green goddess pasta on two plates

Clean Out the Fridge Green Goddess Pasta

The perfect healthy recipe for clearing out sad veggies in your fridge! This Green Goddess Pasta comes together quickly and is easily vegan.

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green goddess pasta on two plates

Do you have a bunch of greens and herbs in your vegetable drawer that are about to wilt? Well, have I got a solution for you! Meet my Clean Out the Fridge Green Goddess Pasta. She’s a super handy recipe to have around to reduce waste and clear out any sad veggies in your fridge.

green goddess pasta on plate topped with feta

Green Goddess Pasta Ingredients

Herbs and Greens: Truly, use whatever’s about to go bad in your fridge! You’ll need roughly 3 cups total. Spinach, kale, arugula, or mixed greens are perfect. In terms of herbs, I find that basil, cilantro, parsley, mint, and dill are beautiful here. I would avoid rosemary, thyme, sage, etc. for this particular sauce.

Lemon Juice: Fresh-squeezed, please!

Olive Oil: The highest quality you can afford is best. We’ll be using a half cup, so the flavor will definitely come through.

Avocado: A perfectly ripe avocado will have some give when you touch it, but not be completely mushy either. Definitely avoid those rock hard avocados, as they are definitely not ripe and will affect the outcome of this recipe!

Garlic: I mean, is this a June Table recipe without garlic?

Honey or Maple Syrup: I honestly prefer honey in this particular recipe, but use maple syrup to keep it vegan.

Red Pepper Flakes: For a dash of spice! Omit if that’s not your journey.

Sea Salt: For the green goddess pesto and for the pasta water.

Pasta and Reserved Pasta Water: You can use any pasta you want (I mean, why not clean out the pantry too?), but Farfalle (i.e., bowties) are my favorite with this dish. You’ll also want to reserve some of that pasta water before you drain it to get your green goddess sauce to your preferred consistency.

Cheese: Again, we want to be flexible with this dish. My favorites are parmesan or feta, but use what you have. You could also use plant-based cheese to keep things vegan!

green goddess pasta topped with feta on a plate

If you make this Green Goddess Pasta, be sure to leave a rating and review! This encourages others to give it a try and helps Google figure out I’m out here floating in the Internet world. You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok. Hearing from you truly makes my day!

More Bangin’ Pasta

green goddess pasta on a plate and topped with feta
green goddess pasta topped with feta on a plate

Easy Green Goddess Pasta

The perfect healthy recipe for clearing out sad veggies in your fridge! This Green Goddess Pasta comes together quickly and is easily vegan.
5 from 1 vote
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Food Processor or High-Power Blender
  • Large Pot

Ingredients
  

  • 10-12 oz pasta of choice (I love farfalle or penne for this dish, but anything works)
  • reserved pasta water to thin as needed
  • dairy or plant-based cheese of choice for topping (I like parmesan, feta, or goat cheese!)

Green Goddess Pesto

  • 3 cups herbs and greens (whatever's leftover in your fridge! Think spinach, kale, arugula, basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, or mint)
  • juice of one lemon
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 large avocado
  • 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
  • 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes
  • ¼ tsp sea salt plus more for salting the pasta water

Instructions
 

  • Bring a generously-salted large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. Be sure to reserve 1 cup of pasta water in a heat-safe measuring cup or bowl before you drain!
  • While the pasta is boiling, add all green goddess pesto ingredients to a food processor or high-powered blender and process until completely combined and emulsified, 1-2 minutes. You may need to scrape down the sides of the food processor to make sure everything comes together.
  • Add drained pasta and pesto back to the large pot and stir until combined, adding reserved pasta water as needed to thin sauce to your desired consistency. Serve with your favorite dairy or plant-based cheese and devour!

Notes

Storage: Refrigerate in airtight container for up to 5 days.
To make gluten-free: Use gluten-free pasta.
To make vegan/dairy-free: Be sure to use maple syrup instead of honey and top with plant-based cheese.
Keyword avocado pasta, dairy-free, gluten free, green goddess, nut-free, pasta, vegan, vegan pasta, vegetarian

Photography by Hope Agresti

1 Comment

  1. 5 stars
    I was pleasantly surprised by this dish, it tastes fresh and full of flavor I could not stop eating it. Im not a fan of cilantro but I barely tasted it in this recipe!

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