Spinach Walnut Pesto
Spinach walnut pesto is a simple, healthy, vibrant sauce that is so easy to make! Perfect for pasta, zoodles, pizza, wraps or dipping your favorite veggies, you are going to love how much flavor this recipe adds to any dish! Naturally gluten free, dairy free, low carb, paleo, Whole30 and keto friendly!
Servings 4
Calories 122kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 package basil 4 oz
- 1 lemon juiced large
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp water or more see instructions
- 2 cups baby spinach 2 large handfuls
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the basil, lemon juice and olive oil. Process about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add the walnuts, salt, garlic powder, and 1 tbsp. water to the food processor and process on high until smooth (1-2 minutes).
- Add the spinach to the food processor (in batches if necessary) and blend until smooth.
- Add additional water depending on how thick you want your pesto, 1/2-1 tablespoon at a time.
Notes
Storage:
- Store in sealed glass container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Note: color will start to darken after 3-4 days.
- To freeze pesto for later: Freeze in silicone ice cube tray until solid. Once solid, remove from tray and store in a freezer safe silicone bag or freezer bag for up to 2 months.
- Spinach: you can also use arugula or kale in place of the spinach. However these greens are typically more bitter than spinach so you may need more lemon juice or salt to offset the bitterness of these greens.
- Lemon juice: If you don’t have lemon juice on hand, you can also try this with about 2-3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar. The flavor will not be exact but it will be close!
- Basil: basil is what really brings the vibrant, zesty flavor to the pesto. However you could take this in a different direction by using Italian parsley or omitting the basil completely.
- Walnuts: If you don’t have walnuts on hand, you can also use:
- Almonds,
- Cashews
- Hazelnuts
- Hemp hearts
- Pumpkin seeds or
- Sunflower seeds
- Garlic powder: I use garlic powder because I find that raw garlic can sometimes be a bit overwhelming to pesto, but some people love that kick from raw garlic. If you would rather use raw garlic, you will need about 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped.
- If you cannot have garlic, I would recommend that you use roasted garlic olive oil in place of the olive oil to give it some garlic flavor without the garlic.
Nutrition
Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g
