• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Cooking With Elo
  • Recipes
  • About
    • About Me
    • Work With Me
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • E-book
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • E-book
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Easy Dinners

    15-Minute Vegan Spinach Pasta

    May 18, 2021 by cookingwithelo Leave a Comment This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe

    Quick and easy vegan spinach pasta recipe that comes together in no time. It's loaded with veggies, and full of flavor with the added garlic and lemon juice. It's an easy vegan pasta dish that is life-saving on busy weeknights.

    Jump to:
    • 15-minute dinner
    • Step by step with pictures
    • Can I use frozen spinach?
    • Storage tips
    • Substitutions
    • More vegan pasta sauce recipes
    • The recipe

    15-minute dinner

    This simple vegan spinach pasta is so delicious I can't believe it's that easy to prepare. I should probably say that it's a very beginner-friendly recipe that works for busy people and students! You could almost call this recipe "lemon spinach pasta" or "garlic spinach pasta" because of its intense lemon and garlic flavor.

    It is a 15-minute dinner can be made at any time as long as you keep frozen in your freezer and lemon in your fridge to make the spinach pasta sauce. If you need another quick noodle recipe that is ready in 15 minutes, try this one.

    Step by step with pictures

    Dry roast the pine nuts. Add the pine nuts to a pan without oil. Toast the nuts until golden brown while stirring regularly to prevent them from burning.
    Mince the garlic. Start by peeling and mincing the garlic. Add it the same hot pan with some olive oil.

    Add the spinach. You might need to add it in two or three times. Wait until the first handfuls of spinach have cooked down before adding the rest. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper and give it a stir.

    Blend to make the spinach sauce. Add the spinach to a blender and blend until creamy. It shouldn't take long, which is why you can do it while it's still hot. You could also add it to a container and blend it with a stick blender. Add the sauce back to the pan.

    Add the sauce to the pasta. When cooked (according to instructions provided on the package), drain the pasta. Add them to the pan with the sauce and stir until well-coated. Serve with pine nuts.

    Can I use frozen spinach?

    Yes, you can absolutely make this vegan spinach sauce with frozen spinach! Let it thaw ahead of time and add it to the pan following the same instructions. Otherwise, you can also reheat the frozen spinach in a small pot or saucepan over low heat until thawed. Then, add the olive oil, minced garlic and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.

    Storage tips

    You can store the spinach pasta dish for 1 day in the fridge (perfect for meal-prepping). Or you can make the sauce ahead of time and keep it in an air-tight container for 2 to 3 days in the fridge. Cook the pasta right before serving.

    You can easily freeze the spinach sauce for later. I don't recommend freezing the meal when you already added the sauce to the pasta. Gluten-free pasta doesn't hold it's shape and texture very well after being frozen.

    Substitutions

    This spinach sauce is completely vegan and nut free. Use gluten free pasta to make it gluten free.

    More vegan pasta sauce recipes

    • The best marinara (from canned tomatoes)
    • Rice noodles with peanut butter sauce
    • Pea pesto pasta with mint or basil
    • Vegan cashew pesto
    • Tomato sauce from canned tomatoes on spaghetti
    • Pea pesto pasta
    • Basil-pesto

    The recipe

    Vegan spinach pasta

    15-Minute Vegan Spinach Pasta

    5 from 1 vote
    Quick and easy vegan spinach pasta recipe that comes together in no time. It's loaded with veggies, and full of flavor with the added garlic and lemon juice.
    Print Pin
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 15 minutes
    Servings: 14
    Author: Eloïse Jennes

    Ingredients 

    • 320 g gluten free pasta
    • 2 handfuls of pine nuts
    • Olive oil
    • 4 cloves of garlic
    • 400 g fresh baby spinach
    • 1 lemon
    • 1 pinch of coarse sea salt and pepper

