Kale Pesto Pasta
Kale makes a great inexpensive and earthy pesto! Dress up this Kale Pesto pasta with add-ins to make it a meal, or keep it simple for the perfect summer side.
Servings: 6
Calories: 504.02kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta $1.49
- 4 cups kale, chopped, loosely packed $0.50
- 1/3 cup olive oil, or as needed $0.82
- 1 large lemon (1/4 c juice, 1 Tbsp zest) $0.75
- 1 clove garlic $0.08
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts $0.57
- 1/3 cup Parmesan, grated $0.55
- 1/2 tsp salt, or as needed $0.03
- Freshly cracked pepper to taste $0.05
- 4 oz. mozzarella (optional) $2.00
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to boil until the pasta is tender. Drain in a colander and let cool.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the pesto. Pull the kale leaves from the woody stems, and roughly chop into thin strips. Place the kale in a colander and rinse with cool water. Let the excess water drain away.
- Add the chopped and washed kale to a food processor along with the olive oil, 1/4 cup juice from the lemon, garlic, walnuts, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Purée the mixture until smooth and bright green. Add more oil if needed to allow the mixture to become a thick, smooth sauce. Taste the pesto and adjust the salt, pepper, or lemon juice to your liking. Set the pesto aside.
- Once the pasta is drained and cooled to the point where it is no longer steaming, transfer it to a large bowl. Add about half of the pesto and stir until the pasta is coated.
- Dice the mozzarella into small cubes, then add it to the pasta along with about 1 Tbsp of the zest from the lemon. Stir to combine with the pesto pasta. Add more pesto until everything is coated in a thick layer. Top with more freshly cracked pepper and serve, or refrigerate until ready to eat.
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Nutrition
Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 504.02kcal | Carbohydrates: 60.87g | Protein: 17.03g | Fat: 21.72g | Sodium: 459.85mg | Fiber: 3.62g