If you’re like me, you might have bought a bunch of kale with high ambitions and then wondered- what am I going to do with all this kale?! Kale pesto enters the chat.
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Welcome to your new favorite pesto recipe. This recipe has lots of hearty texture, bright flavors and a vibrant color. The whole recipe takes about 10 minutes to come together making it a go-to for a quick, weeknight recipe. I’ve personally never been a huge weekend meal prepper, but this kale pesto recipe is great to make ahead of time on the weekend. That way, when Wednesday rolls around and the desire to not cook and eat Taco Bell is strong- your pesto is ready and you’re already halfway to a tasty dinner.
What does kale pesto taste like
This doesn’t taste like your traditional basil pesto, but it is still delicious. Less aromatic, more peppery, and thanks to generous amounts of salt, lemon and parm- very bright. Blanching the kale is a crucial step to this recipe as it helps remove the green’s natural bitterness.
How to make kale pesto
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Kale – You’ll remove the hard stems and use the leaves and tender stems. You can save the stems and freeze them to make a veggie stock, blend up in a smoothie or a simple saute with your favorite seasonings. For this recipe I use curly kale but you could use Tuscan or other varieties.
- Lemon – for brightness and to blend
- Walnuts – adds texture and body. Pine nuts are traditionally used for pesto, but I opt for the cheaper and still equally tasty walnut. (Pine nuts- in this economy!?)
- Garlic – makes it tasty of course
- Parmesan cheese – makes it savory and delicious (because cheese). You could swap out for nutritional yeast and make this a vegan kale pesto.
- Extra virgin olive oil – adds fatty richness and adds moisture to bring the pesto together.
- Salt and pepper – seasoning to make all the flavors pop.
This recipe comes together in minutes! Here’s how to make it happen:
First, boil a pot of generously salted water over high heat. Once that’s boiling, carefully add your kale leaves and cook. After roughly 1 minute, use tongs to remove them from the water and throw them in your blender. At this point, I recommend saving 1 cup of the hot cooking liquid in case your pesto is chunky and needs a little extra love to make it smooth.
Next, you add all the other ingredients to the blender- lemon juice, walnuts, garlic, parm, olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend that goodness up, adding the hot cooking liquid if you need it. Then taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
We could see this working very well with a Ground Turkey Pasta recipe!
How long does kale pesto last
If you aren’t consuming your pesto immediately, be sure to store it in an airtight container in your fridge. I’d recommend drizzling a little olive oil on top to keep it vibrant. It lasts up to four days. Kale pesto also freezes very well.
Looking for a treat to compliment this? Try this sugar free cheesecake
Kale Pesto Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Large Pot
- 1 Set of tongs
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- 1 Small bunch kale
- 2 or 3 garlic cloves
- 1 juice lemon
- ½ cup walnuts
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 salt and pepper to taste
Recipe Instructions
Place a large pot of generously salted water over high heat. Bring to a boil and add kale leaves. Cook for 1 minute.
Using tongs, remove kale leaves from boiling water and place in blender. Save roughly 1 cup of cooking liquid.
Next, add garlic, lemon juice, walnuts, parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper to the blender and process until smooth. (Use reserved cooking liquid if needed to smooth it out).- Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
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