This simple pesto recipe is a good way to rescue your tired-looking greens. Pick any nuts or seeds, throw in some nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and garlic, and you’ve got yourself a quick and delicious spread. Try it on sandwiches or stir it into pasta, farro, or grain bowls.

I have a confession – I’ve never been a huge kale lover. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll definitely eat it, but if spinach or mixed greens are a choice for a salad base, I’ll always choose one of those over kale. As one very wise woman puts it, “Kale just multiples in your mouth.” She couldn’t be more right.

You can make pesto with just about anything, so don’t feel confined to kale and arugula. I just chose these two greens because those were the wilty greens in my fridge. I used sunflower seeds this time, but you can choose any nuts or seeds you want. I’ve made pesto with almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, walnuts, cashews, and hemp seeds, and every variation has turned out great.

The measurements don’t need to be exact, so just start dumping into your food processor.  If you are trying to ward off vampires, throw in more garlic. If you have a lot of tired-looking greens, throw them all in; you don’t have to stick to just two cups of greens. If you prefer a more tangy sauce, juice an extra lemon. You can also mix and match your nuts and seeds. I promise you – it’s pretty hard to mess up pesto!

I used chickpea pasta for my protein, but you can also throw in some chickpeas or cannellini beans if you prefer to use regular pasta or zoodles. Some other ideas to beef up your meal are roasted tomatoes, asparagus, peas, sundried tomatoes, or zucchini.

Remember, don’t feel confined to these ingredients. Find something green, add some seeds/nuts, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast, and BAM, you’ve got yourself some pesto.

What’s your favorite pesto variation?

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Kale and Arugula Pesto

This simple pesto recipe is a good way to rescue any tired-looking greens. Pick any nuts or seeds, throw in some nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and garlic, and you’ve got yourself a quick and delicious spread. Try it on sandwiches or stir it into pasta, farro, or bowls.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 1 cup

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 1 c kale
• 1 c arugula
• ¼ c sunflower seeds or any nut
• ¼ c nutritional yeast
• 1 T olive oil or water + more to thin
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 T lemon juice about 2 small lemons
• ¼ t each salt and pepper

Instructions

Instructions:

1. Add everything to a food processor and give it a whirl.
2. If it’s a little too thick, add more oil or water.