last minute dinner idea, inspired by you!⁣
⁣
Somebody shared that they made (and loved) this recipe yesterday and I was re-inspired to make this oldie but goodie! ⁣
⁣
Your shares mean everything so please keep cooking, keep sharing and make this Instant Pot Butternut Squash Pasta because OH EM GEE. 😍⁣
⁣
https://www.lifeisbutadish.com/instant-pot-butternut-squash-pasta/
    Load More Follow on Instagram

    Copyright © 2022 · Privacy Policy · Support by Foodie Digital