    Instructions

    • Bring salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Drain when cooked. To prevent gluten free pasta from sticking to each other, you can run them under cold water.
    • In a large pan, dry-roast the pine nuts without oil over medium-high heat. Wait until they are golden brown and stir regularly. Set aside.
    • Wash the spinach. Peel the garlic cloves and crush them with a garlic press (or mince them with a knife). Juice the lemon.
    • Heat a generous amount of olive oil in the pan you used for dry-roasting the pine nuts (medium-high heat). When hot, add the garlic.
    • Add half the spinach and wait until it is cooked down. Add the rest of the spinach. Add the lemon juice, coarse sea salt, pepper and sauté for a few minutes. Then, add to a blender or food processor and blend until creamy.
    • Add the spinach sauce and the pasta back to the pan. Toss the pasta until completely covered in sauce and top with the pine nuts.
    Leave a rating and comment below! Thank you!Don't forget to mention @cookingwithelo on social media

    If you tried this recipe, make sure to let me know how you liked it by rating it and leaving a comment below! Your feedback really matters! Follow me on Instragram, Pinterest and Facebook to never miss a recipe.

    Pin it for later

    Discover more recipes

    • Breakfast
    • Easy Dinners
    • Healthy Snacks

    More Easy Dinner Recipes

    • Grey ceramic plate filled with rigatoni covered in red sauce and topped with fresh basil.
      Pasta Sauce With Passata (Tomato Puree)
    • Grey ceramic plate with twisted linguine covered with green basil pesto.
      Pasta Al Pesto (Linguine With Basil Pesto)
    • Pizza with vegan white sauce cut into six pieces.
      Vegan White Sauce Pizza With Spinach (No Cheese)
    • Close-up shot of a ceramic bowl with white rice on the left and green curry with tofu on the left.
      30-Minute Green Curry With Tofu

    This site contains affiliate links which means that I may receive a commission if you purchase through that link, at no extra cost to you. However, please know that I only provide links to products that I actually use and wholeheartedly recommend! Please read out full disclosure here.

    Reader Interactions

    Did you like this recipe? Let me know! Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Elo-portrait

    Hi, I'm Elo!
    My goal is to make vegan and gluten-free cooking easy and enjoyable. I provide simple recipes to help you meal prep according to your dietary restrictions and hope some of them will make the list of your all-time favorites!

    More about me →

    Popular Vegan & GF Dinners

    • Grey ceramic plate with twisted linguine covered with green basil pesto.
      Pasta Al Pesto (Linguine With Basil Pesto)
    • Galette bretonne on a plate.
      3-Ingredient Buckwheat Galettes
    • Mediterranean tomato cucumber salad
      Easy Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad
    • Shallow white plate of spaghetti with lentil sauce on a beige background.
      30-Minute Vegan Lentil Bolognese

    10-Minute Snacks E-book

    Sign up here to receive the most epic no-bake snack recipes that you can make within 10 minutes!

    Popular Vegan & GF Desserts

    • Aquafaba chocolate mousse texture.
      Aquafaba Chocolate Mousse
    • Two scoops of frozen yogurt made with an ice cream maker in a small glass bowl.
      Frozen Yogurt Recipe (With Ice Cream Maker)
    • Baked cherry crisp where a spoonful is missing.
      Gluten-Free Cherry Crisp
    • Vegan Chocolate Truffles Without Cream

    How to support Cooking With Elo

    If you like my recipes, here are 4 easy ways to support me and my food blog:

    1. Leave a star rating and a comment under recipes you tried and loved.
    2. Share your favorite recipes with friends that are on a vegan and/or gluten-free diet.
    3. Sign up for the newsletter to be the first one to know about new recipes.
    4. Follow along on Instagram, I'd love to connect personally!

    Your support means the world and allows me to continue providing free recipes with you every week!

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    • Recipe Index
    • About Elo
    • Privacy Policy
    • Nutrition Disclaimer
    • Copyright
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest

    Copyright © 2023 Cooking With Elo. All rights reserved.