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Easy Cashew Spinach Basil Pesto

cashew-spinach-basil-pesto

Welcome back to Sunday Scratchups, your weekly recipe source around store sales and/or garden abundance. I don’t know about your garden, but with all this rainy weather, mine is currently going nuts producing both basil and spinach. This easy and flavor-packed recipe makes liberal use of both, and substitutes cashews for pricy pine nuts. (I like it better with cashews, personally!)

If you have only ever had pesto out of a jar, you really have to try it fresh made; there’s a world of difference. Plus, the spinach sneaks in extra veggies and iron while kicking up the flavor a notch, while the cashews add a little protein to help make a meatless meal more filling.

sorting-cashews-out

When I made Easy Cashew Spinach Basil Pesto the other day I didn’t have plain old cashews handy — but did have this can of mixed nuts. Mr. 7 was only too happy to help sort out the cashews, although I think half of them went straight into his mouth. Cashew tax!

You only need 1/2 cup of nuts for this recipe, so the rest is yours for the snacking — or, make multiple batches to freeze. That’s my plan as soon as the new food processor I ordered on Amazon arrives Tuesday, since I finally destroyed my cheap little old one… while making this pesto. (Luckily I had some Amazon credit card points I’d been saving so was able to use those to remedy my food processor emergency with no out-of-pocket cost. It’s like a present to myself!)

Easy Cashew Spinach Basil Pesto

spinach-basil-pesto-ingredients

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups torn up fresh spinach
3/4 cup torn up fresh basil
1/2 cup roasted salted cashews
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp minced garlic
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1/3-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
crushed red pepper, to taste

Directions

pesto-ingredients-in-food-processor

OK, you ready for this? It’s a little tricky, so watch carefully…

  1. Add all ingredients to food processor.
  2. Blend until smooth.
  3. BAM: Pesto!

I might cut down on the oil a little bit next time (and did drop it to 1/3 cup for a thicker pesto in the next batch), but otherwise this was fantastic. Go light on the sea salt, since the cheese is pretty salty in itself, as are the cashews. You might even leave it out and add a bit at the end if you find you need some.

We made ours into Pesto Portobello Pizza

pesto-portobello-pizzas-2

The fresh made pesto was just wonderful on Portobello Mushroom Pizza — My portobello pizzas are the ones with just a little mozzarella cheese on top, but MashupDad and Mr. 7 insisted on pepperoni, too.

pot-o-pesto-4

It’s so pretty, too — you’ve heard that you eat with your eyes? Well, go ahead and feast yours on some of this vibrant green. 🙂

Looking for the dairy free version?

dairy-free-spinach-cashew-pesto-2Dairy Free Version — With Kalamata Olives

I also scratched up a Dairy Free Cashew Spinach Basil Pesto for Dairy Free Junior High Guy. You can find that recipe variation here, as well as his Dairy Free Pesto Portobello Pizzas. Freeze up some either version to help preserve some of your summer garden bounty, if yours is producing as much basil and spinach right now as mine is! The easiest way to do this is to freeze your pesto in ice cube trays until solid, then pop out your pesto cubes and freeze them in freezer bags so that they’re easy to portion out for later use.

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5 from 1 vote

Easy Cashew Spinach Basil Pesto

Try this variation with cashews instead of pine nuts, with some spinach for added flavor and vibrancy!
Course sauce
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups torn up fresh spinach
  • 3/4 cup torn up fresh basil
  • 1/2 cup roasted salted cashews
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • Juice of 1/4 lemon
  • 1/3-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • sea salt to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • crushed red pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients to food processor.
  • Blend until smooth.
  • BAM: Pesto!
  • Go light on the sea salt, since the cheese is pretty salty in itself, as are the cashews.
Recipe Rating




Denise Brady

Wednesday 24th of June 2020

First time making pesto and it turned out very good. Thank you!

CHRISTINE

Saturday 12th of July 2014

I never thought of the oil level. I kind of eyeball the pesto because I like it kind of thick. But if you are going to have lots left over, i would go for the lower oil content. That' smart thinking on your part.

CHRISTINE

Friday 11th of July 2014

Sunflower seeds work really well too. The pesto has more of an earthy taste, but delish. i also tried pea pesto. This worked really well too. It has a distinctly different texture, but similar flavor. I'd say a bit fresher.

rachel

Friday 11th of July 2014

I'll have to try sunflower seeds, that sounds good! Do you use less oil then?

Melinda @Home.Made.Interest

Thursday 10th of July 2014

Stopping by from Thrifty Thursday link party. Yum, I love cashews. Never thought to add those to pesto, I always just use pine nuts. Thanks for sharing :)

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