Kale Walnut Pesto

One of my favorite sauce, this Kale Walnut Pesto is so versatile. Enjoy it over sandwiches, pizza, pasta and much more!

I had forgotten how annoying it is to cook on these induction plates, oh the horror! So in India, we don’t have any induction plates or coils, we only have gas stoves. My first encounter with these was when I moved to Scotland for my MBA. At that point, I didn’t even know how to cook and then you ask me to cook on these hot plates, well perfect recipe for disaster!

Luckily I had gas in my apartment here in the US and of course while buying our house, this was my main criteria – I want a gas no matter what! (& of course a huge kitchen since I practically live there!) But now that I have moved to Houston for mom’s treatment, induction plates are back in my life! The apartment that we shifted to have these and yesterday I made some dal and rice for lunch. The dal spilled all over and the rice got burnt! I was just not able to get hold of the temperature regulation. I would increase the temperature and then it would be too hot for next few minutes even when I lower down the temperature. It does take some time to get used to it, especially when you have not cooked on them at all. Plus it’s not at all easy to cook in a new kitchen, without any of your ingredients and equipment 🙁 Oh well, the breakfast turned out pretty well, so I am hoping it would get better in the next few days.

And now let’s talk about pesto. It’s one of my favorite sauces without a doubt. While I love the classic basil pesto, I happen to love the other versions just as much. Few days back I had kale and pistachio pesto at one of the local restaurants and it was so good. So few weeks back, when I had this huge box of kale, I thought of making kale pesto but since I ran out of pistachios, I made this kale walnut pesto (using walnuts of course!) and it turned out really well!

Pesto is so versatile, add it to pasta, pizza, rice, soups, sandwich, salad, the list is really endless. You can see how I have used it in so many of my recipes from salads to wraps to pizza! And also it’s so convenient to just make it in bulk and freeze it. I usually freeze pesto in small containers and whenever I want to use one, I pop the container in the fridge overnight and it’s good to use in the morning.

For this kale pesto, I toasted the walnuts before adding to the recipe. You may not necessarily do it but I definitely recommend it, adds a nice touch. Hope you guys like this recipe of kale walnut pesto, it’s good on just about anything!

Also check out these other pesto recipes – Basil Pesto, Spinach Pesto .

Method

Heat a pan on medium heat. Add walnuts to it and toast them till fragrant, around 5-6 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

To a food processor add kale, toasted walnuts, parmesan cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Pulse till kale is coarsely chopped.

Add olive oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice.

Enjoy this Kale Walnut Pesto with your favorite recipes!

Kale Walnut Pesto

Manali

Kale Walnut Pesto is a super versatile sauce which is so good on just anything and everything! Add it to your sandwiches, veggies, pasta, pizza and much more!

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Course sauce

Cuisine Italian, World

Servings 1 cup

Calories 1542 kcal

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 cups chopped kale stems removed
• ▢ 2-3 garlic cloves
• ▢ 1/2 cup walnuts toasted
• ▢ 1/4 cup parmesan cheese I use vegetarian parmesan
• ▢ 1/2 cup olive oil
• ▢ juice of 1 small lemon
• ▢ salt to taste
• ▢ pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Heat a pan on medium heat. Add walnuts to it and toast them till fragrant, around 5-6 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
• To a food processor add kale, toasted walnuts, parmesan cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Pulse till kale is chopped.
• Add olive oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice.

Nutrition

Calories: 1542kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 26gFat: 154gSaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 481mgPotassium: 1244mgFiber: 3gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 20275IUVitamin C: 243mgCalcium: 666mgIron: 5.5mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @cookwithmanali or tag #cookwithmanali!

Kale Walnut Pesto