Easy Kale Pesto Sauce Recipe

This is an Easy Kale Pesto Recipe that you can customize to your liking. It’s AMAZING on zoodles, pizza, crackers and in salad.

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Ingredients for the Kale Pesto Sauce Recipe:

• 2 cups kale chopped and packed into the cup
• 1 tbsp lime juice

Use lemon juice if you like that better but the citrus keeps this sauce the bright green color that is so appetizing and makes it taste FRESH.

• 1/3 cup Nuts *whatever kind you like~ I used toasted walnuts.

Traditionally pine nuts are used in pesto sauces. But, those are hard to come by sometimes (and they are spendy).

I have used, pistachios,  cashews (amazing flavor) and toasted walnuts in this sauce. It really is up to you.

• 1/2 tsp powdered garlic *to taste

Wait until the end to add more than the 1/2 teaspoon. You don’t want to overpower the other fresh flavors.

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup olive oil

This is a guide. Start with 3/4 cup of olive oil and if you want your pesto thinner add it in one tbsp at a time. How much you use will really depend on what dishes you are planning to make with this sauce.

• 1/3 cup Parmesan Grated or shredded but shredded is best in this recipe.

Yes, of course you can use the Parmesan in the green can. But if you do, omit the salt until you taste it at the end.

• Optional Basil

Basil is an AMAZING herb. But it’s especially delicious with dishes that contain tomato.

Traditionally Pesto Recipes contain basil. Add it if you like it and have it on hand.

How to Make Kale Pesto Sauce:

• Wash the kale and chop roughly. In a blender or food processor, puree the kale with the nuts, lime juice and garlic until smooth.
• Add oil at the end and blend a bit more. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

How much oil you will use is entirely dependent on what you are going to use this sauce for.

• Serve with whatever you like. Such as zoodles, on pizza or Keto bread or meat.
  

Kale Pesto Sauce Variations and Tips:

• Use spinach or straight basil if you don’t like kale.

I can’t imagine anyone who hates kale reading this post but I guess anything can happen.

I don’t love kale but it is one of the few vegetables that grows in the climate I live in. So, I find ways to use it because it’s plentiful and super healthy. See what the experts say about Kale.

• Use more oil to make a thinner sauce if you are using the Kale Pesto Sauce to put on Zoodles.

It will stick to them easier.

• Use less oil if you plan on using this pesto on pizza.

A more substantial sauce is warranted here. But either way it will make a great pizza.

How can you make this pesto friendly for specific diets?

• Trade the nuts for seeds like pumpkin or sunflower if you have nut allergies.
• Trade the Parmesan for  nutritional yeast if you want to go dairy-free for Paleo or any other reason.
• The calorie count will change with any change you make to the recipe.

If you don’t have a macros app you should check this one out. The basic app is FREE and it’s what we use when we need to calculate macros on the go.

How to store Pesto Sauce:

You can store this sauce in the fridge for 7-10 days in a glass jar or whatever airtight container you like.

If you are going to keep it longer you can freeze it.

In fact, if you plan to use it often you can triple the recipe and freeze it in small containers…an ice tray works well for individual servings. Once it’s frozen just pop out the cube and store in an airtight freezer bag.

This sauce is excellent on:

• Pizza
• Crackers
• zoodles
• Dip for Bread Sticks
• Baked Chicken

I think that’s it for the Kale Pesto Recipe…

I hope you love it and as always, if you have any questions comment or just want to say hi please leave us a comment below.

Thanks for stopping by and Keto On!

Brandy

The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy. We are pretty careful about our figures but if you ever feel like anything is off please feel free to do your own calculations.