Creamy Lemon-Pesto Spaghetti & Spinach

We bring the flavor with our Creamy Lemon-Pesto Spaghetti & Spinach, perfect for any night of the week. Pasta is a crowd-pleaser, and we’ve chosen whole-wheat spaghetti for a fiber boost. This dish is packed with flavor bombs like pesto, lemon zest, white wine, garlic and shallots to pack in the flavor to the spinach and cream sauce. And it’s as nutritious as it is delicious, with nutrients like folate, vitamin C and potassium, this pasta is also brimming with antioxidants to fight inflammation. Keep reading for our expert tips on using pasta water, pesto choices and more. 

Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen

These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too! 

• Stirring the pesto off the heat helps keep it from separating, and doing the same with the Parmesan will prevent clumping.
• Make sure to save more pasta water than you think you’ll need to thin out the sauce. A handy tip is to put a measuring cup in—or under—the colander so you don’t forget to grab some while draining the pasta.
• We suggest using basil pesto, but a red tomato-based pesto would also be tasty.
• If you’re looking for alternatives to whole-wheat spaghetti, bucatini or linguine are great options.

Nutrition Notes

• Basil pesto is a classic sauce that is packed with nutrients like monounsaturated fats and antioxidants. It’s typically made with fresh basil, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon, garlic, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and salt, and you get a lot of flavor from the centerpiece herb. Look for refrigerated instead of shelf-stable pesto for the best quality. 
• Spinach is a staple green to have on hand, especially for pasta dishes. Spinach is rich in folate, which is an essential nutrient for heart health, but also to prevent neural tube defects during pregnancy. 
• Shallots and garlic are both alliums, and while they have differing nutrient profiles, they also share some of the same health benefits. Their pungent aromas mean they are rich in sulfur compounds, which are anti-inflammatory and are studied for their role in preventing cancer when eaten regularly.