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    Home > Recipes > Vegan Sauces and Seasonings

    Kale Pesto with Cashew

    Published: Feb 21, 2019 · by Amanda · 14 Comments

    Ready in 10 minutes flat, this simple vegan kale pesto is a lovely twist on the traditional basil variety. Made with raws cashews and a bucket of kale, it's simple, healthy and so addictive.

    Skip to Recipe
    an overhead image of a jar of kale and cashew pesto with a spoon sitting on a marbled light surface.

    I am not a big fan of basil pesto. Maybe my tastebuds are a little immature but I find basil pesto bitter. Needless to say I was pretty chuffed to find Toby Puttock's kale pesto in his new cookbook Super Natural.

    Close up flat lay image of green curly kale for vegan kale pesto

    While Toby's recipe is vegan, as is the entire Super Natural cookbook, I have made a few tweaks. I can't help it - I have never met a recipe I haven't felt the need to tweak. Perhaps it's the control freak in me. Don't judge.

    With Toby's original recipe firmly in mind, I have kept true to the kale and cashew ratios however here, I deviate. I prefer a little less oil in my pesto than the original recipes calls for so I have reduced it down, I also added nutritional yeast and lemon zest to boost the already lemon freshness. 

    flat lay image of two rustic spoons filled with vegan kale pesto on a marbled tabletop

    The result is a vibrant, fresh and slightly citrus pesto with no basil bitterness but a tonne of kale goodness. The beauty of pesto is that you can adjust the seasonings to suit your taste buds. I added lemon zest but you could omit it. Add as much salt as you need and it's awesome with a good crack of black pepper. If you prefer more umami add another half spoon of the nutritional yeast. Simples.

    Perfect atop a green pizza or tossed through roast vegetables - like I had for dinner last night - this vegan kale pesto is wonderfully versatile. Ready in no time, it's a trusty back-pocket recipe for unexpected guests or something for your next party. Did someone say party? I have 35 Vegan Party Food Recipes you're going to love.  But I digress -you can make this pesto ahead and it will store for up to a week in the fridge.  Enjoy, x.

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    flat lay image of a rustic spoon filled with vegan kale pesto offset to the bottom corner of the image
    An overhead image of a jar of green kale pesto with a spoon

    Simple Vegan Kale and Cashew Pesto

    Ready in minutes, this simple Kale and Cashew Pesto is a perfect condiment for when friends drop by. Fantastic with raw vegetables, breads or tossed through roast vegetables or pasta.
    4.42 from 17 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Condiment | Sides and Condiments
    Cuisine: Italian | Raw Vegan | Vegan
    Diet: Gluten Free | Vegan
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 0 minutes minutes
    0 minutes minutes
    Servings: 10 servings
    Calories: 73kcal
    Author: Amanda Logan

    Ingredients 

    • 3 cups fresh kale, washed and roughly torn packed cups
    • ½ cup raw cashews
    • 2 garlic cloves or more to taste
    • 1 ¼ cups olive oil up to 1 ½ cups
    • juice of 1 lemon
    • zest of 1 lemon
    • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
    • sea salt to taste

    Instructions

    • Place the kale, cashews and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
    • Add the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, nutritional yeast and a good pinch of salt and pulse again until combined. 
    • Taste and add more lemon or salt to your taste.
    • Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to a week. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 73kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 156mg | Vitamin A: 2010IU | Vitamin C: 24.3mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 0.8mg
    Tried This Recipe?I'd love to hear your feedback. Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below. Or you can tag @mygoodnesskitchen or hashtag #mygoodnesskitchen on Instagram.
    an overhead image of a jar of kale and cashew pesto with a spoon sitting on a marbled light surface. Title text overlay.
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Megan

      October 03, 2023 at 6:48 am

      5 stars
      I love this recipe! It's my go-to pesto recipe now that my body cannot process dairy. It's pretty forgiving and easy to make adjustments with, too. I usually add a handful of basil from my garden, increase the amount of nutritional yeast, increase the garlic, and decrease the amount of olive oil. I love using this pesto in gluten free pasta and on gluten free pizza with varied toppings, yum!!

      Reply
      • Amanda

        October 03, 2023 at 9:37 am

        I love that you love it! You can make this recipe anything you want - and you have! Enjoy and thanks for taking the time to write, Megan. 🙂

        Reply
    2. LOLa

      September 19, 2021 at 7:17 am

      Excited to try this recipe, do the cashews need to be soaked before putting in the food processor?

      Reply
      • Amanda

        September 19, 2021 at 7:18 am

        Hi Lola, no the cashews don't need to be soaked - we want the texture. It's very similar to making a traditional pesto with pine nuts and basil. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it!

        Reply
        • Lola

          September 19, 2021 at 7:48 am

          Thanks so much for the quick response, I'm glad I asked!

          Reply
          • Amanda

            September 19, 2021 at 9:14 am

            No worries! 😉

            Reply
    3. Karen

      November 11, 2020 at 12:47 pm

      I made the recipe for my family and we love it! How long is it good for in the refrigerator before I need to freeze it? Thank you

      Reply
      • Amanda

        November 11, 2020 at 1:32 pm

        Hey Karen, I am so happy you guys like the pesto. Me too! It will keep in the fridge for 4 - 5 days. For best results I would either freeze some straight away or around the 3-day mark. I freeze my pesto flat in a ziplock bag for a month r so. I haven't frozen it for longer. Have an awesome day. x

        Reply
        • Karen

          November 12, 2020 at 3:51 am

          Wonderful! Thank you so much. I made a double batch, but I don't think this family will have a problem going through it in a month 🙂

          Reply
    4. Perveen Usmani

      November 02, 2019 at 6:06 pm

      5 stars
      Hi Amanda, I love this pesto. I put some extra garlic but it was too garlicy so I adjusted the other things accordingly, like you said. Thanks you1

      Reply
      • Amanda

        November 02, 2019 at 11:12 pm

        Fantastic Perveen! I am so glad you like it.

        Reply
    5. Madison

      April 20, 2019 at 3:05 am

      5 stars
      Hmm so tasty

      Reply
    6. Renae Beck

      April 08, 2019 at 8:42 pm

      2 stars
      Not a great pesto flavor. I much prefer a basil. Which I added and made it taste better to me

      Reply
      • Amanda

        April 08, 2019 at 9:14 pm

        Hi Renae, It's a personal thing. I don't love basil pesto so this is a nice alternative to basil. Thanks for the feedback.

        Reply

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    Hello & Welcome! I’m Amanda ...and that's Scout with her eye on you. I'm a trained plant-based cook, long-time vegan, cookbook author and frazzled Mum (are you feeling me?). Oh, and I'm working towards my Masters in Nutrition. I'm here to help you create easy vegan meals that never skimp on flavour. It's vegan food but in a totally fuss-free way. Are you hungry? Me too! So let's cook. 

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