Kale Pesto Pasta
Kale makes a great inexpensive and earthy pesto! Dress up this Kale Pesto pasta with add-ins to make it a meal, or keep it simple for the perfect summer side.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 15 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 lb pasta ($1.49)
- 4 cups kale, chopped, loosely packed ($0.50)
- 1/3 cup olive oil, or as needed ($0.82)
- 1 large lemon (1/4 c juice, 1 Tbsp zest) ($0.75)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts ($0.57)
- 1/3 cup Parmesan, grated ($0.55)
- 1/2 tsp salt, or as needed ($0.03)
- Freshly cracked pepper to taste ($0.05)
- 4 oz. mozzarella (optional) ($2.00)
Instructions
- 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to boil until the pasta is tender. Drain in a colander and let cool.
- 2
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the pesto. Pull the kale leaves from the woody stems, and roughly chop into thin strips. Place the kale in a colander and rinse with cool water. Let the excess water drain away.
- 3
Add the chopped and washed kale to a food processor along with the olive oil, 1/4 cup juice from the lemon, garlic, walnuts, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Purée the mixture until smooth and bright green. Add more oil if needed to allow the mixture to become a thick, smooth sauce. Taste the pesto and adjust the salt, pepper, or lemon juice to your liking. Set the pesto aside.
- 4
Once the pasta is drained and cooled to the point where it is no longer steaming, transfer it to a large bowl. Add about half of the pesto and stir until the pasta is coated.
- 5
Dice the mozzarella into small cubes, then add it to the pasta along with about 1 Tbsp of the zest from the lemon. Stir to combine with the pesto pasta. Add more pesto until everything is coated in a thick layer. Top with more freshly cracked pepper and serve, or refrigerate until ready to eat.