Quick Kale and Walnut Pesto with Sunflower Seeds

This kale and walnut pesto is an absolutely perfect way to use up a surplus supply of kale this summer. If you follow me on instagram (you can follow here), you will possibly have noticed me doing a bit of garden-perving whilst in San Diego a couple of months ago. I was eyeing off some giant tree-like structures of kale. As soon as we returned from vacation I got into the garden and got planting, and from just three plants, that all grew ginormous, I have had kale on tap for about 3 months.

Recently the plants went into overdrive, and I have SO MUCH to use up. There’s only so many smoothies a girl can have in one week, so I decided to whip up a huge batch of kale and walnut pesto to preserve the green goodness.

I love this stuff, and it stores well in the freezer if you don’t manage to use it all up straight away.

What do you do with kale and walnut pesto?

Ok so here is a list of things I have done so far, and a couple of dishes I plan on trying out:

• Put it on pizza. I made a pizza, popped on some tomato sauce, some sliced heirloom tomatoes and a couple big dollops of kale and walnut pesto and: yum;
• Plop a big dollop on some salmon and veg, wrap it in foil and cook it up (for specifics, use this recipe but instead of the salsa verde, use an equal amount of kale and walnut pesto);
• Cook up a big pot of fresh pappardelle pasta, once ready add some kale pesto and some steamed asparagus;
• Add a dollop to some hummus, give it a stir and pop on some fresh bread or crackers

What would you do with kale and walnut pesto? I would love to hear of any yummy creations you come up with, so be sure to leave a comment here or tag me on instagram.

Print Recipe

5 from 11 votes

Quick Kale and Walnut Pesto with Sunflower Seeds

This kale and walnut comes together quickly with only a handful of ingredients. The perfect way to use up surplus summer produce and so versatile

Prep Time5 mins

Total Time5 mins

Course: Dressing

Cuisine: Anytime

Servings: 6 serves

Calories: 144kcal

Author: Whole Food Bellies

Ingredients

• 2 cups torn kale stems removed
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

• Pop everything except the olive oil into the food processor and pulse until blended, you will probably need to stop and scrap the sides down a couple of times
• Once the mixture starts coming together, slowly drizzle the olive oil in through the top until the pesto becomes almost creamy and reaches the desired consistency (see notes)

Notes

For consistency this is up to you: I like mine a little bit chunky so I don't blend for too long. If you like a creamier pesto then keep blending until it gets there.

Nutrition

Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 4.9g | Fat: 12.9g | Saturated Fat: 2.4g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 123mg | Fiber: 0.9g | Sugar: 0.6g