Green Pasta with Spinach Sauce (Easy 20-minute Recipe)

A superbly flavorful 5-ingredient creamy green spinach pasta sauce that you can whiz together in a few minutes with optional lemony Parmesan breadcrumbs to add even more texture and deliciousness.

For more pasta recipes that can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes, check out my Creamy White Wine Pasta Sauce, Sage Butter & Walnut Pasta, Tomato Mascarpone Pasta, and Basil Pesto Linguine.

Or for another green sauce recipe try my Green Spinach Risotto. It's made with spinach and fresh basil and also has a vibrant green color.

The post contains additional information and helpful tips to ensure the recipe turns out great the first time. Please use the link above to jump to the full recipe card if you are in a hurry!

✅ 6 reasons why you'll love this recipe:

1. It's super flavorful - a fresh creamy green pasta sauce, brimming with delicious citrusy lemon flavor and umami taste of garlic and freshly grated Parmesan.
2. Just 5 ingredients - you just need spinach, a lemon, Parmesan, garlic and sour cream.
3. The easiest pasta sauce that is perfect for a weeknight dinner. It really is just a case of throwing the ingredients in your food processor and pureeing for a few minutes.
4. A great recipe to make ahead - make a larger batch and store in the fridge so it's ready and waiting to be thrown onto some freshly cooked pasta or ravioli.
5. Healthy pasta sauce - that packs in lots of nutritious green veggie goodness.
6. Includes optional lemony Parmesan crumbs - these add even more yummy taste and texture to the finished dish and only require an extra 5 minutes of your time.

🛒 Ingredients:

This zesty spinach sauce just requires 5 simple ingredients: fresh spinach, lemon, Parmesan, garlic powder, and sour cream.

• Pasta: Use any shape you fancy. I like to use short pasta shapes like fusilli or rigatoni.
• Spinach: Use fresh spinach or baby spinach instead of frozen. This recipe has not been tested with frozen spinach, and it is likely to increase the water content of the sauce.
• Sour cream: Use full-fat or low-fat.
• Garlic powder: you can also use fresh garlic cloves instead, but you will need to mellow it first, so it doesn't add an unwanted sharp flavor to the sauce.
• Parmesan: to give the green sauce a punchy savory taste.

Substitutions

Note that the recipe has not been tested with all the substitutions and variations below, so the results cannot be guaranteed.

• Parmesan: Switch for freshly grated pecorino, Grana Padano, or nutritional yeast for a dairy-free alternative.
• Sour cream: You could also use pouring cream or crème fraîche instead. Avoid using heavy cream or cream cheese because you won't get the right consistency and the sauce would also be too rich.

Variations

• Add red pepper flakes for a touch of heat.
• Serve with cooked chicken for extra protein
• Add nuts like pine nuts or toasted cashews
• Add extra green veggies like green peas or beans

🧑‍🍳 Recipe steps

1. While the pasta cooks, place the spinach and the rest of the ingredients for the sauce into your food processor and blitz until you get a puréed sauce, scraping off any chunks that are stuck to the sides as you go.

2. Place a small skillet over a medium heat and add olive oil (or melted butter). Add the breadcrumbs when the oil is hot and stir in a little bit of lemon zest and garlic powder. Remove them from the pan when they begin to brown, place them into a bowl and stir in the Parmesan.

3. Add the spinach sauce to freshly cooked al dente pasta or ravioli, top with Parmesan crumbs and enjoy.

👍 Recipe tips

1. Scrape the sides of the food processor - you'll probably find stray pieces of spinach get stuck to the sides. I always do! Scrape these back into the sauce with a spatula to ensure your spinach sauce is perfectly smooth.
2. Use garlic powder instead of fresh - fresh garlic will work as well, but it will add a sharp bitter taste if you don't mellow it first. It's much easier to use garlic powder.
3. Reserved pasta water adds silky richness and additional flavor to any pasta dish. Set a cup of the pasta water aside before you drain the cooked pasta and stir it into the spinach sauce before you add it to the pasta.
4. Don't turn your back on the Parmesan and lemon crumbs - they can go from nicely brown to burnt in a matter of seconds.

🙋 FAQs

📦 Storage

Leftover sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Just make sure you cover it with plastic wrap or put it into an airtight container.

It is safe to freeze the sauce for up to 3 months, although I wouldn't recommend it. Freezing is likely to alter the consistency of the sauce because cream is sensitive to frozen temperatures. Plus, it's so easy and quick to prepare, that there's no reason not to whip a batch of fresh green sauce.

😋 More green pasta and risotto recipes