• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Evergreen Kitchen

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Cookbook
  • Recipes
  • Resources
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Cookbook
    • Recipes
    • Resources
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Mains

    Published: Sep 13, 2018 · Modified: Feb 5, 2022 by bri · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Pea and Pesto Spinach Salad

    The easiest way to get everyone to eat their greens. This salad takes less than 15 minutes to make. It's delicious for quick and healthy weeknight meals - but also impressive enough to serve to guests. Once bite and you’ll kick yourself for not having tried this combo sooner.
    Jump to Recipe
    Mixed serving bowl of pea and pesto pasty with serving spoons on a wooden table

    When Anguel & I first started dating, we were working intense corporate jobs that regularly kept us at the office past dinner. Most nights involved take out food eaten in the company of colleagues (or alone), so it’s safe to say that dinners at home were particularly special. When we first moved in together, we made a version of this salad to celebrate. It was by no means fancy, but it had a short ingredient list, came together quickly and tasted far better than any salad we’d had at a restaurant. We were hooked.

    And now, six years later, we’re still in love with it. In fact, we even served this Pea & Pesto Spinach Salad at our wedding! For such a simple dish, we’re honestly so surprised by how crazy people went for it. We hesitated to share the recipe on the blog for the longest time, because it kind of feels like a non-recipe recipe. But, after a lot of post-wedding pestering from friends and family, we figured it was only fair to share it all with you too.

    The basics of this salad are exactly what the name implies: peas, pesto and spinach. We gravitate towards this salad on busy weeks, when all we have time for is a five minute trip to the grocery store. All you need to do is grab a box of pre-washed baby spinach, a bag of frozen peas (if you don’t already have some sitting at the bottom of your freezer), and a few other pesto-related ingredients and you’re off to the races. It’s also the kind of impressive salad you can make for guests, and they’ll have no clue how easy it was for you to whip up. In fact, it kind of feels like cheating.

    When we first started out making this salad, we relied on store-bought pesto for the dressing. And if you’re in a pinch, there’s no shame in going this route. But, if we’re being honest, the homemade pesto dressing below is definitely our favorite way to enjoy this salad. Over the years we’ve found it to be the best balance of fresh basil flavor, salt, acid - and not to mention, most reliable when you make it yourself, since store-bought brands vary significantly. To make assembly happen even faster, you can make the Fresh Pesto Dressing a day in advance.

    Food processor with pesto ingredients like basil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese and olive oil

    If you are making the pesto dressing in advance, we’d recommend squeezing a bit of extra fresh lemon juice just before serving. It’s a simple trick that helps wake up flavors of something that’s been sitting in the fridge. You’d be surprised how much lemon juice (or acid more generally) helps give even a store-bought sauce a little extra boost. Just a heads up: Fresh basil is prone to oxidation, so if you make the dressing in advance, don’t be scared if the top layer of the dressing looks darker after sitting in the fridge overnight. Simply give it a quick stir and you’re good to go. It still tastes great. To minimize the darkening effect, you can also place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the sauce, before sealing it a jar or airtight container. The plastic wrap will minimize the sauce’s exposure to air, which will further reduce discoloring.

    This salad is vegetarian (see note below on cheeses, including how some might not actually be vegetarian-friendly!). For a vegan option, we’ve included recipe notes on how to alter the pesto dressing to be dairy-free, without needing to hunt down any specialty vegan cheeses. If you do have a favorite vegan parmesan cheese substitute, you can try subbing it 1:1.

    Mixing pea and pesto pasta with a serving spoon
    Topping pea and pesto pasta with some parmesan cheese

    Pea and Pesto Spinach Salad

    The easiest way to get everyone to eat their greens. This salad takes less than 15 minutes to make. It's delicious for quick and healthy weeknight meals - but also impressive enough to serve to guests. Once bite and you’ll kick yourself for not having tried this combo sooner.
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 2 minutes
    Total Time 12 minutes
    Servings 4
    Author: Bri
    Pin Recipe
    Mixed serving bowl of pea and pesto pasty with serving spoons on a wooden table
    Print

    Ingredients

    Salad

    • 3 tablespoons pine nuts
    • ½ lb baby spinach
    • 1½ cups frozen green peas
    • 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (see note 1)

    Fresh Pesto Dressing (see note 2)

    • 3 tablespoons pine nuts
    • 1½ cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves (about 2.5 oz, see note 3)
    • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
    • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (see note 1)
    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
    • 1 clove garlic
    • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
    • ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Toast pine nuts: Add the pine nuts for both the Salad and Dressing (6 tablespoons total) to a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer 3 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts to a food processor, set aside the remaining 3 tablespoons for garnish.
    • Defrost peas: Add peas to a large bowl filled with lukewarm water. Set aside to defrost.
    • Make Pesto Dressing: To the pine nuts (in the food processor), add basil, olive oil, Parmesan, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pulse until a smooth paste forms. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
    • Strain peas: Drain peas in a colander. Shake thoroughly to remove excess water.
    • Assemble: Wipe the large bowl dry, then add peas and spinach. Add pesto dressing and toss to coat leaves evenly. Sprinkle with the reserved pine nuts and Parmesan. Serve immediately.

