Kale Walnut Pesto
Sep 15, 2016, Updated Jul 28, 2019
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!
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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
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Kale Walnut Pesto
I’ve made this so many times. We love it!
This is amazing Manali! I am your fan. Thank you <3
Thank you! 🙂
Looking forward to trying this recipe. The nutrition facts cannot be per serving (even though it says so) correct?
I’ve never used induction plates — I can only imagination how frustrating that would be! I hope everything is going ok with your mom. 🙂
I live for pesto AND kale so this is something I would add to dishes often!
Pesto is a great way to pack a ton of flavor into just about anything!
The colour is very nice! Lovely recipe ♥
summerdaisycottage.blogspot.com
Great recipe Manali, your clicks are simply amazing. 🙂
Wow, this pesto sounds Ah-Mazing, Manali! It’s a combo of my favorite ingredients, so I know it’s going to be delicious! Pinning for later!
This is such a beautiful pesto recipe Manali, walnut and kale is such a delicious combination! Your photos are so stunning too. I can’t wait to try your recipe!
It’s gotta be a gas stove. Seriously. I love being able to control the heat and the level of the flame. It’s so much easier than an induction stove!
This is the best pesto. I love that you changed up the base!
This looks so good! Love the pictures!
Thank you Mira 🙂
This pesto is incredible! Kale and walnuts are both such superfoods and I love them both 🙂
Thank you Medha!
Yay! I have the ingredients. I’m going to give it a try. Looks great.
Hope you like it Tania! 🙂
Update: Made this and had it with cheddar crackers. Absolutely amazing!
Awesome! 🙂
What a great idea to make pesto with kale! What a powerful healthy punch you’ve added. How cool that you got your MBA in Scotland!
Thank you Rachelle! Yes Scotland was really nice 🙂
I love a good pesto, but I’ve never made one with kale. This sounds amazing, Manali…and I want to put it all over pasta for a tasty dinner now! Induction plates as the primary way of cooking? Bah. Sounds rough. You should go buy one of those portable one-burner gas stoves. They have little canisters of gas that screw into ’em. We used them back when I took a few cooking classes at our local community college. (They’re probably sold at a restaurant supply store…or maybe in the camping section?) Not ideal, but way better than induction plates!
Thank you David! Oh don’t ask me, these induction plates are driving me nuts! I like the idea of portable gas stove, might look for it!
Pesto is just about my favorite sauce! I think I could eat it for every meal. I love that you used kale in here! Such a pretty color, too!
Pesto is definitely the best!
Definitely my favourite!
Mine too!
Kale pesto is always our go-to, but I haven’t made it with walnuts before. Adding the kale is a nice way to give it a veggie boost.
Absolutely!