This spinach pasta sauce will make you fall in love with leafy greens! It’s a creamy sauce loaded with green goodness, plus nuts for texture and a bit of lemon juice for that extra zing. A truly perfect spring lunch!
Pasta with spinach might not sound like the most comforting meal of all, but this creamy spinach pasta sauce is here to challenge that!
It’s the kind of recipe that tastes so good you won’t even have time to think it hides so much veggie goodness.
You get a smooth, creamy sauce with lots of texture from the nuts and loads of flavor from the lemon, garlic, basil, and homemade vegan Parmesan cheese.
The green pasta sauce is perfect for making the entire family eat more leafy vegetables without even noticing. Oh, and it’s ready in under 30 minutes!
Why you’ll love this spinach pasta sauce
- It’s loaded with vitamins from the spinach, including vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, iron, and potassium. This means you get a pasta treat that’s actually good for you!
- This sauce is the perfect way to use up large quantities of fresh spinach you may have on your hands.
- The flavors are amazing, and you also get some pretty great textures from the combination of creamy and crunchy.
What goes into this creamy spinach pasta sauce
Olive oil — You only need a bit of olive oil to sauté the onion and garlic. You can also use some plant-based butter here for extra creaminess.
Onion and garlic are the aromatic base of your spinach sauce! I like to dice them finely so they soften quickly.
Spinach—You know those memes where people put entire bags of fresh spinach in a pan only to end up with a tiny bit of cooked spinach? This spinach pasta sauce recipe looks a bit like that. 😀
But in all seriousness, you can start with the recommended 8 oz (250 g) of fresh spinach and add more if you like.
Plant-based cream cheese: I used the cream cheese from Violife in this recipe, but you can use your favorite. You can also use homemade cashew cream instead.
Lemon juice — This adds just a bit of zing to the pasta sauce — freshly squeezed is always best!
Basil leaves — For even more flavor and freshness!
Nuts—I used a mix of toasted pine nuts and pistachio kernels, but you can use almonds, walnuts, or just about any nuts you like.
Vegan parmesan — I am never without this homemade vegan Parmesan in my fridge these days!
Pasta — The pasta you see in the pics is called “mezzi rigatoni” which is just a smaller type of rigatoni. Just any kind of pasta with ridges or tagliatelle would work great for this type of sauce.
How to make spinach pasta sauce
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, and cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions. Reserve 2 cups of pasta water before draining.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes until softened.
Add the spinach to the pot and stir to combine. Place a lid on the pot and cook for a couple of minutes until the spinach wilts.
Turn off the heat and add half a cup of pasta water to the spinach. Stir to combine, then use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until completely smooth.
Turn on the heat to low and stir in the plant-based cream cheese until completely melted.
Transfer the cooked pasta to the pot and toss well to cover it in the sauce. If needed, add more of the reserved pasta water to make it silkier.
Stir in the lemon juice, basil leaves, pistachio kernels, pine nuts and vegan Parmesan.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Top with extra pine nuts and vegan parmesan, if desired. Enjoy! Enjoy!
Recipe notes and tips
- You can use frozen spinach instead of frozen, but you’ll have to thaw it first and then squeeze the excess water.
- I used an immersion blender to mix the spinach in the pot. You can also put everything in a regular blender, then pour the smooth sauce back into the pot.
- Don’t skimp on adding pasta water! This makes the sauce extra silky and helps it cling better to the pasta.
Leftovers and storage
- Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat the pasta gently in a saucepan, adding a bit of water or vegetable broth to loosen it up. Alternatively, reheat individual portions in the microwave in short bursts.
- This pasta with creamy spinach sauce tastes best fresh, and I wouldn’t recommend freezing it.
If you liked this spinach pasta sauce, you might also like some of my other easy vegan pasta recipes:
- Vegan Baked Ziti
- One-Pot Vegan Chili Mac
- Easy Tomato Orzo
- Silken Tofu Pasta Sauce
- Chili Garlic Pasta
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Spinach Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 oz (250 g) pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 8 oz (250 g) fresh spinach
- 2.5 oz (75 g) plant-based cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup (30 g) pistachio kernels, toasted and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
- 2 tablespoons vegan Parmesan, plus extra for serving
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, and cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions. Reserve 2 cups of pasta water before draining.8 oz pasta
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes until softened.
- Add the spinach to the pot and stir to combine. Place a lid on the pot and cook for a couple of minutes until the spinach wilts.8 oz fresh spinach
- Turn off the heat and add half a cup of pasta water to the spinach. Stir to combine, then use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until completely smooth.
- Turn on the heat to low and stir in the plant-based cream cheese until completely melted.2.5 oz plant-based cream cheese
- Transfer the cooked pasta to the pot and toss well to cover it in the sauce. If needed, add more of the reserved pasta water to make it silkier.
- Stir in the lemon juice, basil leaves, pistachio kernels, pine nuts and vegan Parmesan.1 tablespoon lemon juice6-8 fresh basil leaves¼ cup pistachio kernels, toasted and roughly chopped2 tablespoons pine nuts2 tablespoons vegan Parmesan
- Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and serve immediately with some extra toasted pine nuts and vegan parmesan on top if you like.Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
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