Viral “Grinch” Pasta (Spinach Ravioli with Creamy Pesto Filling)
If you have been anywhere near food Instagram during the Christmas season, you’ve probably seen some version of the viral “Grinch pasta” — bright green noodles, pops of red, and all the festive vibes. I loved the idea immediately, but I wanted to turn it into something a little more elevated and special-occasion worthy.
Enter homemade spinach ravioli with a creamy pesto-lemon filling, complete with a heart that’s “three sizes too small.“
This dish keeps everything I loved about the viral trend — the bold green color, the Christmas spirit, the playful red accents — but transforms it into a cozy, from-scratch pasta that feels perfect for a holiday dinner, Christmas Eve, or a fun winter hosting night.
🧰 Recommended Equipment
You don’t need anything fancy to make this recipe, but a few tools make the process easier and more enjoyable:
- Pasta roller (hand-crank or stand mixer attachment)
This makes rolling the dough thin and even much faster, especially if you’re making ravioli for a crowd. That said, a rolling pin works just fine if you don’t have one. - Ravioli cutter or pastry wheel
Helpful for clean edges and evenly sized ravioli. A sharp knife or bench scraper also works in a pinch. - Small heart-shaped cutter
Used to cut tiny hearts from red bell pepper for the classic Grinch touch. Even a paring knife works if you don’t have one — perfection not required.
Tip: If this is your first time making ravioli, don’t stress about tools. The recipe is forgiving, and handmade edges add to the charm.
💚 The Spinach Pasta Dough
The dough gets its vibrant green color naturally from fresh spinach blended right into the pasta. It rolls out beautifully, cooks quickly, and gives you that unmistakable Grinch-green color without any food dye.
I’ve included two dough options below — one with sourdough discard and one without.
🥟 Spinach Pasta Dough (Two Ways)
Option 1: With Sourdough Discard
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sourdough discard (unfed)
- ½ cup packed fresh spinach
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Blend the spinach with the sourdough discard until completely smooth.
- Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl or on a clean work surface.
- Make a well in the center and add the spinach mixture.
- Mix and knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms, about 5–7 minutes.
- Wrap tightly and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Roll thin*, fill, cut ravioli, and cook in generously salted boiling water until ravioli float, about 2–3 minutes.
*If using a pasta roller, roll it to either a 3 or a 4. If using a rolling pin, see instructions below.
Option 2: No Sourdough Discard (Updated)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup packed fresh spinach
- ½ tsp salt
- 2–4 tbsp water, as needed
Instructions
- Blend the spinach with the egg until completely smooth.
- Combine the flour and salt in a bowl or on a clean work surface.
- Make a well and add the spinach-egg mixture.
- Mix and knead until smooth and elastic, adding water a tablespoon at a time only if the dough feels dry.
- Wrap tightly and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Roll thin*, fill, cut ravioli, and cook as directed above.
*If using a pasta roller, roll it to either a 3 or a 4. If using a rolling pin, see instructions below.
🪵 How to Roll Pasta Without a Pasta Roller
No pasta roller? No problem — a rolling pin works perfectly.
- Divide the dough into 2–4 smaller pieces. Keep unused dough covered so it doesn’t dry out.
- Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin.
- Flatten one piece of dough with your hands, then roll from the center outward.
- Rotate the dough a quarter turn every few rolls, dusting lightly with flour as needed.
- Keep rolling until the dough is very thin — translucent enough that you can see your hand through it when you lift it.
If the dough springs back, let it rest 5–10 minutes, then continue rolling. Thinner dough makes lighter, better ravioli.
🥟 How to Assemble and Seal Ravioli
This is where everything comes together — and a few small details make a big difference.
- Roll your pasta dough into long, thin sheets.
- Place 1 tablespoon of filling spaced evenly along one sheet, leaving about 1½ inches between each mound.
- If using the red bell pepper hearts, place one heart on top of each filling mound.
- Lightly brush or dab water around each mound of filling.
This acts like glue and helps the pasta sheets seal together. - Gently lay a second sheet of pasta over the top.
- Press around each mound of filling to remove air pockets.
- Cut ravioli using a knife, bench scraper, or ravioli cutter. (This is the ravioli cutter set that I have!)
- Press edges gently with a fork to seal if you did not used a ravioli cutter.
👉 Avoid pressing too hard directly on the filling — work from the edges inward.
🧀 The Filling: Creamy, Bright, and Balanced
The filling is a blend of low-fat cottage cheese and ricotta, pesto, lemon juice, parmesan, a touch of honey, and fresh spinach. It’s creamy without being heavy, tangy but not overpowering, and holds up beautifully inside ravioli.
I love using the cottage cheese combo because:
- Cottage cheese keeps it lighter and higher-protein
- Ricotta adds richness and classic ravioli texture
- Pesto and lemon keep everything fresh instead of heavy
If you don’t want to blend cottage cheese, there’s an easy all-ricotta option below.
⭐ Creamy Pesto–Lemon Ravioli Filling
Makes about 24 ravioli (1 tbsp filling each)
Ingredients
- 1½ cups low-fat cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 3 tbsp pesto
- 3 tbsp parmesan cheese
- 1½ tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup packed fresh spinach
- 1½ tsp honey
- Salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, blend the cottage cheese, lemon juice, 2 tbsp pesto, and 2 tbsp parmesan until mostly smooth.
- Add the spinach, ricotta, honey, and remaining pesto and parmesan.
- Pulse just until combined — don’t over-blend.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Use about 1 tbsp filling per ravioli.
🧀 No-Blender Option (All Ricotta)
If you prefer not to blend cottage cheese:
- Use 15 oz ricotta cheese total
- Finely chop the spinach
- Mix everything together by hand
This version is richer and more traditional, but still delicious.
🎄 How I Serve It (Highly Recommend)
- Bed of spinach:
Boil fresh spinach for 20–30 seconds, then drain well so it stays bright green. - Rao’s marinara sauce:
The red sauce against the green pasta is pure Christmas color magic. - Finish with:
- Extra parmesan
- Red pepper flakes if you’re feeling spicy
❤️ The Grinch Touch: Red Bell Pepper Hearts
Using a small heart cutter or a paring knife, cut tiny hearts from a red bell pepper.
Add one inside each ravioli and sprinkle extra on top before serving for that classic Grinch detail. I also used this mini cookie cutter for the hearts on top to save me some time!
✨ Final Tips
- Don’t overfill ravioli — 1 tablespoon is perfect
- Slightly dampen the bottom pasta sheet with water around where the edges need to seal to help the two layers stick together.
- Freeze uncooked ravioli flat, then transfer to a freezer bag
