This vibrant vegan kale pesto is garlicky, cheesy, and packed with fresh flavor. Ready in just 10 minutes and perfect for pasta, toast, and more!
This vegan kale pesto is incredibly delicious and so easy to make with simple ingredients. We love how effortlessly it comes together in a food processor and it’s ready in just 10 minutes!
Kale can be bold and slightly bitter, but in this recipe, we balance it with a touch of sweetness. To bring out that classic pesto flavor, we add nutritional yeast and Dijon mustard for cheesiness, along with garlic and lemon juice for a fresh, zesty kick.
Like all great pestos, this one is perfect on pasta, toast, and so much more. Honestly, you’ll want to put it on everything!
If you’re a pesto fan then also check out our classic vegan pesto recipe as well as our vegan pesto pasta and our Sun-dried tomato pesto!
What you’ll need for vegan kale pesto
Ingredient notes
- Pine nuts. Roasting the pine nuts first in this recipe really adds a wonderful depth of flavor to this pesto so it’s highly recommended. Make sure to keep an eye on them though, as they can burn very easily.
- Lemon juice and garlic soak. We recommend soaking your garlic in the lemon juice for at least 5 minutes or until needed. This mellows the garlic flavor out just enough so that it’s not too overpowering.
- Maple Syrup. The sweetness of the maple syrup helps to balance out the bitterness of the kale. We haven’t tested this recipe with any other sweetener substitutes.
How to make vegan kale pesto
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add lemon juice and garlic to a small bowl and let the garlic soak in the lemon juice. While that’s soaking, toast your pine nuts.
- Add your pine nuts to a frying pan and toast them over medium heat for 5 minutes until they’re lightly browned.
- In a food processor with an S blade, add the kale, pine nuts, garlic and lemon juice, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Turn on the food processor and process until all the ingredients are combined.
- Stop processing and scrape down the sides. Then continue processing and drizzle in the olive oil.
- Process until the pesto reaches your desired consistency, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.
- Taste and add more lemon, salt or pepper if necessary. And enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
This vegan kale pesto is divine tossed up with pasta, and any type of pasta goes wonderfully well with this pesto!
It is also delicious spread onto toasted ciabatta or any toasted bread, or use it as a dip or spread it onto your vegan pizza.
You can also have it along with your salad as a salad dressing or on top of your veggies.
Try this pesto on a delicious vegan pasta salad or spread it on some homemade vegan dinner rolls or vegan focaccia.
Storing and Freezing
Keep your pesto stored in an airtight container in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week.
It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months if you’d like to freeze it.
More vegan Italian recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Kale Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups Kale Packed Cups, Chopped and Stems Removed (80g)
- ½ cup Pine Nuts Raw (76g)
- 1 clove Garlic Minced
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice Freshly Squeezed
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 3 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
Instructions
- Add lemon juice and garlic to a small bowl and let the garlic soak in the lemon juice. While that’s soaking, toast your pine nuts.
- Add your pine nuts to a frying pan and toast them over medium heat for 5 minutes until they’re lightly browned.
- In a food processor with an S blade, add the kale, pine nuts, garlic and lemon juice, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Turn on the food processor and process until all the ingredients are combined.
- Stop processing and scrape down the sides. Then continue processing and drizzle in the olive oil.
- Process until the pesto reaches your desired consistency, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.
- Taste and add more lemon, salt or pepper if necessary.
Notes
- Makes one cup of pesto.
- Pine nuts. Roasting the pine nuts first in this recipe really adds a wonderful depth of flavor to this pesto so it’s highly recommended. Make sure to keep an eye on them though, as they can burn very easily.
- Lemon juice and garlic soak. We recommend soaking your garlic in the lemon juice for at least 5 minutes or until needed. This mellows the garlic flavor out just enough so that it’s not too overpowering.
- Maple Syrup. The sweetness of the maple syrup helps to balance out the bitterness of the kale. We haven’t tested this recipe with any other sweetener substitutes.
- Storing. Keep your pesto stored in an airtight container in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week.
- Freezing. It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months if you’d like to freeze it.
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