Raw Avocado Kale Pesto with Zucchini Pasta
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 pasta (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
- Spiralize the zucchini. Set aside in a colander to drain excess liquid)
- Start food processor running. Drop cloves of garlic in, one at a time.
- Add avocado, olive oil, nutritional yeast, pine nuts and lemon juice. Pulse until blended.
- Add kale and pulse until kale is well chopped and incorporated.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, then toss with the zucchini noodles and tomatoes.
Caroline wrote on April 2, 2015
Just found this on pinterest! My bf really likes pesto and I hope this is a win with him too! Can a blender be used instead of a food processor? Unfortunately I dont have a food processor :[
Susan wrote on April 4, 2015
You can try…just be careful to not over blend. You might want to finely chop the basil and add that by hand. Cheers!
sunny wrote on November 25, 2014
can i use cocount oil. lol that all i have
Micki French wrote on August 24, 2014
FYI: your recipe for avacado pesto is great but did you mean “PULSE” when you wrote “PLUS” when adding kale? Might want to clear that up. Recipes can be ruined by misspellings.
thanks
Micki
Susan wrote on August 24, 2014
Hi, Micki, I am confused. It does say pulse…and yes, that is what I meant. Cheers!
Catx wrote on August 4, 2014
…AWESOME Susan!
Just had it for dinner…loved it.
I did not have any pine buts, so I mixed Sunflower and Pumpkin seeds into it. Fabulous! What a great idea to make this pesto with kale!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes!!
Susan wrote on August 21, 2014
So glad you liked it, Catx. Your substitutions sound great! Cheers!
dawn wrote on July 31, 2014
My husband and I made this not to long ago! Again Susan it was a hit! I have not had to look any where else for raw amazing food. I love you site. Thank you so much.
I couldn’t resist the Basil, so I went out to the garden and grabbed some leaves for decoration 🙂 But then after eating it with out the Basil I I love it! Then I spooned it into a Basil leaf and loved it that way too! So either way it is very yummy!
Dawn
Susan wrote on August 1, 2014
So glad you like it, Dawn! Cheers!
Trisha Lea wrote on June 12, 2014
What could I use as a substitute for oil? For me I cannot tolerate oil and would rather use a non raw ingredient like veggie broth if that would work or omit altogether and just add a different liquid. Thanks!!
Shadi Mirza wrote on June 5, 2014
This recipe was phenomenal. My wife and I are always looking for ways to incorporate vegetables into our diet without eating boring salad. We get the sensation of eating noodles without sacrificing flavor. It helps that we both love zucchini and avocado. Thank you!
Cori Roth wrote on May 29, 2014
Love Kale…..and not a big fan of Basil pesto so look forward to trying this. I have used stinging nettles in the past to make pesto….never thought of using Kale…..so thank you so much……CORI