If I’m being honest, I am obsessed with pesto. It’s creamy, slightly acidic and full of healthy fats! It’s easy to make in a blender or food processor, can be made with a wide variety of greens, nuts and acids. And its soooo versatile. I love it on chicken, fish or veggie noodles…or mixed into a frittata…or added to vegetable soup. I could literally go on and on…but I won’t. Let’s just say that I make some sort of pesto nearly every week as part of my food prep because its so useful.
And the best part is that this recipe is Whole30, Paleo and Vegan…but still has an amazing umami flavor thanks to the addition of Bragg’s Nutritional Yeast which has a wonderful, nutty, salty, cheesy flavor…without the cheese! If you aren’t familiar with nutritional yeast I suggests that you read about it here.
Now…don’t get hung-up on thinking that pesto has to be made with basil and pine nuts! For the greens you can use parsley, watercress, arugula, kale, swiss chard or even beet greens. And as far as nuts go, you can use almonds, walnuts or cashews. Pesto is a great opportunity to be creative! Each combo tastes slightly different…but they are all delish in their own way!!
One of my favorite combinations, however, is this Creamy Kale and Cashew Pesto.
Here I blended two large handfuls of kale leaves (no stems) with 1/2 cup of cashews, the juice from 1/2 a lemon, 1/4 cup Bragg’s Nutritional Yeast, a few cloves of garlic, salt/pepper/red pepper flakes to taste and extra virgin olive oil (1/4 cup to start) and blended it. I added a bit more olive oil until I got the desired consistency.
- 2 large handfuls of kale leaves (no stems)
- ½ cup of cashews
- Juice from ½ a lemon
- ¼ cup of Bragg’s Nutritional Yeast
- 2 cloves of garlic
- ¼ - ½ cup of olive oil
- Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
- Add all ingredient to a blender or food processor and pulse till fully blended.
- Add more olive oil and/or lemon juice until you get the desired consistence and taste!