A delicious recipe for superfood Walnut Pesto! A tasty vegan walnut pesto recipe made with power greens, herbs,  walnuts, garlic, miso paste and olive oil.  Vegan and easy.

walnut pesto in a jar.

This Walnut Pesto recipe is for all you gardeners out there who have a plethora of baby power greens that are ready for harvesting! Spinach, baby chard, baby kale, arugula, watercress, baby mustard greens, even nettles all work here and paired with walnuts, make the most nutritious pesto!

Why you’ll love Walnut Pesto!

The addition of walnuts to the pesto gives it added depth and flavor, along with an incredible richness that replaces the need for cheese.  Plus walnuts are nutritious, heart-healthy1, contain no cholesterol, and are the only nut with a significant amount of plant-based omega-3 ALA (2.5 grams/ounce). A delicious way to incorporate more walnuts into our diet!

This is a great way to use up your power greens! The pesto can be frozen for later!

Walnut Pesto Recipe Ingredients

The base of this creamy vegan Walnut Pesto, of course, is walnuts!  A full cup! Then goes in a garlic clove, a couple of tablespoons of miso paste for depth, olive oil, and your choice of greens (like kale, arugula, or spinach) and fresh herbs.  Add a squeeze of lemon juice and voila!

How to make it

It couldn’t be any easier. Place everything in a food processor and pulse.

walnut pesto in the food processor.

Storing Walnut Pesto

Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months. When you freeze this, cover with a layer of olive oil or lemon juice to prevent discoloration.

Ways to Use Walnut Pesto

My favorite meal is tossing this walnut pesto with soba noodles and surrounding it with shredded cabbage, watermelon radish, a handful of greens, and a few crunchy walnuts. Lunch is good to go!

walnut pesto tossed with noodles in a bento box with fresh veggies.

Trust me when I tell you you’ll want to lather this on everything. Add walnut pesto to wraps and sandwiches for a burst of flavor and richness (without cheese). Swirl it into pasta salad, soups, top your avocado toast with it, or spoon it over your roasted veggies, or even over simple baked chicken! You’ll find many uses!

More Favorite Pesto Recipes!

Cilantro Pesto

Spring Pea Pesto

Basil Pesto

Arugula Pesto

Enjoy the pesto and let us know what you think below. xoxo

Sylvia

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A delicious recipe for superfood Walnut Pesto! A tasty vegan walnut pesto recipe made with power greens, walnuts, garlic, miso paste and olive oil.  Vegan!

Walnut Pesto Recipe

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Description

A delicious recipe for superfood Walnut Pesto! A tasty vegan walnut pesto recipe made with power greens, walnuts, garlic, miso paste, and olive oil.  Vegan!


Ingredients

Units

Super Food Walnut Pesto Recipe: ( 4-6 servings)

  • 1 cup walnuts, toasted for better flavor.
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons white miso paste
  • 12 garlic cloves, start with one
  • 24 tablespoons water (see notes)
  • 23 cups baby power greens (baby kale, arugula, spinach, or chard)
  • 1 cup fresh herbs: basil, Italian parsley or cilantro
  • squeeze of lemon to taste
  • salt and pepper to taste


Instructions

  1. Place walnuts, miso paste, olive oil, and garlic into a food processor and pulse repeatedly. Add the power greens and herbs pulse.  Add 2 tablespoons of water,  pulse, and adjust consistency by adding more water if you like.
  2. Taste: add salt and pepper along with a squeeze of lemon, pulse, and taste again.


Notes

Walnut Pesto keeps for 4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Or freeze ( cover with a layer of lemon juice or olive oil to prevent discoloration) for up to 3 months.

Feel free to add parmesan cheese for extra richness.

For a unique twist, add 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil- it works great with the miso paste! Use one less tablespoon of olive oil.

The water will create a creamy consistency, which is great for coating noodles. For a traditional pesto texture, feel free to use more olive oil.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
  • Calories: 95
  • Sugar: 0.4 g
  • Sodium: 1.8 mg
  • Fat: 8.9 g
  • Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
  • Carbohydrates: 3 g
  • Fiber: 1.1 g
  • Protein: 2.4 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

 

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Comments

  1. I just made this for my weekly lunches. I followed the recipe and juiced an entire lemon (small) into it. I also added half a jalapeno pepper for some kick! For greens, I used arugula with a handful of parsley. It is delicious! I used it as a sauce for soba noodles, and added crispy tofu, and a mixed salad of cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and purple cabbage. I am looking forward to lunch this week – and I still have leftover pesto to add to other things.

  2. This was great. Loved using all my stray greens in the fridge. The miso adds great flavor. Thanks for sharing!

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