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Kale & Basil Pesto
Course: Food Prep, SaucesCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: EasyServings4
servingsPrep time5
minutesCalories200
kcalOur goal was to make a homemade pesto with as many homegrown ingredients as possible. Even with the harsh seasons, kale and basil are easy to grow in our harsh midwest seasons of Minneapolis. The nutritional yeast gives you that cheesy flavor, while pine nuts make it nutty in a subtle way. We joke that “pesto is the besto” because it is. It’s great on pasta and elevates most any sandwich. Life is better when there’s pesto in the fridge.
Ingredients
2 cups (120 g) kale
½ cup (13 g) fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled
¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil
1 Tablespoon (9 g) nutritional yeast
¼ cup (34 g) pine nuts
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Add all ingredients to the container in the order listed above.
- Blend on medium speed for 60-90 seconds.
- Use the tamper to push ingredients from the corners into the blade.
- Blend until desired consistency is reached, maintaining some texture.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Transfer to a serving bowl or storage container.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Substitute walnuts for pine nuts.
- Substitute spinach or other dark leafy greens for kale.
- Measurements are somewhat approximate – aim for at least 1:1 ratio of greens to basil.
- Storage: Store for up to a week in an airtight container in your fridge.
15 responses to “Kale & Basil Pesto”
What is nutritional yeast? And what is its purpose in this, or any other, recipe? Never heard of it, so I’m curious!
I substituted an avocado for the oil and it came out super smooth and tasty.
love this ideal!! I do not like using oil..thank you
I don’t know why I haven’t thought about nutritional yeast in pesto either! I grow a lot of basil in the summer and most of it is turned into pesto and then frozen for use in the winter and early spring. Another great pesto is parsley and walnuts. The flavor is great and it lasts great in the fridge as parsley doesn’t oxidize like basil does. And if you are buying herbs, parsley is a lot more accessible. I have also added in carrot tops in smaller amounts. When my carrots are growing in the garden, I have an abundance of carrot tops and they go into everything. Thanks for all of the recipes and tips!
Hi. Do you substitute the pine nuts for walnuts? Pine nuts are so expensive for me. Can you send me your recipe? 3reachteresa at gmial
Any suggestions on how to adjust the recipe to make it oil free?
someone above uses avocado instead of oil
I have never made pesto but I shall pick up basil with my Kale this week and try it.
Looks delicious!Life is better when there’s pesto in the fridge. 🙂
Looks delicious and nutritious! Can I make this in the new Vitamix ONE? Mine arrives Sunday!
I’ve been making this pesto ever few weeks. Sometimes I use spinach and am thinking about branching out and trying steamed asparagus. I had asparagus pesto at a restaurant once and have been trying to recreate it.
There are a few of your recipes I can’t live without. I started with the queso and have been falling down the Life Is No Yoke rabbit hole ever since. I’m not vegan, but try to eat low saturated fat and low cholesterol. Your recipes are always delicious and I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. Thanks!
How much parmesan should I substitute with?
Thanks!
What if I don’t have nutritional yeast?
Hi May, Sam from LINY here–
Get some! It’s great for adding flavor and giving it that pesto-y texture.
Or… try it without! And if you do, let us know how it goes 🙂
I can attest: No nutritional yeast and it will be yummy still. I have to make pesto without salt which means no Parmesan too since it is super salty. Pesto without cheese is still delicious.
I don’t know why but I never even thought of adding nutritional yeast to my pesto. I use nutritional yeast in everything (I buy large flake nutritional yeast in a 2.5 # bucket for crying out loud). Why I haven’t thought to put it in my pesto is beyond me!?!
Thanks for this super umami fix to my no salt pesto!
This is a better fix than a tiny bit of balsamic…but I think I might make basil, nutritional yeast, garlic, and olive oil pesto with a touch of lemon with peel. Now doesn’t that sound good?
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