This spinach-and-ricotta sauce gets the name "green spaghetti sauce" because, well, that's what it looks like. It's a super kid-friendly, quick and easy weeknight pasta dinner that goes with so many different pasta shapes. You will love this silky green sauce packed with lots of spinach, fresh herbs, cheese... and the best part is it only takes a few minutes to make!
I grew up eating this pasta verde all the time. It is a totally nostalgic childhood favorite, though I knew it by its more fun nickname: Green Spaghetti Sauce. My mom originally got the recipe from one of the Moosewood cookbooks, where it's called "Pasta Verde."
In our house, it was known as “green spaghetti sauce,” probably because kids don’t get super excited about something called “pasta verde” and get even less excited about something called "spinach pasta sauce."
Personally, I don't usually like cooked spinach, but I do like this sauce.
It's unfortunate that I spent a decade not making green spaghetti sauce because I so associated it with being a "kid" meal that it never occurred to me to make it as an adult. But I revisited the recipe a few years ago when Smitten Kitchen posted a recipe for making homemade spinach pasta because I thought they'd go well together (they do!).
The sauce was good but didn't have quite as much flavor as its vibrant green color suggested, so I did some tinkering to make it more interesting to my adult palate.
I added Pecorino Romano cheese, doubled the amount of basil, upped the amount of garlic, and used freshly grated nutmeg instead of the pre-ground stuff. I also replaced 4 ounces of the ricotta with goat cheese for an even smoother, richer, and creamier texture.
A heavier-handed squeeze of lemon juice plus fresh parsley added hints of brightness and freshness, and the crunch of the toasted almonds sprinkled on top add a nice bit of textural variety.
I like fettuccini, linguini, or even a fancy long pasta shape like mafaldine to go with my green spaghetti sauce, but it's also great with rigatoni or penne or any other pasta shapes you like.
How to Make Green Spaghetti Saue
One of the best things about green spaghetti sauce is just how quickly it comes together. Who doesn't love a good dinner-by-way-of-blender moment?
Boiling the pasta is the longest step of the whole process. Other than that, it's just sautéing onions, wilting spinach, and then dumping the onions and spinach into a blender with the rest of the ingredients and letting the blender do the hard work for you. Dinner, done!
If you're really craving a meat or protein with this dish, I like to pick one with a bit of salt, like bacon, sausage, or pancetta. Something plain, like chicken, I find can be too bland.
To incorporate meat, I cook it in the same skillet I used to wilt the spinach (no extra dishes!) and add it to the pasta when I toss them in the sauce.
Use a Good Blender for Best Results
I've made green spaghetti sauce with a two different blenders over the years. The first was a $30, 12-speed model that worked fine, but stopped short of fully liquefying the sauce. No matter how long I ran it, I could always see visible flecks of spinach in the sauce, and it had more texture to it.
That all changed with my shiny Vitamix 5200. (This is not sponsored; I paid for it with my own money, and I recommend it because I genuinely love it.)
The Vitamix absolutely pulverizes anything I put in it. It completely breaks up all the ingredients, producing a smooth, bright green, fully emulsified pasta sauce.
This isn't to say that you need a monster blender in order to make this recipe. People have been making green spaghetti sauce long before super-powerful home blenders were on the market. A food processor will also work in a pinch.
A note for parents of small children (and messy adult eaters)
My mom always called green spaghetti sauce a "before bath dinner" because of it's unique ability to get literally everywhere. Your kids will probably love it, but the mess it makes is legit.
Be prepared with bibs, hats, rain ponchos, drop clothes, etc. if serving it to tiny humans who don't appreciate how much you spent on that carpet, goddammit.
I'm consistently surprised at how intent the green sauce is at getting on everything. Hand-wash your blender/any bowls you use to make this. Even after a trip through the dishwasher, you’re likely to find flecks of spinach on all your other plates.
📖 Recipe
20-Minute Green Spaghetti Sauce (Pasta Verde)
Recipe Notes
- If you’re really craving protein, pick one with some salt, like ground hot Italian sausage, bacon, or pancetta.
- If you make enough for leftovers, the best way to reheat the sauce is in a double boiler (to avoid curdling), or by tossing it with hot pasta and letting the pasta heat up the sauce. If you've refrigerated the pasta with the sauce on, toss it in a pan with a bit of oil and stir until it warms up. You could also serve the sauce cold on crackers or on bread, tbh (maybe in a grilled cheese of some sort?).
