What makes the sauce green?

Spinach! I add a whole box of baby spinach you find in grocery stores so basically this is spinach sauce but with lots of other flavors so you don't actually taste the spinach much at all.

What pasta can I use?

I like using spaghetti but any pasta shape works . You can use gluten-free if needed.

Yes, unless you add the pecorino. To make the sauce cheesy and to add saltiness, I add grated pecorino (or parmesan) cheese to the sauce. You can omit it or add nutritional yeast instead to keep the recipe 100% vegan friendly.

Can you make the sauce ahead?

You can blend up the sauce the night before for lunch or dinner the next day but I don't recommend making it any further in advance. Blending the sauce only takes a minute!

Spinach Green Pasta Sauce

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5 from 9 reviews

Spinach Green Pasta Sauce

Recipe by Veronika Sykorova

This green pasta sauce is blended and ready in minutes, all you gotta do is cook your spaghetti, sautee some onion, and warm up your sauce!

Total Time30 minutes
Yield3-4 1x
DietVegetarian

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 cup milk of choice (I like cashew milk here)
1/4 cup vegetable stock (or water/more milk)
3 cloves garlic
140g baby spinach (1 box, approx. 4 cups packed)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp tapioca starch (or cornstarch)
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/4 tsp sea salt (plus more to taste)
1 tbsp avocado oil (or other cooking oil)
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt
8 oz spaghetti
A squeeze of lemon (optional but recommended, approx. 1 tsp)
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (or parmesan, plus more for serving)
Freshly ground black pepper

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Instructions

Add the milk, vegetable stock, garlic, baby spinach, fresh basil, tapioca starch, chili flakes, and sea salt to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. The sauce will be thin but will thicken as it cooks later.
Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add the finely chopped onion and sea salt. Cook, stirring often for 5-7 minutes until translucent.
Add a splash of vegetable stock or water to the pan before adding the sauce to deglaze so the milk doesn’t burn. Pour in the blended sauce and stir.
Let the sauce simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
While the sauce is simmering, cook the spaghetti according to package instructions.
Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water and drain and rinse the spaghetti.
Add them to the sauce along with a squeeze of lemon, and toss gently to combine. Add pasta water as needed.
Serve with more Pecorino, black pepper, or more chili flakes if desired.

Notes

Saltiness: Pecorino is a very salty cheese so I only add ¼ tsp of salt to the sauce. If you’re using parmesan or no cheese at all, I recommend adding a pinch more salt or ½ tsp.

No cheese: To make this sauce completely vegan or vegetarian, you can substitute the pecorino with nutritional yeast. Add 2 tbsp to the sauce and add more as needed to taste for serving.

Lemon: The lemon is added to bring freshness and a little bit of acidity to the sauce. You can skip it if you don’t have any lemon or substitute it with ½ tsp balsamic vinegar which is different but really good.

Storing: Store the pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Add to a large pan with a splash of water to reheat. If it’s regular pasta, it should be ok. If it’s gluten-free, it might fall apart a little when you warm it up.

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Category: Pasta
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American

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Find it online: https://thehealthfulideas.com/spinach-green-pasta-sauce/