Name: Easy Kale Pesto Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 medium bunch of tuscan kale, stems removed; 1 small-medium garlic clove; 1/8 cup of walnuts; 1/8 cup of pistachio nuts; 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 1/2 cup of olive oil; 1 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice; 1 tsp salt

Love Kale? Love Pesto? Then you’re going to be especially interested in what’s coming your way. This easy kale pesto recipe is going to be your best friend. Even if you don’t love kale but know you should be eating more, this is a great way to sneak it into your diet. (You can read all about the benefits of kale here.) You can slather the garlicky goodness on almost anything to intensify your meal. Pizza. Pasta. Smear it on your favorite sandwich. Lather it on baked chicken. Top it on eggs (trust). It can do no wrong.

Fun fact: The word pesto actually means ‘to crush’ in Genoese – which makes sense since classic pesto is crushed in a mortar and pestle.

What is pesto?

Traditionally, pesto is made with fresh basil leaves, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic cloves and olive oil. Then, with a mortar and pestle, those ingredients are crushed together to make the sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love the traditional stuff. However, we’re switching things up a bit here at Krisp with this easy kale pesto recipe.

Fun fact: The word pesto actually means ‘to crush’ in Genoese – which makes sense since given how traditional pesto is made.

Pesto ingredients

Instead of basil, we’re using tuscan kale. I happen to really love the way tuscan kale works for this recipe, but curly kale will be just fine. Instead of pine nuts, we’re using toasted walnuts and pistachios which really deepen the flavor of the pesto. And, since not many people own a mortar and pestle, a food processor would work just fine. I also highly recommend using fresh lemon juice (this really applies to all recipes) as sometimes the bottled lemon juice may contain preservatives. Plus, fresh is more authentic! And, last but certainly not least, the cheese. If you ask me, freshly grated Parmesan cheese makes everything wonderful.

Pesto recipes

The most obvious choice when cooking with pesto, is pasta. The nuttiness of the pesto matches so perfectly with it. However, there are so many other uses that you just must try with this kale pesto recipe. Make a batch of it in the beginning of the week and use it with the following recipes:

Add a little more olive oil to make dressing for your favorite salad
Smear it on your favorite bread
Use it to top on chicken breasts
Toss it in a sauté pan with shrimp
Add some butter to slather it on skirt steak
Bake it on top of salmon
Toss it with veggies and roast
Add it to your favorite pizza crust
Mix with scrambled eggs, or top it on toast with a runny egg

The options are endless with this recipe. And, the best part is it comes together in 10 minutes! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

When you make this recipe, please let me know what you think in the comments or tag me @KrispXKristin on Instagram. Happy Pesto-ing!