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Ah summer time. The months of endless basil and tomatoes. I think I've made at least five batches of pesto so far. I started using this lighter and cheaper version of this summer classic to ease up my waistline and wallet (pine nuts are not cheap!).
I actually used all almonds in one of the versions I tested and it was just as good as using half pine nuts half almonds. Really you can use whatever nuts you have stashed away. Speaking of using whatever you like ... you can use whatever herbs or combination of lettuces you like as well. I threw in some kale because I had a huge bag of it that need to be used up.
Why a blender? Because I HATE getting out my food processor. My blender sits on my counter 24/7 so it's easier to use. If you find getting food out of a food processor annoying too, you may want to look at a Ninja blender or a similar blender; it is going to make cooking a whole lot easier.
You can use this pesto on sandwiches, on top of pasta, or even use it to dress salads! It's very versatile.
Here is the recipe:
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Vegan Homemade Pesto in a Blender
- Total Time: 5 minutes
Description
Here is a lighter (and cheaper) version of this summer classic.
Ingredients
- 2 cups kale
- 1 cup basil
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1/4 cup pine nuts (feel free to use all almonds if you don't have pine nuts around)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
Instructions
Throw all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth.
Notes
If you would like a richer pesto substitute more oil for the broth.
- Prep Time: 5 min
Here's one of my favorite pastas that you can use this pesto on:
Margie Johnston says
I found the suggestion to use vegetable stock in the pesto a nice alternative to so much oil and I couldn't taste a difference. I made one batch with lemon and one without and used walnuts instead of pine nuts. Good recipe. I will use it when I have basil again.