Looking for a quick, delicious and cheaper alternative to store bought pesto? Look no further. This spinach pesto is easy to make and goes with everyhting!
Spinach is one of those condiments that seems to go really well with anything! Pasta, crackers, bread – you know the drill. Keep reading if you want to know how to make spinach pesto!
What you’ll need:
1. Food processor
The easiest way to make pesto is with a food processor. All you need to do is add all the ingredients and pulse. If you are using a food processor, don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula every 10 seconds of pulsing. This way all the ingredients will be evenly processed.
For those who might be interested, I use a Kenwood food processor which I invested in a few years ago and it was worth every dollar! You could also use a mortar and pestle but depending on the size, the process could be slightly longer.
2. Spinach
I used baby spinach but you can use any spinach you have on hand. Originally, I started using spinach because basil is very expensive here in New Zealand (unless you grow it yourself). I found spinach to be a cheaper alternative that achieves a similar flavour.
3. Pumpkin seeds
Traditional pesto is made using pine nuts but I didn’t have any on hand. Instead I decided to use pumpkin seeds and it turned out great! If you decide to use pine nuts, or any nuts like walnuts, almonds etc., please let me know how it goes! The rest of the ingredients are hopefully easily accessible and available in most households.
Why make pesto at home?
Firstly, making pesto at home is great because you can adjust the flavour in any way you like! Another great advantage of making your own pesto is that it’s significantly cheaper than buying pesto from the supermarket. I estimated this 250ml batch of spinach pesto to cost about NZD$7.80 which costs $3.12/100g . When looking at the price of pesto at the supermarket, pesto costs anywhere between $3.23-6.80/100g. For the small amount of effort it takes to make, this makes it very worthwhile in my books.
Spinach Pesto
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 250 g baby spinach
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup rice bran oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients into a food processor. Pulse for about 10 seconds, then scrap off the sides. Repeat about 4-5 times until it forms a paste.
Did you make this recipe?
Did you like or make this spinach pesto? Don’t forget to leave a comment below or tag #fiveelementswithanna on Instagram.
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This pesto looks so yummy, and I love how it uses spinach – great idea!
Thank you so much! I’m so happy you like it 🙂
I loved your idea to make homemade pesto using spinach instead of basil. It’s so much easier to find spinach at the store!
Thanks Heidi! I thought so too 🙂