Kale Pesto

5 from 2 votes

Making a small batch of kale pesto is a great way to use leftover kale. This flavorful pesto is great on sandwiches, in soups, dips, and more!

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: American

Total Cost: $3.30 recipe / $0.83 serving

Servings: 1/4 cup each

Calories: 368.38kcal

Author: Beth Moncel

Equipment

Food Processor
Grater
Small Enamelware Bowl

Ingredients

4 cups torn kale leaves $1.06
1/3 cup olive oil $0.85
1 fresh lemon $0.37
1 clove garlic $0.08
1/4 cup walnuts $0.30
1/3 cup Parmesan $0.59
1/2 tsp salt $0.02
Freshly cracked pepper $0.03

Instructions

Make sure your kale leaves are washed well, any excess water is drained away, and any hard stems removed. Zest and juice the lemon.
Add the kale, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/2 tsp lemon zest, olive oil, garlic, walnuts, Parmesan, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper to a food processor. Process until the mixture is a fine textured paste. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper, or lemon if desired. If you want a runnier pesto for drizzling, add extra oil, or up to 2 Tbsp water.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

Optional: Try using roasted garlic instead of fresh for a slightly more mellow flavor!

Nutrition

Kale Pesto https://metabolic-life.news/homemade-kale-pesto/%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-45332":{"type":"food","name":"Kale Pesto","slug":"wprm-kale-pesto","image_url":"https:\/\/www.budgetbytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Kale-Pesto-front.jpg","rating":{"count":2,"total":10,"average":5,"type":{"comment":2,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"4","unit":"cups","name":"torn kale leaves","notes":"$1.06","unit_id":11946,"id":10137,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"4","unit":"cups","timestamp":1774505005000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"4","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":1,"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","name":"olive oil","notes":"$0.85","unit_id":11945,"id":1150,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774505005000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"1","unit":"","name":"fresh lemon","notes":"$0.37","id":1316,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"","timestamp":1774505005000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"1","unit":"clove","name":"garlic","notes":"$0.08","unit_id":12047,"id":1141,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"clove","timestamp":1774505005000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"clove","unitParsed":"clove"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"1\/4","unit":"cup","name":"walnuts","notes":"$0.30","unit_id":11945,"id":6496,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/4","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774505005000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/4","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":5,"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","name":"Parmesan","notes":"$0.59","unit_id":11945,"id":3088,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774505005000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"1\/2","unit":"tsp","name":"salt","notes":"$0.02","unit_id":11942,"id":1103,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1774505005000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"Freshly cracked pepper","notes":"$0.03","id":1282,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1774505005000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}}],"originalServings":"4","originalServingsParsed":4,"currentServings":"4","currentServingsParsed":4,"currentServingsFormatted":"4","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"collection":{"type":"recipe","recipeId":45332,"name":"Kale Pesto","image":"https:\/\/www.budgetbytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Kale-Pesto-front-500x500.jpg","servings":4,"servingsUnit":"1\/4 cup each","parent_id":"45325","parent_url":"https:\/\/www.budgetbytes.com\/homemade-kale-pesto\/","cachedAt":1774505005,"modifiedAt":1751892455}}}