Whole 30 Spinach Pesto

I love pesto, and always have a stash of it frozen in ice cubes to quickly add to meals. It's just one of my favorite flavors; mixing the zestiness of lemon with a kick of garlic and the creaminess of cashews creates an addicting, spreadable dip or sauce to add to any meal. See below the recipe for a few ideas of how I use pesto! 

Whole30 Spinach Pesto // Natasha Red Blog

This pesto is a variation of the spinach pesto found in my cookbook, Nourished. With a little adjusting, I created a new recipe, with all raw ingredients (the pesto in my cookbook is partially cooked), and with all Whole30 compliant ingredients as well. Enjoy!

Whole30 Spinach Pesto // Natasha Red Blog

Ingredients:

  • 2 large handfuls spinach
  • approx. 20 basil leaves (this would be two .66 oz containers from the store)
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/2 lemon, squeezed
  • 1 cup raw cashews 
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup light flavor olive oil, plus more while puréeing 

Instructions:

  1. Soak the cashews in cold water overnight, if you are in a pinch, see note about boiling instead. 
  2. Drain cashews and add all the ingredients to a food processor. 
  3. Purée, drizzling additional olive oil in very slowly until pesto has reached the consistency you like. (think a spreadable paste, rather than a runnier "dressing" as the best consistency)
  4. You may have to scrape down the sides and continue blending to incorporate everything. 

*NOTE: You can also boil the cashews if you are in a pinch, but the pesto comes out much creamier when soaked! Place cashews in a small saucepan and cover with water. Boil for 15 minutes until fork tender and proceed with recipe. 

Use this pesto on my Pesto Chicken Salad, as pizza sauce, as a sauce over brown rice pasta and shredded chicken, or even mixed with mayo as a dip! Sounds weird, but don't knock it until you try it ;) 

Whole30 Spinach Pesto // Natasha Red Blog