ooooh that kale pesto, I’m tellin ya. 💋
I know it sounds like the most crazy thing. First of all, KALE. Annnnd already we’ve lost about half.
But I don’t stop there. No, I go right on ahead and make this a VEGAN kale pesto, and I’m left with, like, three blog readers.
This isn’t a vegan food blog, although I should say that most of our people here are regular-grocery-store-shopping, real-food-eating individuals who like anything from saucy chicken to down home casseroles (😱) to chocolate peanut butter everything to – yes – the occasional plant-based meal. But Vegan Kale Pesto? I might be pushing my luck with this.
Also: I might be pushing my luck by embracing this, 2015, the year of the fast and easy, flavor-bomb green sauces.
5 Minute Avocado Cilantro Dressing
and now, this: our 5 Minute Vegan Kale Pesto.
What can I say? I like to live on the edge.
This vegan kale pesto takes, just guess — 5 minutes. Or less, even. 🎉
It’s so speedy-quick, which is awesome because it belongs on a few other recipes – such as this easy cheesy cauliflower soup, and that breakfast pizza that isn’t a post yet but give me a few days – and having the pesto for these and any other recipes already prepared and done in two and a half winks is a plain and simple lifesaver. Your complete recipes come together in a snap and your food life becomes fun, delicious, easy.
You don’t have to put this in a recipe, though. I mean, I’m just saying that adding a few spoonfuls to scrambled eggs with goat cheese (!!!!) or spreading it on crackers with slices of Manchego or Parmesan would be totally, absolutely wonderful. <- (understatement)
At this point I’ve gotten you three vegan enthusiasts all excited and then totally offended you by offering them eggs, goat cheese, and Parmesan. Forgive? Sometimes I just… it’s like… I don’t even… yeah.
Bottom line! Make this pesto and put it on things and adore it with all your veggie-loving heart plz thank you goodbye the end.
5 Minute Vegan Kale Pesto
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: about 1 cup – 8 servings, 2 tablespoons each 1x
Description
5 Minute Vegan Kale Pesto – made with almonds, olive oil, kale, garlic, salt, and lemon juice. Less than 150 calories per serving!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups torn kale (no stems) and parsley, combined
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
- 1 clove garlic
- juice of one lemon
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup raw almonds
Instructions
Notes
I ended up using about 1 1/2 cups kale + 1/2 cup parsley. But I’ve made this many times with just about any combination of greens, whether JUST kale, kale and spinach, kale and other herbs… it is a very flexible recipe so adjust the ingredients and quantities depending on what you have on hand. A traditional pesto flavor profile would include basil, but when I made it with basil, I didn’t really love it. Go figure. Just make it however you like is what I’m saying here.
If you don’t want this to be vegan, no probs. Just add a handful of Parmesan into the mix and YUM.
Also really really really delicious = using spicy almonds. I just bought some from a co-op that were already seasoned and spiced and used them in place of the raw almonds.
- Prep Time: 3 mins
- Cook Time: 2 mins
- Category: Sauce
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: kale pesto, vegan kale pesto
PS. Somehow in the flurry of vegan kale pesto I forgot to mention that we are Food Blog University conferencing it up in Mexico right now?! I’m writing this from my very lovely hotel room, looking out the window at the ocean, with Bjork sleeping soundly on the other side of the room. He’s going to not like me for saying that but sometimes you have to drop these little statements here and there just to see if your people are reading these things, right?
For my fellow travel photo lovers, I am sharing our Mexico travel updates on Snapchat! Like just about everything we’re eating (ohmygosh) plus ocean views and a few Mexico selfies. Like we do. 🌴
PS. I used my food processor for this recipe – and I love it so much that I wrote this post showing off 12 Magical Ways To Use A Food Processor! ✨ I loooove that thing.
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our Sauces That Make Everything Better roundup. Check it out!