Make this 15-minute Green Pasta recipe for nourishing and comforting family dinners! It’s incredibly easy to make, uses budget-friendly ingredients, and features the creamiest, dreamiest green spinach sauce.
Craving more easy vegan pasta dinners? Try my One Pot Vegan Pasta, Pesto Pasta Salad, Dairy Free Mac and Cheese, and Lemon Asparagus Pasta!
Whether it’s Saint Patrick’s Day, a summer evening, or a busy weeknight, this easy vegan Green Pasta has you covered!
Pasta is one of my go-to’s when making dinner for my family, and the secret to getting everyone’s plate clean is a really great pasta sauce. Like my Vegan Spinach Pesto and Vegan Bolognese, the green spinach sauce in this creamy green pasta recipe is what makes the meal memorable.
The sauce is easy to blend together with 7 simple, healthy, and budget-friendly ingredients and has a delicious savory depth of flavor. Pour it over your favorite pasta, and voila! A creamy, dreamy pasta dinner the whole family will love.
Why you’ll love this green pasta
- Green goodness – With a vibrant green color and rich, savory flavors, this healthy green pasta is hard to resist. Plus, it’s on theme for Saint Patrick’s Day!
- Indulgent but healthy – The healthy green pasta sauce (made from blended spinach, cashews, garlic, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice) is the star of this dinner. Swap the pasta noodles for bean-based pasta or gluten-free pasta. Or serve over roasted potatoes or vegetables if you prefer.
- Budget-friendly – The 9 ingredients in this recipe are simple, easy to find, and budget-friendly.
Frequently asked questions
The pasta is rich and hearty enough to enjoy on its own, or you can stretch the meal out even further with some mix-ins. Feel free to toss the green pasta with steamed broccoli, green beans, asparagus, peas, sun-dried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, and/or fresh basil, or top it with baked tofu or sliced seitan chicken for more protein.
Garlic bread and caesar salad are always welcome on the side! Or, for an Irish-themed feast, pair it with Irish soda bread and a Shamrock Shake for dessert.
For more flavor and nutrients, you can blend a handful of steamed broccoli florets, fresh basil leaves, cooked and wilted kale, or green peas into the green spinach sauce.
You can substitute the cashews in the sauce for an equal amount of sunflower seeds or raw slivered almonds, 1 medium ripe avocado, or 1 cup of white beans (like cannellini or navy beans).
Once cooled, store the leftover pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Freezing isn’t recommended.
Alternatively, blend the sauce as normal and pour it into ice cube trays. Freeze until the sauce cubes are frozen solid, then transfer them to a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw a few sauce cubes before tossing with the freshly cooked pasta, and enjoy!
Green Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces spaghetti or any pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 10 ounces baby spinach
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- 1/2 cup raw cashews*
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup vegetable broth or water
Instructions
- Boil the pasta according to package instructions, then drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil. Once warm, add the garlic and sauté for about a minute, until fragrant, but be careful not to burn it. Add the spinach and cook, stirring constantly, until it wilts and turns bright green.
- To a high powered blender, add the garlic/spinach mixture, as well as the nutritional yeast, salt, cashews, lemon juice and vegetable broth. Blend until very smooth.
- Add the drained, cooked pasta back to the pot (or skillet) and pour the green sauce over the pasta. Toss to coat all the noodles.
- Serve warm with parmesan, if desired and perhaps a red chili flakes or chopped pine nuts.
Notes
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Leftovers will keep for 2-3 days in a covered container store in the refrigerator. I don’t recommend freezing the pasta with the sauce, but the sauce itself can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw and warm before tossing with cooked pasta.
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You may substitute sunflower seeds, raw slivered almonds, 1 medium ripe avocado or even 1 cup white beans for the cashews.
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Use any pasta you like, from spaghetti to gluten free pasta or chickpea pasta. I used chickpea linguine. Or serve the sauce over roasted potatoes, cauliflower or any other vegetable you like.
- For the nutrition estimate, I used chickpea pasta. With regular pasta the protein is around 15 grams instead of 21 grams.
I have a lot of collard greens, do you think that could be used instead of spinach? Cooking it down really well of course!
Yeah probably! I hope it turns out wonderfully.
Shonlyn, did you make the sauce with collards and if so did you cook them to aldente or soft? How did the color compare to the spinach?
Absolutely delicious! I made a big batch of the sauce and tried it with Banza pasta and regular pasta – tastes great with both! Will definitely be making again.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and feedback! I’m so glad you loved the green pasta! Happy cooking!
this one is a favorite, in my regular rotation. i use frozen spinach, which i was initially nervous about this, but it turned out beautifully— and now i almost always have the ingredients on-hand, which makes it a snap to throw together on a busy weeknight. i almost always have enough sauce leftover for another serving, but it freezes beautifully. thank you nora!!
You are welcome, Theresa! I love easy and delicious! Sure love hearing the recipe is easy and delicious for you! Thanks for you wonderful review and feedback! Happy cooking!
Omg, this is incredibly delicious. It feels like something that would be served at an incredibly creamy Italian restaurant. I added some basil for fun!
I’m so excited you love the recipe! Thanks for sharing your positive feedback!
Oh my god this recipe is delicious!!! I added a few things, to the sauce I added a handful of fresh basil and twice as much nutritional yeast and to the final plate I added fresh tomatoes and marinated artichoke. Unbelievably yum town.
Also I made breaded air fried tofu to go with it (and red wine obv).
Thanks for another inspiring recipe Nora!
You are welcome, Alexa! Wow, your meal sounds fabulous! Thanks for taking time to share this stellar review and ideas! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
My kids loved this, even if I told them the green was food coloring 🙂 It was delicious and I am super excited to have a healthy green recipe!
Hi Julie. How fun that the pasta was a hit with the kids! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review and feedback!
Hi Nora! Just confirming…no soaking f the cashews? Thanks!
That is correct. Enjoy!
I made this for St. Patrick’s Day, and it was so easy and delicious, as well as the perfect color to celebrate. The sauce was so unbelievably tasty, I could eat that all by itself! My husband and seven year old son both loved it as well. This one will definitely go into the regular rotation!
Tasty and nutritious!
I made this for St. Patrick’s Day ☘️ and it was SO fun! I topped it with mushrooms, asparagus and sun dried tomatoes. The asparagus goes great with the lemon in this sauce. It was really delicious, easy to make and packed full of spinach. I will definitely make this again! Thank you for all of the wonderful recipes!
Delicous. I added a few more green veg I had lying around – delicious, nutritious sauce and so quick to pull together.
Thanks for your fabulous review and feedback! Glad you loved the recipe!
Delicious! I added a bit of red pepper flakes with the garlic and used half kale and half spinach. Also added some fresh basil to the mix. Easy and satisfying!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful review and feedback! I’m thrilled you love the pasta!