If you’ve seen the viral Green Goddess Pasta floating around TikTok and Instagram, you know it’s creamy, vibrant, and packed with herbs. This green goddess pasta is creamy, vibrant, and packed with fresh herbs, leafy greens, and a glossy mascarpone sauce that clings to every bite. It’s rich without feeling heavy, bright from the lemon, and looks absolutely gorgeous.
If you love cozy but simple pasta dinners, you’ll also enjoy my creamy gochujang pasta, extra cheesy mac and cheese, and stuffed pasta shells with cottage cheese! And if you’re still craving noodles, make sure to check out catalogue of noodle recipes.
Quick Look: Green Goddess Pasta
✅ Recipe Name: Green Goddess Pasta
🕒 Ready In: 20 minutes
👪 Serves: 4
🍽 Calories: 400 calories per serving, estimated
🥣 Main Ingredients: pasta, basil, spinach, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, parmesan, and pasta water
👌 Difficulty: Easy. Blend the sauce, toss with hot pasta, and adjust with pasta water until creamy.
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What is Green Goddess Pasta?
Green Goddess Pasta is inspired by the viral “green goddess salad” that took over TikTok, but transformed into a silky, herbaceous pasta sauce. The sauce blends leafy greens, fresh basil, garlic, shallots, nuts, and cheese into a creamy, bright green coating that clings beautifully to noodles.
Unlike heavy cream-based sauces, this recipe relies on blanched greens and herbs for color and freshness, while mascarpone, parmesan, and pasta water create that luscious texture. The end result? A pasta dish that’s hearty but still feels light and balanced.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients and Why They Matter
- Pasta: (I used principesse): A fun, curly pasta shape that catches the sauce in every fold. But honestly, any pasta works — short shapes like fusilli or rigatoni hold the sauce well, while long noodles like linguine give you that silky, glossy coating.
- Spinach, Kale and Fresh Basil: These leafy greens are blanched and blended for that vibrant green color and earthy flavor.
- Mascarpone: Provides creamy richness with a subtle sweetness that balances the greens.
- Parmesan Cheese: Salty, nutty, and the main umami driver of the sauce. Use freshly grated for best results.
- Cashews: Blended in for body and a naturally creamy texture (plus plant-based protein).
- Lemon Juice: The tangy brightness that keeps the sauce from feeling heavy.
- Pasta Water: Helps emulsify the sauce so it clings to every bite of pasta.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Mascarpone: If you don’t have mascarpone, crème fraîche, ricotta, or cream cheese all work well. Crème fraîche adds a slight tang, ricotta is lighter but should be blended for a smoother texture, and cream cheese makes the sauce thicker and tangier. For a vegan option, use dairy-free cream cheese or silken tofu blended with olive oil and lemon juice.
- Parmesan Cheese: Pecorino Romano, Grana Padano, or nutritional yeast can be used instead. Pecorino is saltier, so start with less and adjust to taste.
- Cashews: Use blanched almonds, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, or hemp hearts instead. For a nut-free version, sunflower seeds or hemp hearts are the easiest swaps.
The full written green goddess pasta recipe with measurements is below on the recipe card.
How to Make Green Goddess
- Sauté the aromatics: Cook the shallots and garlic in olive oil until soft and fragrant.
- Blanch the greens: Boil the spinach, kale, and basil for 30–60 seconds, then rinse under cold water.
- Blend the sauce: Blend the greens, aromatics, mascarpone, parmesan, cashews, lemon juice, and pasta water until smooth.
- Toss together: Coat the pasta in the sauce, adding more pasta water as needed.
- Garnish and serve: Top with red chili flakes, mozzarella balls, and a drizzle of olive oil.
My Expert Recipe Tips
Overcooking garlic: Burnt garlic = bitter sauce. Keep the heat low and stir constantly.
Skipping the blanch: Blanching greens locks in that gorgeous bright color and prevents the sauce from turning dull.
Not saving pasta water: Pasta water is liquid gold. It emulsifies the sauce and keeps it from breaking.
Using pre-shredded cheese: Freshly grated parmesan melts smoother and tastes better.
Blending too hot: Let ingredients cool slightly before blending to avoid a grainy sauce.
Green Goddess Pasta Recipe FAQs
Green goddess pasta is usually made with pasta tossed in a creamy green sauce made from fresh herbs, leafy greens, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and something creamy like mascarpone, Greek yogurt, avocado, or cashews. My version uses spinach, kale, basil, mascarpone, parmesan, cashews, lemon juice, shallots, and garlic for a rich but bright sauce.
Yes, you can make this green goddess pasta vegan by swapping the mascarpone for dairy-free cream cheese or silken tofu blended with olive oil and lemon juice. You can also replace the parmesan with nutritional yeast or a vegan parmesan-style cheese.
Yes, simply leave out the cashews or replace them with sunflower seeds or hemp hearts. The mascarpone and parmesan still make the sauce creamy, so you won’t miss the cashews too much.
The sauce can taste bitter if the garlic is raw and too strong, the greens are overcooked, or the kale is especially bitter. Sautéing the garlic and shallots first helps mellow them out, while lemon juice, parmesan, and mascarpone balance the earthiness of the greens.
Suggested Sides to Pair With This Recipe:
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Please remember to leave a review if you make this recipe! The feedback helps me to become a better cook and develop amazing recipes for you.
Green Goddess Pasta (Ultra Rich and Creamy!)
Ingredients
Other
- 10 ounces pasta, (I like to use principesse)
Green Goddess Pasta Sauce
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 4 ounces Spinach
- 2 ounces Kale
- 2 ounces Basil
- 1/3 cup shallots
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 2 tbsp mascarpone
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, (about 1/2 lemon)
- 2/3 cup parmesan
- 1/4 cup cashews
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup pasta water
Garnish:
- Red chili flakes, (to taste)
- Olive oil, (a light drizzle)
- Fresh mozzarella balls, (about 5 per serving)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: Boil salted water, cook pasta until al dente, and reserve ½ cup pasta water before draining.
- Sauté aromatics: In a skillet, warm olive oil and cook shallots and garlic until translucent and fragrant, being careful not to burn.
- Blanch the greens: Briefly cook spinach, kale, and basil in boiling water for 30–60 seconds, then drain and rinse under cold water.
- Blend the sauce: In a blender, combine the blanched greens, sautéed aromatics, mascarpone, parmesan, cashews, lemon juice, and pasta water. Blend until creamy and smooth.
- Toss everything together: Return pasta to the pot, pour in sauce, and toss until evenly coated. Adjust salt, pepper, and pasta water as needed.
- Garnish and serve: Top with red chili flakes, fresh mozzarella balls, and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Mascarpone: If you don’t have mascarpone, crème fraîche, ricotta, or cream cheese all work well.
- Parmesan Cheese: You can use pecorino Romano, Grana Padano, or nutritional yeast instead.
- Cashews: Use blanched almonds or pine nuts instead! For a nut free option, use sunflower seeds or hemp hearts.
- Cheesy Garlic bread for a classic carb-on-carb moment.
- Caprese salad for extra fresh mozzarella and tomato sweetness.
- Or Roasted veggies like zucchini, asparagus, or broccoli to keep things balanced.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE AND SO EASY! As a girl who has trouble eating her veggies this recipe was perfect for me!!! Will be making again, a new staple for me!