Tree Nut Free Spinach & Avocado Pesto

Total time10 min

Prep time10 min

Cook time0 min

5.0

(23)

Traditional pesto leans heavily on pine nuts for its rich, creamy body — but this vibrant green sauce skips them entirely and uses ripe avocado instead, delivering that same luscious texture without a single nut in sight. Baby spinach and fresh basil team up for a flavor that's bright and herbaceous, while lemon juice keeps everything tasting fresh and alive. A couple of garlic cloves and a drizzle of good olive oil round it out into something that tastes far more complex than the ingredient list suggests. The optional fresh ginger adds a subtle warmth that makes the whole sauce feel a little unexpected in the best way. Everything comes together in a blender or food processor in just a few pulses, so you're barely five minutes away from a gorgeous, spoonable sauce. It works beautifully tossed with pasta, spread on toast, dolloped over roasted vegetables, or used as a dip — basically anywhere you'd reach for a classic pesto. Store it with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface and it stays brilliantly green and fresh until you're ready to use it.

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Ingredients

6 servings

2 cups packed baby spinach
1 ripe avocado, pitted and scooped
1 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
2–4 tbsp water, as needed to thin
1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated (optional)

Instructions

1
Add the baby spinach, avocado, basil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and ginger (if using) to the bowl of a food processor or blender.
2
Pulse 8–10 times until the mixture is roughly broken down and no large pieces remain.

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