    Notes

    1. Parmesan cheese: Imported Parmesan cheese typically contains animal-based rennet. If you wish to avoid this, look for cheese labelled as "vegetarian friendly" or lists "microbial enzymes" as an ingredient (instead of rennet) . Asiago cheese is also a good alternative. For a vegan option, either: a) use a store-bought vegan shredded Parmesan substitute, or b) omit cheese from dressing and garnish, and instead add ⅛ teaspoon extra salt + ½ teaspoon nutritional yeast to the dressing (for one batch/1x this recipe). The salt and nutritional yeast compensate for some of the salt and cheesy flavor from the omitted cheese.
    2. Fresh Pesto Dressing substitute: If you don’t want to make your own, you can substitute one batch (1x) with ¾ cup store-bought pesto sauce + 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Premade pesto varies significantly by brand, so you may also need to add extra salt & pepper.
    3. Fresh basil: We usually find that a large bag (4 oz/112 g) of basil usually yields about 1½ cups (or 2.5 oz/70g) tightly packed basil leaves, once separated from their stems. 
    4. Serving suggestions: Serves 4 as a side salad or appetizer. Serves 2 as a main.
    5. Recipe adapted from Ina Garten's Pesto Pea Salad

    Nutrition

    Calories: 322kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 500mg | Potassium: 586mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 6291IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 209mg | Iron: 4mg
    Did you make this recipe?Let us know by leaving a rating below and tag us @evergreenkitchen on instagram!

    More Mains

    • Vegetarian air fryer eggplant parmesan with marinara sauce on a dinner plate.
      Air Fryer Eggplant Parmesan
    • Halloumi Thai Curry in a skillet topped with cilantro, jalapeno, and herbs.
      Easy Halloumi Curry
    • Vegan Potato Leek Soup topped with chives and pepper in a bowl with a spoon.
      Vegan Potato Leek Soup
    • Vegetarian Orzo Pesto Salad with tomatoes, peas, and cheese in a bowl.
      Easy Orzo Pesto Salad

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      LEAVE A COMMENT Cancel reply

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

      Recipe Rating




    1. Andrea says

      January 09, 2022 at 11:06 pm

      5 stars
      This is my go-to for potlucks when I'm on "salad duty"... The flavours are so simple but powerful and everyone always has yummy things to say about it at the end of the night! Speaking from experience - don't skip the pine nuts in the salad - they make this dish extra special!

      Reply
    2. Danny says

      December 30, 2018 at 2:28 am

      What would be a good substitute if allergic to pine nuts (but not other seeds/nuts)?

      Reply
      • Bri says

        December 30, 2018 at 2:34 am

        Hi Danny! Cashews would work, or alternatively blanched almonds (which have the skins removed). Since these nuts are larger than pine nuts, I'd give them a rough chop (down to a similar size as whole pine nuts)...before toasting and measuring. That'll more closely mimic the originally developed recipe when it comes to the measurement and est. toasting time written out. Hope this helps and have a great weekend!

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Welcome to Evergreen Kitchen! We're all about delicious vegetarian food you actually want to eat. Here you'll find craveable dinner recipes, meal prep ideas, healthy-ish desserts, and everyday cooking resources.

    More about us →

    Get the Cookbook!

    Evergreen Kitchen Weeknight Vegetarian Dinners for Everyone Cookbook Cover
    Learn more about Evergreen Kitchen:
    Weeknight Vegetarian Dinners for Everyone

    Spring Features

    • Vegetarian Lentil Nicoise Salad
    • Whipped ricotta dip with honey, thyme, and pepper in a bowl.
      Whipped Ricotta Dip with Honey
    • Black Lentil Salad with Feta in a bowl with a fork.
      Mediterranean Black Lentil Salad with Feta
    • Halloumi Couscous Salad with Lemon on a green plate with a fork.
      Halloumi Couscous Salad with Lemon
    • Lemon Spinach Orzo in a bowl topped with feta and dill.
      One Pan Lemon Spinach Orzo with Feta
    • Roasted veggie sandwich with avaocado and chipotle mayo on a serving platter
      Roasted Veggie Sandwiches with Peri Peri

    Fan Favorites

    • Close up of crispy breaded air fryer tofu with panko breadcrumb crust
      Crispy Breaded Air Fryer Tofu
    • Lemon dill and chickpea sandwich cut in half
      Vegan Smashed Chickpea Sandwich
    • Mushroom stroganoff in a white plate with fresh thyme and parmasen
      Vegetarian Mushroom Stroganoff (One Pot)
    • 12 peanut butter coconut power balls on a marble background
      Best Peanut Butter Coconut Balls
    • Close up of crispy air fryer breakfast potatoes (home fries)
      Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes (Home Fries)
    • A bowl of Instant Pot Navy Bean Soup with a piece of bread sitting on the edge of the bowl, with a white spoon and sliced lemon
      Instant Pot Bean Soup

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Info

    About

    Privacy Policy

    Contact

    Contact us

    Recipes

    Jump to Recipes

    As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Evergreen Kitchen!