Best Spinach Pesto Cheese Ball Recipes

SPINACH PESTO

Steps:

• Place the first 6 ingredients in a food processor; cover and pulse until chopped. Add the walnuts, lemon juice and zest; cover and process until blended. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream., Serve desired amount of pesto with pasta. Transfer remaining pesto to ice cube trays. Cover and freeze up to 1 month., To use frozen pesto: Thaw in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Serve with pasta.

EASY SPINACH PESTO

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor or blender add the spinach, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, salt and pepper and pulse until well combined, but not totally smooth. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while pulsing. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

SPINACH PESTO CHEESE BALL

Steps:

• Toast pine nuts until golden brown on a baking dish in a preheated 325-degree oven, 6-8 minutes, or in a dry skillet, stirring constantly. Remove to a plate and let cool.
• Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add spinach and basil; cook 3 minutes, until tender (or place in a microwave-safe dish, lightly cover with plastic wrap and cook on high 2 minutes). Drain in a colander; rinse under cold water. Press to extract excess moisture.
• Place spinach, basil, 1 cup Parmesan, shredded cheese blend, cream cheese, garlic and pepper to taste in food processor fitted with a metal blade; process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Stir together the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan, parsley and pine nuts on a plate. Moisten your hands with water; roll the cheese mixture into a ball. Roll in the nut mixture to coat.

SUPER-FAST SPINACH, PESTO AND CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Blend ricotta and Parmesan in medium bowl. Season cheeses with salt and pepper; stir in egg. Blend spinach and pesto in another medium bowl.
• Brush 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with oil. Spread 1 cup pasta sauce in prepared dish. Arrange 3 noodles side by side atop sauce. Spread 1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese mixture over in thin layer. Drop 1/3 of spinach mixture over by spoonfuls. Repeat layering with sauce, noodles, ricotta cheese mixture and spinach mixture 2 more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles and 1 cup sauce.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover lasagna with foil. Bake 35 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with Fontina cheese. Bake lasagna until heated through, sauce bubbles and cheese on top is melted, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes.

SPINACH BASIL PESTO

Steps:

• Blend the spinach, basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a food processor until nearly smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary. Drizzle the remaining olive oil into the mixture while processing until smooth.

SPINACH-CHEESE BALLS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix all ingredients, except pasta sauce. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls; place on cookie sheet.
• Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan. Serve with pasta sauce.

SPINACH POWER PESTO MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a casserole dish.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Add baby spinach to the pot in the last minute of cooking; drain.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir garlic into onion mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk 2 tablespoons pesto, flour, black pepper, and salt into onion mixture until smooth; whisk milk in gradually. Cook and stir milk mixture until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes; stir in 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup Asiago cheese; remove saucepan from heat and stir until cheeses are melted, about 1 minute.
• Stir cheese mixture into macaroni mixture; pour into prepared casserole dish. Cover dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove casserole from oven; increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan; stir in remaining 2 tablespoons pesto, 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup Asiago cheese, and bread cubes. Remove casserole dish from oven, uncover, and top with bread mixture.
• Bake casserole with topping in the preheated oven, uncovered, until bubbly and golden, about 10 minutes.

SPINACH-BASIL PESTO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread out the walnuts on a small rimmed baking sheet and roast in oven for about 12 minutes, giving them a shake after 6 minutes. Continue roasting until golden brown and toasted. Set aside and allow to cool thoroughly.
• Fill a large stockpot three-quarters full with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl half way up with ice and water and set close to the sink.
• Dump the spinach and basil into the boiling water and stir. After 1 minute, strain the greens, and plunge them into the bowl with ice water. Drain the greens again and squeeze them tightly to get as much water out as possible. Chop the greens roughly.
• Combine the greens and walnuts with the salt, olive oil and Parmesan in a food processor and process until a smooth consistency is reached. Taste and season with additional salt, if desired.

SPINACH-BASIL PESTO

Steps:

• Place garlic in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Add spinach, basil and walnuts. Pulse until chopped. Add cheese, salt and pepper. Continue processing while gradually adding oil in a steady stream. Freeze option: Freeze pesto in freezer containers. To use, thaw in refrigerator.