Vegan Kale Pesto Pasta is oil-free, full of fresh healthy ingredients, whole foods & full of delicious flavor. It is the perfect pesto pasta!
VEGAN KALE PESTO PASTA
I love making pestos, sauces, dips and spreads out of greens and veggies. They are a fantastic way to get in a lot of veggies for not only my hubby and I, but also my daughter. Peas are a great source of protein and kale is a powerhouse of nutrients, calcium and Vitamin C. I’m a big fan of kale, especially in this Vegan Kale Salad With Almond Butter Dressing! This vegan kale pesto won’t make your child feel like they are eating veggies, especially when paired with pasta.
SECRET TO THIS VEGAN KALE PESTO
One thing that sets this vegan kale pesto pasta immense flavor is the strong dose of garlic and the dark balsamic vinegar. Slightly sweet from the peas and a really nice kick of garlic flavor. I LOVE garlic, so that was my focus on this one. Their is added depth of flavor from the vinegar. Dark balsamic vinegar gives more of a wine flavor, versus a vinegar like apple cider.
Another bonus is this kale is oil-free! It’s actually really low-fat and so healthy! You don’t need oil to make an amazing pesto my friends!
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN KALE PESTO PASTA
You will need just 7 ingredients (+salt/pepper/water):
- green peas
- garlic cloves
- nutritional yeast
- dark balsamic vinegar
- lemon juice
- baby kale (I buy the 5 oz packages, prewashed and ready to eat. Use spinach if you cannot find the baby kale. Do NOT use regular curly kale, it is too strong and fibrous here)
- pasta of choice
Add the peas, 1/2 cup water, garlic, nutritional yeast, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to a large pan and turn the heat to medium.
Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until there is only a small amount of liquid remaining, it should have reduced by at least half.
Next, add the cooked mixture to a food processor with the lemon juice and kale, in batches, until pureed and smooth. Add warm pasta water to reach desired consistency. I added about 2 more tablespoons of water. Taste and add any additional seasoning, if desired. It should look like this.
Serve this vegan kale pesto over pasta. Garnish with walnuts for added crunch, if desired.
I hope you love this oil-free Vegan Kale Pesto Pasta!
MORE OIL FREE VEGAN PESTO RECIPES
Vegan Kale Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 10 oz bag of frozen peas (280g which is 1 3/4 full cups)
- 1/2 cup (120g) water
- 4-5 large garlic cloves, minced (lots of flavor here, don't skimp!)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon (15g) dark red balsamic vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon (15g) fresh lemon juice
- 5 oz BABY kale (I buy the 5 oz package, prewashed and ready to eat. Use spinach if you cannot find the baby kale. Do NOT use regular curly kale, it is too strong and fibrous here & does not taste good.)
- 12 oz pasta of choice (use gluten-free if needed)
- optional: chopped walnuts as garnish
NOTE
- Due to the large amount of peas, this DOES have a sweetness to it, so expect that. If that doesn't sound like your thing, then make the spinach pea pesto linked above in the post, it has half the amount of peas.
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta according to package directions and make sure to salt your pasta water well. While it is cooking follow the next steps.
- Add the peas, 1/2 cup water, garlic, nutritional yeast, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to a large pan and turn the heat to medium. You are NOT adding the lemon juice yet. Cook for 5-10 minutes until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.
- Add the cooked mixture to a food processor with the lemon juice and kale, in batches, until pureed and completely smooth, as in the photo. Add the warm pasta water to reach desired consistency. I added about 2 more tablespoons of water. Taste and add any additional seasoning, if desired. For more acidity, add more vinegar or lemon juice. Serve over pasta.
Notes
Nutrition
This looks great! What is the yeast for, is there a substitute that could be used? Thank you!!
How about White oak aged sherry reserve vinegar? Would that work?
Hi! I have not tried that but I *think* it would work! Let me know!
Is it alright if I don’t use it right away or what is the best way to store it? Refrigerate in Mason jars?
Please let me know ASAP 🙂
Is it alright if I don’t use it right away or what is the best way to store it and how long will it keep? Refrigerate in Mason jars?
Please let me know ASAP 🙂
How long will this keep and does it need to be refrigerated?
Please let me know ASAP 🙂
Hi Leni! This will last about a week in the fridge. Definitely needs to be refrigerated 🙂
This is an awesome recipe.
Sounds fantastic! Do you have a link to the dark balsamic you use?
Hi Tracey, it is called Pompeian balsamic vinegar and it’s dark. I’ve also used a brand called Alessi. You can find them at most grocery stores and even Walmart and it’s very inexpensive.
Ok, thank you!
I think I wrote my comment in the wrong box, box. I thank you for sharing all of your recipes. I’ve bought four books so far; one for me and the rest as gifts. Love everything in it so far especially the chocolate pancakes!
Hi Brandi! I don’t like peas! What other ingredient would you recommend? Your cookbook is amazing!🤗
Hi Sahara! Thank you so much!! I would make the Spinach Arugula Pesto linked above in the post instead then. It’s actually my favorite pesto! Thank you so much, so glad to hear it!
Loved this! Don’t know how you thought this up (or for that matter, all your other recipes!), but this is such a nice change from basil pesto. Delicious and easy to make. As a kid, I loved green peas but then ignored them going WFPB, thinking they didn’t have as much nutrition as the more rock stars green veggies, but they really do. We added sauteed yellow squash with this since we usually do that with regular pesto. And used the brown rice spiral pasta you recommended, which was very nice. Served with a tomato, cuke, and onion marinated salad. Thanks, Brandi!
Wonderful Ellen, so very happy to hear how much you enjoyed this pesto, thank you so much for the feedback!
You had me at KALE! 🙂 We go through 5-6 large bunches of kale a week and this would be an excellent way for me to change things up!! I’ve been really lazy these days and we’ve been buying the Trader Joe’s cashew kale pesto (which I am obsessed with….Willow too), so maybe this will help me break away from that pre-packaged convenience! AND maybe this will help me slowly become friends with peas! Ha! I’ve never been a fan unless they’re pureed beyond recognition and hidden in soup! Printing this recipe and adding it to our menu for next week!!!! So excited! From the description and ingredient list, it sounds like this has a really bold and garlicky flavor which I am a HUGE fan of!! And any way to sneak in some extra veggies is an added bonus! <3
I’ve never used peas in pesto before! I love the nutrients and flavor that it adds, especially in pasta dishes.
Can I make this as a cold pasta?
I am not sure how it would taste cold, since I like pesto to be warm and never tried that, so I can’t really say. You are always welcome to try it though of course!
What brands of red wine basalmic have you used? Can’t seem to locate any. Recommendations?
I like the Alessi or Pompeian brands, it is at most stores, even Walmart!