I bought a little jar of pesto recently and have been having fun finding ways to add it to everyday recipes. Yesterday I noticed a half bag of macaroni that had been sitting in my pantry for a few months and I just knew it was begging for the pesto treatment. So, I whipped up a quick béchamel sauce, stirred in some grated Parmesan, and a good dollop of pesto. I poured the luxurious sauce over my cooked macaroni then aded couple handfuls of thawed frozen spinach (because I’m all about balance), and had myself the most delicious and creamy pesto mac and cheese.
What Kind of Pesto is Best?
I used a simple basil pesto, but the wonderful thing about this recipe is that it is very flexible. You could do a homemade Kale Pesto, you could do a sun-dried tomato pesto, or practically any flavor pesto that you’d like.
How to Use Leftover Pesto
Pesto is definitely an expensive ingredient, but it’s so potent that you really don’t need a lot to add big flavor to your recipes. The little jar I bought contains about 3/4 cup pesto and costs $3.99. I usually only use about ¼ cup at a time in a recipe, so there is always some leftover. Here are some other recipes that use pesto:
If you can’t find uses for your leftovers immediately, pesto can be frozen. A lot of people like to spoon it into ice cube trays so they can grab a couple tablespoons at a time to toss into recipes like pasta, salad dressings, and other sauces.
What Else Can I Add to Pesto Mac and Cheese?
You can really take this recipe so many different directions! Try adding a handful of sun dried tomatoes, or maybe some chopped up rotisserie chicken. Or try topping it with some crumbled feta, bacon bits, or some buttered breadcrumbs!
Also be sure to check out my extra cheesy classic Homemade Mac and Cheese recipe!
Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach
Servings 6 (1 cup each)Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked macaroni ($0.50)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.22)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 2 cups whole milk ($0.60)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan ($0.53)
- 1/4 cup basil pesto ($0.55)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.03)
- 1/2 lb. frozen spinach ($0.80)
Instructions
- Thaw the spinach at room temperature or in the microwave. Squeeze out the excess water. Set the spinach aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the macaroni. Boil for 7-10 minutes, or until tender. Drain the macaroni in a colander.
- While the pasta is boiling, prepare the sauce. Add the butter and flour to a small sauce pot. Heat and stir the butter and flour over medium heat until it forms a creamy paste and begins to bubble. Continue to stir and cook for about one minute more.
- Whisk the milk into the butter and flour, then allow it to come up to a simmer, while whisking. When it reaches a simmer, the sauce will thicken. Remove the sauce from the heat.
- Whisk the Parmesan and pesto into the sauce until smooth. This will further thicken the sauce. Season the sauce with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Make sure the sauce is well seasoned as the flavors will be less concentrated once the pasta and spinach are stirred in.
- Return the cooked and drained pasta to the large pot (heat turned off) and add the thawed spinach. Pour the sauce over top, then stir until everything is combined and coated in sauce. Serve immediately.
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Nutrition
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More Mac and Cheese Recipes:
How to Make Pesto Mac and Cheese – Step by Step Photos
Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the macaroni. Once boiling, add two cups of macaroni and continue to boil until tender but not mushy. Drain the pasta in a colander.
While the macaroni is boiling, thaw 1/2 lb. spinach and then squeeze out some of the excess water. It doesn’t have to be bone-dry, just make sure it’s not sopping wet.
Place 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp flour into a small sauce pot. Heat them over a medium flame while whisking. Once bubbling, continue to stir and cook for about a minute. This mixture is called a roux (this is a blonde roux, in particular) and is used to thicken the sauce. Cooking it for a minute or so slightly toasts the flour so that you don’t have that raw paste-like flavor to your sauce.
Whisk in two cups of whole milk. Let the mixture come to a simmer, whisking occasionally to make sure the milk doesn’t scorch on the bottom.
Once the milk starts simmering, that’s when the roux magic happens. The milk will thicken slightly. It won’t be as thick as a cheese sauce at this point, but it should have noticeably more body. Turn the heat off.
Whisk in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. The cheese will help thicken the sauce even more.
Then whisk in 1/4 cup basil pesto.
Finally, season the sauce with salt and freshly cracked pepper. You want the sauce to be pretty heavily seasoned because it will taste less concentrated once the pasta and spinach are stirred in. I used 1/2 tsp salt and about 5-10 cranks of a pepper mill.
Return the cooked and drained pasta to the large pot it was cooked in, add the thawed and squeezed spinach, then pour the creamy sauce over top.
Then stir all that creamy pesto goodness together. Oh my.
I’ll just say it one more time, then leave it there… Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach–OH MY.
Delish! Didn’t have spinach on hand, so I left it out, and added some leftover roasted chicken. Very easy and so good. Leftovers heated well too. Next time will definitely try it with the spinach.
