I don’t remember when I had my first bite of pesto. I do remember that it was love at first taste. The explosion of garlic, the freshness of the basil, the decadence of the cheese, I was hooked. My second epiphany came when I was introduced to avocado pesto through one of Chloe Coscarelli’s recipes. I mean seriously. Beyond delicious.
Pesto can be made from many different ingredients. You can use the traditional pine nuts, or walnuts. I have seen it made with kale or parsley. It is one of those recipes that can adapt to a ton of changes. Making it raw / vegan is simple. Just omit the cheese. Honestly, with all of these other tasty ingredients, you will never miss it.
My version uses avocados and kale! I can never get enough kale and why not incorporate it into an avocado pesto? This raw recipe is simple to throw together. Toss the pesto with some zucchini noodles and tomatoes and you have a very satisfying meal.
Avocados contain a an amazing array of carotenoids. They are also anti-inflammatory. They help digestion, are high in vitamin K, fiber, folate and vitamin C. Avocados are also high in fat but it is considered to be the good fat that helps you absorb nutrients, protects you from inflammation, and helps lower your risk of heart disease. Did you know that pine nuts are high in iron and magnesium? And kale, well, we all know what a nutritional powerhouse kale is. At only 36 calories a cup, the kale in this recipe helps lighten it up while providing you with fiber, vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, iron and more.
I love this mixed with spiralized zucchini noodles (I use this spiralizer: Spiral Slicer
Equipment needed:
- Food Processor
- Spiralizer (optional)
Raw Avocado Kale Pesto with Zucchini Noodles
Serves 4
- 4 medium zucchini
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 2 avocados
- 1/4 cup cold pressed olive oil
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1/2 cup pine nuts plus some for garnish
- 1 small bunch kale, de-stemmed and torn into small pieces (about 1 BIG handful)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- pinch Himalayan salt and fresh cracked pepper
1. Spiralize the zucchini. Set aside in a colander to drain excess liquid)
2. Start food processor running. Drop cloves of garlic in, one at a time.
3. Add avocado, olive oil, nutritional yeast, pine nuts and lemon juice. Pulse until blended.
4. Add kale and plus until kale is well chopped and incorporated.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then toss with the zucchini noodles and tomatoes.
*Chef’s note: Be careful of the source of your pine nuts. Some contain nuts that are not digestible and can cause problems. Please do your research and make sure you are getting your nuts from a good source.
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
Susan … this recipe looks wonderful. I can’t wait to try it! I have to say, your photography is stunning. It makes me hungry just to look at it. Keep those innovative, delicious recipes coming.
Question….what are ur thoughts if one doesn’t have pine nuts. Could you substitute cashews….the dish looksan sounds so delicious. An I must say easy ingredients also… I did get a spiralizer an love it!
Hey Susan, Looking forward to making this. Thanks for sharing. Your photos are amazing!
I’m having a really hard time wrapping my head around the idea of pesto with no basil! But I do love everything on this list of ingredients. I’m going to try it as is. I can always add basil later…
As usual, you have done a bang-up job on the photography.
Chef’s note: Be careful of the source of your pine nuts. Some contain nuts that are not digestible and can cause problems. Please do your research and make sure you are getting your nuts from a good source.
How do I know what a good source is for nuts? Can you recommend a good source for buying nuts? (it will have to be online due to where I live)
There are a lot of good articles about the pine nut issues on-line. I would google it and see what you can find. I have not done enough research to feel comfortable to actually recommend a specific place yet. Thanks for asking!
Nancy…try it without the basil. You will love it!
You can use walnuts or macadamia nuts. Walnuts will make it a little more bitter. Cheers!
Thankyou for this timely recipe> I was just craving pesto, but forgot to get some basil in the grocery store. Have all the ingredients in fridge for this recipe…. Multiplied blessings to you
This recipe is exactly what I need,it’s low fat and doesn’t utilize cashews. Thanks for sharing it Susan.
i did not have pine nuts so i used walnuts instead.
i also added a few red pepper flakes cause i like a little heat.
my husband who is anti-kale walked by and grabbed a spoonful & said, “yummy” not knowing he just ate kale.
Sounds wonderful! I am glad your husband got some kale!
Can this be made in a high speed blender?
Sue, Yes but I would be very careful not to over-process it. Especially the kale.
I substituted the kale with basil….. And it was amazing!!!
I used kelp noodles! Yum!
Great recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you for posting! Yum!
Yum! It is really good!
This was my first foray into both raw zucchini noodles and kale, and an excellent introduction it was–to both ingredients. =3 Everyone in my family thought this was delicious.
I’m enjoying paging through all the recipes you’ve posted–many of them I’ve bookmarked to make in the near future.
My daughter and I are new to eating raw. We just made this fabulous recipe! Loved it! Thanks so much.
I am so glad you liked it! I had it for dinner last night!
I love your recipes I was wondering if I am able to use a Vitamix for any of your ingredients you blog about? Since I have it I don’t want to spend money on a food Processor at the moment. Help!
This looks great! I’m new to raw food and have been wanting to try zucchini noodles. Can you please tell me how to spiralize zuccini? Did you use a food processor for this?
You would use a spiralizer to make the noodles.
You can use a food processor but honestly, you would have to be very careful and watch so that you don’t over-process.
Susan, I made this last night and I have to tell you how much I enjoyed it! I had it for lunch today too… so easy on my stomach and so filling. It was delightful. Thank you so much! The pecan faux meat balls are on the menu next. What fun.
absolutely the BEST pesto and I’m a long time basil grower for just pesto gal
this is soooo much easier and better tasting and better for me !!! thanks Susan
If u have nut allergies what could be substituted for flavor?
You could try pumpkin seeds but you might have to adjust some of the other ingredients.
I used half sunflower seeds, half walnuts and it wasn’t bitter in the least. I’ve been raw 7 years and thought I’d tried it all but I never thought to replace basil (or I often do spinach) with kale for fear it would be just awful. But it was awesome! Thanks for the great recipe!
Really enjoyed this. Just starting to incorporate Raw food in to my lifestyle and just love trying new recipes. Thank you so much.
When you refer to calories are you just talking about the kale or a serving of the recipe? If its the kale could you please give me the calories for the whole recipe? Thanks, it looks delicious!
The kale has 36 calories a cup. If you need the nutritional information there are many recipe calculators on-line.
just made this… it’s AMAZING!!!