Kale Pesto Recipe
This kale pesto recipe is made with baby kale, toasted pecans, garlic, lemon, and olive oil. It blends together in about 10 minutes in a food processor. Use it on pasta, eggs, or as a salad dressing.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Tender baby kale is an often-overlooked green, especially when perusing the produce section with clamshells of spinach, lettuce, and other greens. But this kale pesto recipe is a flavor bomb worth grabbing and lends itself to so many uses.
Kale pesto is a dairy-free pesto comes that comes together in about 10 minutes in a food processor. I like to keep a batch on hand, especially during fall and winter, when baby kale works best.
How to Use this Kale Pesto Recipe
You can use kale pesto any way you might use a traditional pesto, including stirred into pasta, drizzled on eggs, or served with Baked Delicata Squash for fall.
I initially developed this pesto to whisk into a vinaigrette for my Pesto & Persimmon Caprese Salad. Persimmons are available in October through the end of the year, and a drizzle of kale pesto with persimmons layered with mozzarella cheese is a seasonal way to showcase this pesto.
Kale Pesto Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 ounces baby kale
- 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans, toasted
- ½ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Add baby kale, parley, garlic and zest and juice of 1 lemon to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 15 to 20 times, until greens are finely chopped and well combined.
- Add in chopped pecans, salt and pepper. With food processor running on low, slowly drizzle in ½ cup olive oil until well combined, but not too oily.
- Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- To make the salad, alternate slices of persimmon with fresh mozzarella atop a bed of Baby Kale Pesto. Drizzle on more pesto and garnish with toasted, chopped pecans.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
