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This 30-minute recipe is the perfect easy dinner that’s packed with ve (veggies tastes like pesto!). We’re using a neat trick to maintain the vitamins and flavor that otherwise leach out of vegetables when cooked. Nutritious and delicious!
save this recipe!Pasta sauce is something that can be customized in such fun and creative ways! If you’ve tried my hidden veggie pasta sauce or this cottage cheese pasta sauce, then you know marinara sauce is just a starting point.
That’s where this green goddess pasta shines – it turns loads of fresh produce into a creamy and flavorful pasta sauce.
The trick is to boil your pasta in the same water that the vegetables are cooked in. This helps restore some of the water-soluble vitamins that leach out of leafy greens when cooked!
Reader rating
“We told our 5 year old that this was Hulk pasta and it was such a hit, he’d take a bite and check his biceps for growth. Aside from the adorable side effects, this pasta was a huge hit with the whole family, including my meatasaurus teen!” —Marcela
Key Ingredients
Jump to the recipe card for measurements!
- Pasta: I tend to like smaller pasta varieties here, like bow tie or rotini.
- Leafy Greens: Spinach and kale are virtually undetectable once blended.
- White Beans: Great texture and add some protein! You can use navy, cannellini, great northern, or butter beans.
save the pasta water!
I have a bad habit of dumping pasta out into a colander and then realizing after the fact that I need the pasta water. So, to avoid this, I started placing my colander in a bowl in the sink right away. This way I capture the pasta water without much extra thinking.
Make it a pasta salad
You can modify the recipe slightly to be a green goddess pasta salad! Here’s what you do:
- After the mixed pasta and sauce are cooled, see how your texture looks.
- Then, slowly add some pasta water (cold) to the pasta and a splash of fresh lemon juice. Mix it up and continue adding a splash of water until you get that silky texture again.
- Serve cold! It won’t be totally creamy, but it should be pretty smooth even when cold.
P.S. For another pasta that sneaks in some veggies, try my Italian penicillin pastina next!
Nutrient-Packed Green Goddess Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 bunch fresh kale, ribs removed
- 1 10-oz bag fresh spinach
- 1 14-oz can white beans, like navy, canneli, great northern, or butter beans
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ tsp salt, may need more
- 1 lb pasta of choice
Instructions
- Cook Greens: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 bunch fresh kale and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1 10-oz bag fresh spinach to the pot and continue cooking for 2 more minutes, until greens are all wilted down and bright green. Remove greens from the pot (keep the water in the pot).
- Pasta: Bring that same water back to a boil then add 1 lb pasta of choice. Cook according to package instructions. When finished, strain pasta and reserve a few cups of the pasta water.
- Blend: Add cooked greens, 1 cup of pasta water, and all remaining ingredients to a blender. Blend with the lid slightly ajar for 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth. You can add another ladle of pasta water to reach your desired consisentcy. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Serve: Stir sauce into cooked pasta and serve immediately, topped with grated parmesan.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!Hungry to add more veggies to your pasta? Try this pumpkin pasta casserole or my roasted beet and feta pasta!
This is my new Live Eat Learn recipe. The sauce is amazing. I didnt have white beans, so we used garbonzo beans which worked fine. We have a lot of sauce left over, so I am going to drizzle it over roasted veggies. There are a ton of ways we can use that. Thanks for coming up with this easy yet wonderful recipe.
I’m so happy to hear you loved it! 😀
This is such a great summery meal! Used Cascatelli pasta (sort of a curly fun pasta) and the sauce covered every nook and cranny.
We had plenty of leftovers so we are going to try it tonight on roasted veggies.
Yay! I’m so happy to hear it was a hit! 😀
Super delicious on pasta, and put the left over on grilled veggies tonight. Very nice.
So yummy!!
Just made this. I had a rather large bunch of kale that was probably more than I should have used, and I think that might have skewed a bit of the flavour not to mention in made a TON. Not a bad thing. LOL I’m wondering if you might include a gram or oz amount for the kale in the recipe as bunches can be different?
All that being said, this is really yummy and I look forward to including it in my regular recipes (with the right amount. hahaha)
This was so good!!
So happy to hear you liked it, Anna! 😀
We told our 5 year old that this was Hulk pasta and it was such a hit, he’d take a bite and check his biceps for growth. Aside from the adorable side effects, this pasta was a huge hit with the whole family, including my meatasaurus teen!
Oh my gosh this is so genius and adorable! Thank you so much for coming back to let us know how it went! 😀
I love that you have fun with food.
Every time you see junk food advertised on TV – guess what ? – they are having fun.
Why not. Here’s to growing hulk muscles. This story will stay with your five year old and become his comfort food in adulthood.
I love that.
Thanks Sara for the recipe AND thanks” MOM ” for your inspring story .
I tell my grandsons – It’s MONSTER macaroni.
Monster macaroni – I love that!! Happy eating! 😀
I made a variation on this for my picky eater stepson of almost 11 y/o last Halloween and I added some peas. When he asked what we would have for dinner I said “since it’s almost Halloween I’ve made pasta with green monster slime sauce and bug eggs, give it a try. I bet you’ll be extra scary when you go to the Halloween walk all dressed up!” And guess what? The kid who hates veggies and only want junkfood ate 2 big plates and every time he comes over he’s like “when are we having bugs egg pasta again with the monster sauce? I know it’s no longer Halloween but you can still make it can you?”. Then his dad – my partner, is like “Uhm I guess she could but she’ll have to go look for bugs eggs in the park first…” Keeping up the imagination of a special needs kid ain’t always easy
this is the most amazing pesto recipe I’ve ever had or made! The flavors are great and even though I added a little too much lemon, it still came out incredible with the perfect consistency. It’s rich, but not too heavy and you can’t even taste the kale or spinach, it’s super easy, quick, and absolutely delicious. I would definitely make this again!
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit! 😀