This bright and healthy Spinach Basil Pesto is the perfect Summertime sauce for naturally low carb meals.
It tastes amazing on low carb noodles, crackers and bread. It makes an excellent dip for a charcuterie board and it's a fine way to fit more greens into your low carb diet.
Need ideas to pack more greens into your diet? This is a great (and tasty) way to do it!
🥘Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups spinach leaves packed
Spinach has a ton of vitamins and is a great source of minerals too. You can exchange the spinach for kale if you like that better, and here is a pesto recipe dedicated to Kale.
Spinach is perfect for those on the Keto Diet because the magnesium and potassium both help to alleviate cramps and other issues associated with the Keto Flu. If you want to learn more about the benefits, see this post.
- ¾ cup basil leaves packed
Choose fresh parsley if you are having trouble finding basil in your area. It's fresh, delicious and the store always has a supply ready.
Last week a friend of mine gave me my very own basil plant and I am thrilled. ( I hope I can keep it happy.)
- ½ cup Walnuts * toasted - or toasted pine nuts for traditional pesto
I love pine nuts but they are pretty spendy...even at Costco. This is the best deal I have seen on them in a while.
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese *shredded is best - to taste
- 2 cloves garlic *to taste. If using dried garlic, use two tsp.
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice * Fresh lemon juice is best -or ¼ teaspoon citric acid
I love using citric acid in cooking! It's shelf stable and the flavor never overpowers your dish with "lemon or lime" flavoring. I highly recommend trying it out if you consider yourself to be a true foodie.
Just make sure that you are using "food grade" citric acid. This is the kind we like.
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest *optional
- ½ cup olive oil * extra-virgin gives best results
👩🏿🍳 How to Make the Pesto:
Yep, the Spinach Basil Pesto Sauce can really be made in five minutes....
- Add all ingredients to the blender and process until smooth enough for your liking. Scrape the sides if necessary.
- Serve on zoodles, crackers, toast or with veggies. Store in the fridge for 3-5 days or freeze for longer storage. Tips for storage are in the post. Using the lemon juice (or citric acid) keeps it fresh and bright green longer.
📋 Recipe Tips:
- You can store this sauce in the fridge for 3-5 days in an airtight container.
- You can make this sauce ahead and it's better if you give it some time(at least an hour) in the fridge for flavors to meld.
- Want to freeze this pesto?
You can freeze this sauce in individual serving sizes in an ice cube tray. Once the cubes are frozen solid, pop them out and store them in an airtight freezer bag.
Don't leave them in the ice cube tray for too long or they will freezer burn.
This recipe is great with:
That's all Friends!
The Low Carb Spinach Basil Pesto Recipe is super easy to make and you should definitely taste it before serving so that you can customize the spices like salt and pepper before serving.
If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, please leave them below. We love hearing from you guys!
Ciao for Now!
Brandy
More Healthy Recipes to Love:
Spinach Basil Pesto Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups spinach leaves packed
- ¾ cup basil leaves packed
- ½ cup Walnuts * toasted - or toasted pine nuts for traditional pesto
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese *shredded is best - to taste
- 2 cloves garlic *to taste. If using dried garlic, use two tsp.
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice * Fresh lemon juice is best -or ¼ teaspoon citric acid
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest *optional
- ½ cup olive oil * extra-virgin gives best results
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to the blender and process until smooth enough for your liking. Scrape the sides if necessary.
- Serve on zoodles, crackers, toast or with veggies. Store in the fridge for 3-5 days or freeze for longer storage. Tips for storage are in the post. Using the lemon juice keeps it fresh and bright green longer.
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Nutrition
The nutritional information for the Spinach Basil Pesto 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.
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