30 Minute Meals
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
20 minutes
Yield
1 jar of pesto
This Kale Pasta recipe is vegan-friendly and perfect for date night to reconnect with your partner over some delicious pasta.
It can be so hard to make time for your partner, when you’re both busy you just pass each other like two ships in the night. That’s why it’s so important to me to make time to make a delicious meal for Andrew & me multiple times during the week to sit down and connect. This Kale Pasta is the perfect recipe for that!
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Kale Pasta
- Easy: For date night you want a recipe that isn’t going to be super complicated, this Kale Pasta is easy and easy to make together
- Versatile: You can make this recipe your own by adding in your favorite proteins, sides, or veggies
- Healthy: The kale pesto used in this recipe is a great way to get even the pickiest of eaters to eat some greens
🍲 Ingredients
Kale – Kale is so good for you and so easy to incorporate into recipes. This Kale Pasta is a great example. Kale is rich in antioxidants that help keep your body healthy. It’s also full of potassium, fiber, folate, and calcium
Nutritional Yeast – Nutritional yeast is a great way to get a cheesy flavor without cheese so it can be a good dairy-free or vegan substitute. It’s also loaded with B vitamins, making it healthy and an easy way to add added nutritional benefits with just a sprinkle
👩🍳 How to Make Kale Pasta
- To a food processor, add the basil, kale, walnuts or hemp seeds (or both), garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and sea salt and blend until a paste/thicker consistency forms.
- While the processor is blending, stream in the olive oil, 1 tbsp at a time, and scrape down sides as needed. Then begin to add 1 tbsp. of water at a time until you reach your desired consistency. You want it to be pourable so it will incorporate well into pasta or so it can be used as a marinade.
- Adjust your sauce as needed or desired. More lemon for tang, more salt for enhanced flavour, more nutritional yeast for that thick, cheesy consistency and more nuts or seeds for that hearty, rich effect.
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Prep Pesto: What I like to do is make a big batch of pesto and freeze some in jars in the freezer for an easy sauce to grab, thaw, and use in recipes
- Versatile: Use this pesto on pizza, sandwiches, pasta, and more
🗒 Variations & Substitutions
- Kale: You can swap the kale out with spinach instead
- Herbs: Traditional pesto is made with just basil and/or parsley, you can switch this recipe up and use herbs only
- Nutritional Yeast: Swap nutritional yeast for parmesan cheese
🗒 Best served with
- Garlic Confit (spread this on warm bread for a delicious side with your Kale Pasta)
- Dutch Oven Bread
- No-Knead Bread Recipe
- Brussel Sprout Caesar Salad
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Pesto will last up to 1 week in a tightly sealed container in the fridge. You can store it on the pasta or separately. You can also freeze pesto in a jar to use at a later date.
🤔 Common Questions
If you are trying to use up kale you can make it into pesto like this recipe, you can throw it into your smoothies, soups, stews, or salads, or you can even freeze washed kale to add to soups, stews, or smoothies later.
I kind that since this kale is made into pesto you don’t get the consistency and texture of regular kale leaves that many people don’t like. However, if you still aren’t sold, try spinach instead.
Date Night Kale Pesto Pasta 🥬
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup fresh basil discard stems
- 2 cups packed kale
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or hemp seeds
- 3 large cloves garlic rough chop
- 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 3 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 cup warm water – add 1 tbsp. at a time
Instructions
- To a food processor, add the basil, kale, walnuts or hemp seeds (or both), garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and sea salt and blend until a paste/thicker consistency forms.
- While the processor is blending, stream in the olive oil, 1 tbsp at a time, and scrape down sides as needed. Then begin to add 1 tbsp. of water at a time until you reach your desired consistency. You want it to be pourable so it will incorporate well into pasta or so it can be used as a marinade.
- Adjust your sauce as needed or desired. More lemon for tang, more salt for enhanced flavour, more nutritional yeast for that thick, cheesy consistency and more nuts or seeds for that hearty, rich effect.
So easy to make and delicious! Thank you Maria for creating yet another amazing recipe!
You are so welcome, my friend!
You’re awesome!
This was so easy and quick to make! Love it
So glad you loved it Elisa!