While Kale and Walnut Pesto might sound like an odd combination, don’t knock it before you’ve tried it! It's surprisingly versatile and highly nutritious.

What is pesto?

They say before you can break the rules you have to know what they are. The definition of pesto is a "a sauce of crushed basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan cheese and olive oil, typically served with pasta."

When I started playing around with the classic pesto recipe, Jon wasn't entirely convinced. He couldn't understand why I'd want to change a recipe that is so popular. I'm sure that some of you will already be thinking that it is sacrilege that I’d dare call this a recipe for pesto at all. After all, pine nuts and basil are no where in sight.

But, I ask you to not judge a book by its cover – or a recipe by its name – and to let me tell you how good this Kale and Walnut Pesto is.

What is Kale and Walnut Pesto

The vivid green colour of the sauce should remind you of a classic basil pesto. The difference however comes in the texture and taste.

Depending on how powerful your food processor is, you will probably find this recipe a little coarser than a classic pesto. That’s because the kale doesn't quite blend down as smoothly as basil. How smooth you want to make it is up to you - just leave it in your food processor a little longer to get the texture you'd like.

The kale also gives a more earthy taste and it’s not quite as sweet as pesto made with basil.

The toasted walnuts also add more of a nutty element to the sauce as well as subtle creaminess you need to bring the kale together with the smooth and silky olive oil.

The raw garlic provides a bit of warmth, and the lemon juice helps to cut through the pesto making sure it’s not too rich. The salty Parmesan seasons the sauce, finishing it off.

The benefits of raw kale

As well as being delicious, raw kale is nutritious too. In fact it's one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet!

It's packed with minerals, antioxidants and vitamins, particularly vitamins A, C, K and B1, B2, B3 and B6. As well as manganese, calcium, copper, potassium and magnesium!

The list goes on...

Variations

Whilst this is how I love to make my Kale and Walnut Pesto, keep tasting as you add the ingredients so you can decide whether it needs any additional seasoning, or perhaps a little more garlic or lemon juice.

Some people find the kale to be a little bit bitter. You can overcome this by blanching it in boiling water then plunging it into ice cold water to stop the cooling. The only thing to note is that kale does lose some of its health benefits once cooked.

Don’t be afraid to add more olive oil either. I prefer my pesto to be like a paste than a runny sauce which you can see from the photos. If you do make any variations when you try this recipe I’d love to hear them in the comments below.

The Recipe

Kale and Walnut Pesto

This Kale and Walnut pesto is a delicious alternative to the classic Italian sauce.

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Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Course Condiment, Ingredient

Cuisine British, Italian

Servings portions

Calories 255.53 kcal

Ingredients

100 g kale raw
100 g walnuts toasted
50 g Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic
1 lemon juice only
125 ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to season

Instructions

Simply place all of the ingredients into a food processor and blitz for 3 – 5 minutes or until you have reached the desired consistency. Taste before adding any salt and pepper to season, if required.
The pesto can be eaten immediately or stored in a steralised jar and topped with a little more olive oil for up to a week (if you don’t eat it before then).
This pesto also freezes well and can be kept in your freezer for up to a month. Freeze in ice cube trays for individual portions of pesto.

Nutrition

Calories: 255.53kcalCarbohydrates: 4.52gProtein: 4.87gFat: 25.55gSaturated Fat: 3.97gCholesterol: 4.25mgSodium: 105.83mgPotassium: 144.04mgFiber: 1.23gSugar: 0.72gVitamin A: 1303.1IUVitamin C: 22.55mgCalcium: 110.02mgIron: 0.78mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Serving suggestions

There are so many different ways you can use my Kale and Walnut Pesto. Of course the obvious way to eat it is stirred through pasta. If you want to make your own pasta then you can find my pasta dough recipe here (and my vegan variation here).

An alternative to pasta would be courgettini (spaghetti made from courgette).

This pesto is also great in a sandwich, spread between two slices of seeded bread with roasted Mediterranean vegetables and sun-dried tomatoes. Alternatively use it on top of crostini.

You could also use it in a salad dressing or on top of a pizza!

While Kale and Walnut Pesto might sound like an odd combination, don’t knock it before you’ve tried it! It's surprisingly versatile.

More pesto recipes

Everyone needs a classic homemade pesto recipe in their repertoire. Get my tried and tested recipe from Supper in the Suburbs!

Hemp Seed Pesto from Rough Measures
Seaweed Pesto from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary
Rocket and Walnut Pesto from Knead Whine
Spinach-Cashew Pesto from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary
Rose Petal Pesto from Recipes from a Pantry
Kale and Almond Pesto from Anne's Kitchen
Walnut and Rosemary Pesto from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary
Dairy Free Broccoli Pesto from Penelope's Pantry
Wasabi and Watercress Pesto from Emily's Recipes and Reviews

I'd love to hear your thoughts on my Kale and Walnut Pesto below!