Super Superfood Kale Pesto (Dairy-free)

This fresh and tangy pesto is made with 2 Superfood ingredients – Kale and Hemp – to make it extra super! And to make it even better, it takes 5 minutes, is Vegan, dairy-free, and goes great with pasta!

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What are Superfoods?

Foods that are extremely nutrient-dense, and have a ton of health benefits. This includes improving little things like bone health and such, as well as preventing longer-term issues, probably even diabetes and cancer (!?). 

Core ingredients in this nut-free pesto: Kale & Hemp

Kale:

You usually find this leafy green in the “bases” section of a salad bar, but Kale is actually a member of the same family of veggies as cabbage and brussels sprouts.

This vegetable is one of the most popular superfoods, but for some reason – probably its bitter taste – has quite a bad rep. But in reality, its rich in a number of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and a bunch of good stuff.

Fun fact, Kale is really high in Vitamin C, even more than an orange! One cup of kale vs 1 orange that is.

Hemp Seeds:

Don’t get any wrong ideas here. You won’t get high on these seeds even though they come from the Cannabis sativa plant.

On the contrary, they’re rich in protein and really good fats, super low saturated fats, and high Omega-3 fatty acids –  which the body can’t produce. This is quite an important thing by the way, since most people end up only eating a TON of Omega-6s, but that balance makes a difference in the long run.

Since hemp is a seed, this Vegan kale pesto has no nuts!

Alternatives for Hemp

This is pretty simple: Just replace is 1:1 with some quality nuts. I’d recommend almonds, pine nuts, walnuts or pecans.

If you want to keep this a pesto without nuts, you could maybe try some pumpkin seeds too.

How to make Pesto?

Pesto sauce/paste is super easy to make at home and comes together in one step: just throw everything into a food processor and pulse!

Okay I guess that’s technically 2 steps, but its a minimal-effort recipe where the appliance does all the work.

Ideas to use this Superfood Kale Pesto?

• Pesto Toast with Scrambled Eggs
• Pesto Chicken Pastry Flowers
• As a pasta sauce!
• Pesto Spaghetti Squash “Pasta”