Awesome! I used to be scared of béchamels, but you’ve made it very easy. I just made this in about 15 minutes, even though I didn’t have pesto on hand. I just bought a basil plant, so since I wanted this super quick, I just cut up some leaves and threw them in and used garlic salt to season. I’m sure the pesto gives it even more depth of flavor, but it was still great! Looking forward to making it with pesto when I have some (or take a few minutes to make it!).
Can’t wait to make this! Does anyone know if it will be alright to use fresh spinach instead of frozen? I have some left over and need to figure out what to do with it. Thanks!
Yes, you sure can. I would just sauté it down first in a skillet until it’s wilted like frozen spinach so that it will stir into the sauce easily.
Oh my gosh, my family LOVED this dish. I added canned salmon, which was a great addition. My 16 month old son chowed it down!!
Hi, I just made this a few minutes ago and my boyfriend and I really like it. We’d like to add more vegetables in if we can figure out which ones would be good with this lol
Oh and the basil pesto I got from the store here is way darker so my pasta are a lot more dark green than what your pictures show but it’s very good anyway =)
Thank you for all the recipes on a budget, it helps us a lot :D
I’m battling a painful, stupid abscessed tooth. I hardly want to chew, and I’m sick of coming up with my own dinner ideas. This fit the bill of soft, comfort-food-ish dinner that I didn’t have to think of myself. I cheated and got a jar of Barilla pesto. My grandma is turning over in her grave as type this, but it’s surprisingly un-terrible for a jarred pesto. Next time when I’m feeling better, I’ll still make my own.
Might need some garlic, but I’m doubting that’ll be necessary with “real” pesto.
If you can afford it, get REAL Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese. It’s a bit pricier than the powdery junk, but it actually tastes like something. A little goes a long way.
I bet some sautéed hot Italian sausage would be great on this.
Overall, huge hit with my current sample size of one. When the boyfriend gets home, I’ll force-feed him some. He’ll love it, too.
For the people who have made this and think it’s bland, something went awry. If you use the right ingredients and follow directions, it’ll be delicious.
Thanks, Beth, for an awesome new option!
To honest, it came out very bland and watery. I should have added another cup of pasta but I didn’t think it would be that bad. I made this for a quick dinner with the kids but we just ended up tossing it and buying takeout. I don’t know what happened.
hey! i really wanna try this recipe out, and i will, but i am vegan. however i do got great stuff to substitute everything but the cheesy part. could i use anything else to ”thicken” the sauce? more flour? what do you think? thanks!
Hmm, I don’t have any vegan ideas for this one. More flour will most likely just make it taste very pasty.
Nutritional yeast! Or ground cashews and some nooch. Or ground sunflower seeds and some nooch.
I was vegan a long time. I’m not anymore, but I still love and eat all of my vegan substitutes on stuff. The things I mentioned will be great.
I got shredded cheese instead of the shaky cheese. Will the lack of sawdust (powdered cellulose) affect the thickness of the cheese sauce?
No, I think it will still work fine. :)
You’re right! It turned out delicious, even without the extra insoluble dietary fiber.
No need to be unnecessarily rude because you don’t like a particular food item.
We made this tonight and it was super good. Fast, easy and good!
Looks delicious! Pesto is so easy to make…cuts the cost down a good bit, too. I definitely freeze it and then pop it out of the ice cube trays as I need it, as you describe.
You should consider making your own pesto since it is mind-numbingly easy and sooo inexpensive. We plant basil in spring and then get at least two harvests of basil to make pesto through the growing season, plus enough for gleaning random leaves for pasta dishes, bruschetta, caprese salad, etc. Take your washed and dried basil leaves, cram them into a food processor with some toasted nuts (cashews, walnuts, pine nuts) some Parmesan cheese, salt, and stream in enough olive oil to make it the right consistency. Pesto accomplished!
Absolutely! Homemade pesto is the bomb! Sometimes I’ll make spanakopita, which is kind of like Greek pesto-using spinach and dill or basil. Use it-or regular pesto, on Provolone grilled cheese sandwiches. Mmmm
First béchamel is just white sauce – a roux and milk. Don’t be put off. Simple and fast.
Second we are approaching the time of year when in most of the US we can grow our own basil – in gardens, on stoops, on balconies, and even on window sills. Make your own pesto and it is really budget friendly. That’s why it is so common in peasant Italian food. Cheap.
Basil is expensive in my area, so I would purchase a jar of pesto. Sometimes, you have to do what you think is best.
This was delicious! It makes a lot of sauce though. I ended up boiling extra noodles. Next time I’ll use 12 oz of pasta and maybe the whole box. We also added some garlic and a pinch of nutmeg. Thanks for another winner!!
This is perfect!! We just received pesto and spinach in our hungry harvest box. Thank you! :)
Delicious! This recipe is a winner!
I substituted 8oz. Of rotini for the macaroni and I loved how the spirals picked up the sauce and spinach.
One tip: make sure you’re using a pesto that you really like for this recipe as it’s the main favoring agent. I used a very garlicky pesto and it almost overpowered the dish.