Pasta with Spinach Basil Pesto Recipe

This Pasta with Spinach Basil Pesto recipe can be ready for dinner in just 15 minutes.

I’m in a little bit of herb heaven.

For a long while, I’ve noticed the Gourmet Garden Herbs and Spices at the grocery store. I was curious about them, but I never bought them. I usually won’t buy something just because it looks convenient. Like DVR’s — my husband wanted one bad, even the kids did, so before we knew it, we had a DVR. I said I didn’t care about it, that I wasn’t interested in being able to record TV shows. Well, guess who loves it the same, if not more than the rest of the family? Um….this girl, that’s who. I love the convenience of watching TV when it works with my schedule and I would never want to go back to the way it was before.

Well, the folks at Gourmet Garden sent me an assortment of their herbs and I have to say that they are a foodie version of my DVR story. I resisted them and now I’m all “where have you been all my life??”.

Here’s what I love most about the Gourmet Garden Herbs and Spices: they are packaged within 24 hours of harvesting and they last for up to 3 months — and the use by date is clearly marked on the cap. That means a LOT less waste because I am horrible at letting herbs go to bad before I use them all. And, yes, I know there are ways to preserve them, such as freezing, but that takes extra effort and I’m usually way too lazy and disorganized to get that going.

I’ve had my Gourmet Garden tubes for about 2 1/2 weeks and have found them to not only be incredibly timesaving, but also delicious. My favorites so far have been the chili pepper paste, the basil (which I used for the Spinach Basil Pesto in this post), and the cilantro. Oh, and they are organic and with no artificial flavors or colors.

Now that I’ve fully fangirled over Gourmet Garden, I’m really excited to share with you a quick and easy dinner that turned out ah-mazing! Everyone in my family loved it and I was super happy that it took less than 15 minutes to make from start to finish.

To make my Pasta with Spinach Pesto Sauce, you will first, you will get some water boiling so you can cook your pasta. While your water is coming to a boil, you will make the Spinach Pesto Sauce. Put 1/2 pound (about 4 very packed cups) of washed baby spinach into your food processor. Pulse your processor until most of the spinach is chopped up.

Throw in the toasted pine nuts, lemon juice, the Gourmet Garden Basil and the Gourmet Garden Garlic. Process these ingredients until well combined and smooth.

Finally, add in the Parmesan cheese and the olive oil and process until everything is combined.

It’s such a beautiful color, don’t you think?

In the end, you’ll have about 1 1/2 cups of Spinach Basil Pesto. Now, I personally like using all of it for 13.25 ounces of dry pasta, but you may prefer to use less. And while I haven’t tried it yet, this recipe might be enough for 16 ounces of dry pasta too. In any case, gently toss your sauce with the cooked and drained pasta, and serve with some additional shredded Parmesan cheese.

Here’s the full recipe — after you save it, be sure to check out the links to other awesome 15 Minutes Suppers using Gourmet Garden products.