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- You can even use other leafy greens! You might need to adjust the other ingredients to taste depending on what greens you use. I often use green spaghetti sauce as an excuse to use up other fresh herbs I have around — you can certainly add fresh basil, some kale, or even arugula to your green spaghetti sauce.
- The original recipe used all ricotta and no goat cheese. If you're averse to goat cheese, you can absolutely replace it with more ricotta cheese!
- Recipe adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 130 grams onion (¾ cup, chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 100 grams raw spinach (about 3½ cups, packed)
- 140 grams ricotta cheese (a heaping ¼ cup)
- 113 grams goat cheese (one small log)
- ½ cup fresh parsley (roughly chopped)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about half a small lemon)
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon whole nutmeg (freshly grated, always!)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt (or more, to taste)
- 10 grams Pecorino Romano (¼ cup, finely grated)
- ½ cup slivered almonds (toasted)
Optional
- 4 ounces goat cheese (to replace 4 ounces ricotta)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 350°F. Rinse the spinach in a colander or salad spinner and set it aside, don't worry about getting it too dry.
- Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil in on the stove and cook pasta according to package directions.
- While the pasta cooks, sauté onions and garlic in oil over medium-low heat until onions are translucent.
- Tear the still-damp spinach into large pieces, and add it to the skillet with the onions and garlic. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and allow spinach to wilt, about 3-4 minutes.
- Toast the almonds on a sheet pan in the oven oven for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally). Remove to a small bowl.
- While the spinach wilts and the almonds toast, add the remaining sauce ingredients to the bowl of your blender. When spinach is wilted, but still very bright green, add it to the blender bowl and puree until very smooth. Taste and add salt or additional lemon juice if needed.
- Strain the pasta into a colander, than add it back to the empty pot. Toss with the green spaghetti sauce to coat (or serve the sauce ladled over the pasta separately).Top the bowls with more grated Pecorino Romano and lots of crunchy toasted almonds to serve.
Video
This post was originally published on 8/23/2019.
Patricia says
I made this for dinner tonight and my husband and I loved it!
Rebecca says
I’m so glad to hear that!!! 💕 thanks for leaving a comment!
Lori says
About how much pasta will this recipe cover - 1 lb?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
It will definitely be enough for a pound of pasta! Maybe a little bit more even.
Leann says
When I first tried this sauce, I wasn't totally sold on it. However, it came ALIVE with the pecorino (which I now keep in our fridge after discovering and falling in love with The Practical Kitchen's/Rebecca's cacio e pepe recipe). Now that dinner is over, I keep thinking about how much I enjoyed this bright, bright green sauce. It was fresh, creamy, herbal, and just as messy as the recipe promises. I'm looking forward to the leftovers for lunch, and I'll definitely add this to the rotation!
Rebecca says
Yessssss pecorino makes a HUGE difference! I used to think it was just a fancy version of parm but once I learned how different they are and how to use them together I now also keep both in the fridge. For emergencies!! 😂
Ellen K says
My husband sent me this recipe but he doesn't like goat cheese. Can I double the amount of ricotta or do you have another suggestion?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
So funny you ask — the original recipe didn't have any goat cheese and uses ricotta! But since I don't love ricotta and I do love goat cheese, I subbed in goat cheese in place of some of the ricotta. So yes, you can absolutely skip the goat cheese and do an additional 4 oz ricotta instead. Your husband will love it. Enjoy!
Ellen K says
We ALL enjoyed it! I did add in a little pasta water to make it less thick and saved some of the pasta water to warm it up with next day!
Marni says
Question. I notice you've given an all-goat-cheese option at the end in lieu of ricotta. If you cannot stand goat cheese, do you just sub in ricotta in the same quantity? Thanks!
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Absolutely!
DeeDee says
I've made this a few times and it's always a hit with the family. We prefer it with all ricotta. The last time I made it, I saved the scant cup left after topping a pound of pasta and used it to sauce pizza the next day. That was a huge hit! I topped the pizza with a sprinkle of mozzarella and dollops of ricotta mixed with pecorino and crushed red pepper. It was a great way to use up the last little bit of sauce. Highly recommend!
Monette says
A friend recommended this to me, and I'm so glad she did! Delicious! That same friend brought it on a Girl's Weekend and we ate the whole thing as a dip for veggies. Wow! Fantastic flavor and so healthy!
Rachael says
I cannot eat dairy so I substituted vegan cheese alternative Kite Hill Ricotta (did not easily find a pecorino version I like yet). Turned out delicious, herbal and bright.