This vegan kale pesto is one of the easiest and most delicious pestos you'll ever make. It takes only a few minutes to whip up this vegan dish that can be used as pasta or topping for your favorite vegetables.
The kale provides plenty of nutrients, while the sage adds flavor and aroma to this simple dish! That's why we regularly consume it in kale and spinach salads and smoothies.
If you want to make vegan kale pesto, this great recipe is for you. It's made with kale, sage, garlic, olive oil, and almonds. This kale pesto can be used as a pasta sauce or topping on your grilled cauliflower steak.
We love our pesto here in Italy. It is the more straightforward solution for a lazy dinner because we add it to whatever pasta we find. Even though you can buy store-bought pesto for a couple of euros, nothing beats homemade pesto, which is super convenient.
You can make it in 5 minutes.
Pesto can elevate bland vegetarian recipes and make them super flavorful when you have no clue how to make a fantastic recipe out of thin air.
One of the reasons we love this recipe is that you can top your favorite pasta with kale pesto, use it on top of your roasted veggies like cauliflower steaks, or add a scoop of leftover pesto to your tofu scramble to give it an extra kick of flavor and nutritional value.
Jump to:
🗓️ Eat seasonally
Although you can find kale year-round, kale is a winter-season green. So this is when kale tastes better, is more fragrant, and delivers the best flavor. It is the best moment to enjoy oven-baked crispy kale and the Tuscan soup ribollita.
Make sure you choose bright green kale.
🧾 Ingredients
This is a very flexible recipe, but these are our favorite ingredients. You can take them as a direction and adjust them to your liking.
- Fresh kale
- Toasted almonds (or walnuts, pine nuts, or hemp seeds)
- Garlic
- Fresh sage (or basil)
- Fresh lemon juice
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Ground black pepper
- Nutritional yeast (the cheesy flavor kind)
- Sea salt
Optional: extra red chili flakes and lemon zest.
Note: you could use only kale, but adding an extra herb like fresh basil or sage helps to counteract kale's bitter flavor.
🍽 Equipment
To make this kale pesto recipe, you only need a flat saucepan to toast the almonds and a food processor (or immersion blender) to blend all the kale pesto recipe ingredients.
🔪 Instructions
In a nutshell, you need to wash your raw kale and then:
Step 1. Lightly toast the almonds.
Step 2. Add kale and nutritional yeast to the food processor and blend with the rest of the ingredients.
Step 3. Adjust the seasoning. Lemon juice for more acidity, nutritional yeast for extra cheesy flavor, and one extra garlic clove for a bolder flavor.
🥢 How to serve
Kale nut pesto is more than just another pesto. It's also versatile and delectable. You can add it to all types of noodles; this recipe is perfectly suitable for most recipes and makes an excellent topping for roasted vegetables and grilled veggies. We love kale pesto so much that it has become our go-to recipe for grilled cauliflower steaks.
If you are eating your vegan kale pesto with pasta, make sure the pasta is cooked al dente, not more. As you stir in the strained pasta, along with some extra pasta water, the pasta will inevitably cook a little more with the heat.
We also use this pesto to place dollops on our zucchini vegan and gluten-free lasagna.
🫙 Storage
How long does homemade pesto last?
This kale pesto recipe will last for a week if stored in an airtight container and refrigerated. If too much olive oil coats the kale leaves, they will go rancid before anything else.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Kale tastes like a slightly tougher version of spinach. It has a slightly bitter, peppery taste that some people love and others hate.
One great way to enjoy kale is to massage it with a little olive oil and salt before eating. This helps to soften the leaves and brings out the flavor. Kale can also be enjoyed in smoothies, soups, or salads.
All kale types work. Curly kale and deep green kale are my favorite types for this delicious kale pesto recipe.
Yes, but you need to consider that kale is a savory green and basil is sweet; thus, to round up the flavor, it is good to add a more aromatic herb such as basil or sage-like we suggest in this recipe. Traditional pesto does not have kale, but even here in Italy, you can find pestos made out of several different ingredients, depending on the region.
Yes, you can use walnuts or almonds in place of pine nuts. Even though you can use them raw as they are, we suggest lightly toasting them to get a richer flavor.
As with all fresh homemade sauces and condiments, the best before date is around five days, but it depends on how well your kale was washed or if you used pre-washed kale. Also, if you suspect that you will leave it in the fridge for long, it would be better to add more olive oil to prevent the air from oxidating the greens component.
This recipe calls for fresh sage to fulfill that role. Alternatively, you can add basil, a sweeter herb, or add sage to the kale walnut pesto. This will fix it.
Also, you can use raw hazelnuts instead of almonds to add a sweet flavor that, along with salt and the healthy fats in olive oil and nuts, help neutralize the bitterness of the kale. Is chemistry! Have you ever wondered why they give you potato chips and peanuts with your beer?
Pine nuts, walnuts, and raw almonds are my favorite options, but you can also use pecans, hazelnuts, and even sunflower seeds or hemp seeds. Hemp seeds are a great option because they provide excellent nutrition and a lovely nutty flavor and make a nut-free pesto option.
Read on: how to make your own fresh vegan pasta dough and homemade noodles!
📚 More pesto recipes
Please check our Basil pesto, Mint pesto, vegan Arugula Pesto, and sun-dried tomato pesto, which are equally easy to make.
Since we use carrots quite often for juicing, and we love zero-waste cooking, we use carrot tops to make carrot greens pesto, which goes perfectly with vegan tuna salads and cold pasta salads.
Healthy tofu pesto made with roasted red peppers and almonds
Learn how to use kale and sage in this delicious authentic Tuscan soup, made with healthy staple ingredients that make up for a full meal.
⭐ If you try this recipe, let us know! 💬 Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag us @ourplantbasedworld on Instagram. Cheers!
📋 Recipe
Vegan Sage and Kale Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 cups fresh kale about 1 small bunch
- 10 leaves fresh sage or fresh basil
- ¾ cup almonds toasted, or walnuts
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice about ½ lemon
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil more if desired
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
Optional:
Directions
- Wash your kale and remove the leaves from the branches. Also, remove the sage leaves from the branches.
- Lightly toast the almonds. On medium heat, toast the almonds in a saucepan, stirring constantly and not burning them. It should take about 3 minutes.
- Juice the lemon.
- Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until the pesto reaches the desired consistency. You might have to stop and scrape down the sides with a spatula.
- Adjust the seasoning. If you want it to be more garlicky, add an extra garlic clove. Add more olive oil for a more liquid pesto.
If making pasta
- You can start boiling water before making your pesto because it is made fast!
- Boil the pasta as per package directions, with salt. Before straining the pasta on a colander, save some of the pasta water, which will be starchy, so when you add the pesto into your strained pasta, you can add some water little by little to achieve the creamiest texture.
Nutrition Facts
Nutritional Disclaimer
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice. See our full Nutritional Disclosure here.
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Please note that some of the links here are affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I recommend all of the products listed because they are companies I have found helpful and trustworthy.
As the lead content writer and recipe developer at Our Plant-Based World, he combines his passion for health and sustainability with a Plant-Based Nutrition Certification to create accessible, delicious vegan recipes. His expertise in plant-based cooking supports the blog's mission of fostering a healthier, environmentally conscious lifestyle through simple and seasonal dishes. His commitment to making vegan cooking enjoyable and inclusive for everyone shines in each recipe and article.
Kathleen
What an incredible flavor combination for a pesto! I can't wait to try this on pasta, veggies or even a piece of toast.