So delicious and packed with goodness, this creamy green pasta gives you all your greens for the day! Made with easy to find affordable ingredients, cook up this pasta in green sauce as a cozy family dinner in about 30 minutes.
Do check out my vegetable pesto pasta for next time!
Pasta is always a good idea for a comfort food dinner, don't you think?! We make this pasta in green sauce with lots of tasty veggies to get in so much green goodness, and combine with creamy fresh ricotta cheese and fragrant herbs for so much flavor.
While most green pasta sauce recipes have spinach and sometimes avocado as main ingredients, we keep this pasta more low histamine friendly by omitting those and enjoying broccoli, kale and zucchini instead. It means extra green veggies on your plate!
If you're family loves a green veggie pasta, then do have a peek at my popular spring broccoli asparagus pasta and my flavorful coriander pesto pasta. Both easy and delicious!
This post was updated on July 23, 2024 with slightly amended instructions and recipe tips.
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
All the greens! As well as green veggies, we make this sauce with lots of fresh herbs to make it extra flavorful.
Stovetop recipe. No need to switch the oven on, we simply use a skillet and blender to make this green sauce.
Quick and easy to make. A super simple family dinner recipe that comes together easily, and in just 30 minutes.
🥦 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Green vegetables - always use fresh produce, without any bruising or discoloration. I like to combine broccoli, zucchini and kale for a diversity of green flavors and goodness.
- Ricotta - the fresh cheese helps to give us a creamy green pasta sauce and add some protein too.
- Pasta - we can pair this sauce with many types of pasta including spaghetti, fusilli and penne. Of course, choose a gluten free pasta alternative if required.
- Parsley and cilantro / coriander - for a bright and flavorful sauce, I highly recommend to use fresh herbs rather than dried.
📖 Swaps and variations
Adjust the ratio of green vegetables. Love broccoli but not so much of a fan of zucchini? Simply change up the ratio a little to preference, just keeping the same overall quantity.
Use basil rather than cilantro. Not a fan of coriander / cilantro? Swap out for fragrant basil instead.
🔪 How to make green pasta sauce
We make this pasta in green sauce in a skillet and blender, so no oven time! Just a few steps, making it perfect for a busy weeknight dinner.
All the instructions are set out in the recipe card below, but these step by step photos should help guide you.
Step 1
Drizzle a little olive oil into your skillet, then add the diced onion, leek and garlic. Cook on a low heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the onion has softened (image 1).
Step 2
Add the broccoli, zucchini and kale to the skillet, along with the apple cider vinegar, if using (image 2). Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Recipe tip: using a non-stick skillet is better for this recipe.
Step 3
Cook your pasta according to package instructions in salted water (image 3). Once ready, drain in a colander but reserve half a cup of the pasta water.
Step 4
Add all the ingredients for the green sauce to your blender and blend to a sauce (image 4). Add ⅛ cup of pasta water, then blend and adjust with more of the water to a consistency you prefer (I use about ¼ cup).
Step 5
Tip the cooked pasta back into your skillet and pour in the sauce. Use tongs to mix the pasta with the sauce, adding more of the reserved pasta water to loosen if required, then plate up with extra fresh herbs as a garnish if you wish. Serve immediately.
💭 Recipe notes and tips
- Salt the pasta water. Add a good pinch of water to your pot when cooking the pasta to add flavor.
- Don't forget to reserve some pasta water! You will need this to thin the sauce but also to help it bind through the starch in the water.
- Adjust the consistency of the sauce to preference. Blend a little for a more chunky sauce, more for a smoother consistency.
📋 Frequently asked questions
Definitely! You can use any green vegetables that are suitable for you, such as asparagus or green pepper. Just keep the overall quantity about the same.
Basil is also delicious in the sauce, as well as a little thyme. I would suggest only using a small amount of rosemary as it is quite pungent.
This green pasta sauce can also be used as a salad dressing, or even a dip with crudites or crackers.
I don't recommend to freeze this pasta recipe as it doesn't reheat too well and becomes quite gummy.
🍽 How to serve
You can either serve the pasta as it is, or make some additions:
- Add chicken, turkey or other meat or fish protein to the side. My easy panko chicken and my turmeric turkey would both be lovely with this pasta!
- Serve with a fresh and light salad such as my kale apple slaw or pear fennel salad.
- Top with some cheese of your choice.
🍝 More pasta recipes
Whether it is my roasted vegetable pasta salad for summer potlucks, or my vegan pumpkin alfredo for fall, find so many tasty pasta dishes here! Some recent recipes to try out:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And please do leave a star rating ⭐ and comment if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Easy Green Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta spaghetti, fusili or penne work well
For the green spaghetti sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ white onion diced
- 1 leek diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced or finely diced
- ½ small broccoli head diced
- 1 small zucchini diced
- 1 cup kale loosely packed, diced
- ¼ cup coriander diced
- ¼ cup parsley leaves
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar optional
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper optional
Instructions
- Drizzle olive oil in your skillet and cook onion, garlic and leeks on a low to medium heat in your skillet for 4-5 minutes, or until the onion has softened.
- Add in the zucchini, kale and broccoli, along with the apple cider vinegar, if using. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the broccoli has softened. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
- While the green sauce is coming together cook the pasta according to package instructions in salted water. Set aside ½ cup of the pasta water. Once cooked, drain the pasta in a colander.
- Add all the ingredients for the sauce to a blender, along with ⅛ cup of pasta water. Blend, and adjust with more pasta water until you have the consistency you like.
- Transfer the pasta back into the skillet, along with the green sauce. Stir to coat the pasta in the sauce, adding more of the reserved pasta water if needed. Serve garnished with fresh herbs and extra black pepper, to taste.
Notes
- Don't forget to salt the pasta water for better flavor.
- Make sure to reserve some of the pasta water as you will need this to make the sauce.
- Adjust the amount of herbs and garlic to taste preference.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- pasta (wheat) scores 1 with a ? as a liberator. You can use an alternative gluten free pasta if required.
- kale is not rated.
- leeks score 1 with a ? as a liberator. There is a note, 'In small amounts, usually well tolerated'.
- garlic and apple cider vinegar, which score 1.
- coriander, which scores 0 but has a ? as a liberator. There is a note, 'Only small amounts are well tolerated'.
- black pepper, which scores 2. There is a note, 'Small amounts are tolerated'.
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