You can make a delicious and nutritious pesto sauce with kitchen staples in just 5 minutes! Use it on bread, pizza, pasta, and more!
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Earlier this week, I shared a list of over 100 lunch ideas to help you get out of your lunch rut. Today on Facebook Live, I showed you how to make pesto sauce in just five minutes, talked about making homemade ricotta cheese, and demonstrated how to make quick and easy pizza dough.
Pesto sauce is one of those foods that I never buy because it is sooooo easy to make at home. Plus, at home I can use super greens in our pesto sauce, easily getting a lot more nutrients in my kids’ bellies!
Traditionally, pesto sauce is made with fresh basil. If you have fresh basil on hand, by all means, throw some in! There’s not a lot that’s better than fresh basil in the summertime, especially when paired with garden tomatoes. But, what I LOVE about this pesto sauce is that I can make it whenever I want because it’s made with just a handful of ingredients we always have on hand.
When I first got married (ten years ago today, woot woot!), my husband loved pesto but I was not a fan. Of course, I generally wasn’t a fan of anything green back then, but his standard pesto sauce was also made with a packet and a cup of water, so there’s that. Fresh pesto is infinitely better.
Like the idea of pesto sauce, quick nutrition, and five minutes of prep, but don’t know what to do with it???
Here are 10 ways to use up a jar of 5-Minute Pesto with Super Greens:
- Spread on slices of freshly baked one-hour French bread.
- Use as a pizza sauce and top with cheese, chicken, vegetables, etc. (Check out Pesto Pizza with Ricotta and Mushrooms)
- Toss with pasta. Throw in roasted chicken, fresh mozzarella, chopped tomatoes, etc, for an easy meal.
- Cut slits in chicken breasts, stuff with pesto and mozzarella cheese, and bake for a simple but fancy dinner.
- Make a batch of fresh pasta and use a ravioli press to make pesto ravioli.
- Add it to homemade stromboli.
- Use it as a dip for pita chips. (Mix it with hummus to make it even more filling!)
- Spread it on bread for a green layer in your grilled cheese sandwiches.
- Toss it with some roasted vegetables.
- Add pesto, chopped tomatoes, and caramelized onions to eggs for an incredible omelet!
5 Minute Pesto Sauce with Super Greens
Prep Time:
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PinIngredients
- 3 handfuls of mixed baby greens (chard, kale, spinach, etc)
- 1/3 C extra virgin olive oil
- (heaping) 1/2 C shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 C roasted sunflower seeds
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
1. Combine the greens through the pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Add additional olive oil as needed to achieve desired consistency. Taste and add salt to taste.
2. Transfer to a clean jar and store in the refrigerator 1 week.
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I used this on my (TPL) pizza’s and it was a hit! It truly only takes 5 mins and is so great to have on hand you can use it for so many meals! Love it!
★★★★★
Been a follower for a long time and never made this pesto. Decided to give it a go this morning. Taste is excellent.
It was sooooo easy to make.
Would love to see more recipes using it. Hoping it freezes well, guess I’m about to find out 🤩
★★★★★
This is wonderful. It looks so easy and I am excited to try it. Thank you for sharing this pesto sauce recipe.
I make it all the time! Hope you love it!