Kale Pesto
Similar to basil pesto, this Kale Pesto recipe is packed with healthy ingredients and loaded with amazing flavor! Simple, yet flavor-packed ingredients work together to make this irresistible pesto! It takes 5 minutes to make and you can eat it on anything!
Ingredients
This recipe doesn’t use a lot of ingredients, but the ingredients all contribute in a powerful way.
- Kale – you can use tuscan kale, curly kale, or baby kale (stems removed). I used curly kale.
- Salt – if the nuts you use are salted, reduce the amount of salt added.
- Garlic clove – not too much, but just a enough to add that hint of garlic to the pesto.
- Lemon juice
- Pistachios – I used roasted pistachios. See “FAQ and tips” section for suggestions.
- Olive oil
- Parmesan cheese – could use Romano cheese for a more pungent flavor, but I like the subtly of the parmesan.
- Red pepper flakes – (optional) for added heat.
How to make Kale Pesto
- Add the kale, salt, garlic, lemon juice, pistachios, and olive oil to the bowl of a food processor or blender.
- Process until smooth.
- Serve with pasta, on sandwiches, on kale pizza… whatever you want! It’s so good you can even eat it with a spoon.
FAQ and Tips
If using salted pistachios make sure to reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
Variations
If you don’t have pistachios you can substitute a different kind of nut such as walnuts, cashews, or almonds.
For a more pungent flavor use Romano cheese rather than parmesan.
If you don’t have red pepper flakes you can add jalapeño to the pesto for heat. Remove the jalapeño seeds for mild/medium, and keep the seeds for medium/hot.
Related Recipes
Kale Pesto
Ingredients
- 3 cups kale - stems removed, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup pistachios - see notes
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- pinch crushed red pepper flakes - optional. Add more for added heat
Instructions
- Add the kale, salt, garlic, lemon juice, pistachios and olive oil to the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth.
- Serve with pasta, on sandwiches, on pizza.
One Comment on “Kale Pesto”
This kale pesto is amazing! Wow!!! We stirred the pesto into some pasta. It was delicious!