I have been craving greens lately in a big way (not because it’s 4/20 by the way…), and what better way to pack in a TON of greens than by smooshing them all up in a pesto. Or maybe a smoothie. Or a big saute. In any case, we’re taking tons of spinach and turning it into a teeny tiny amount in this healthier version of pesto. But that tiny amount is big in flavor.
I have plans for this delicious goo later on. It’s going to be green on top of green on top of green. I can’t wait. But for now we’re just going to enjoy this spinach artichoke dip-inspired pesto as-is. Instead of using all basil and pine nuts, we’re going for tons of spinach and artichokes paired with our traditional basil.
The artichokes give us a little more moisture so we can actually go lighter on the oil, saving a few calories along the way. We’re also shaving off some calories by omitting the (oft expensive!) pine nuts, too, though you can feel free to add them back if you want.
Let’s whirl this bad boy up:
Ingredients
- 2 cups of spinach
- 1 cup of fresh basil
- 3 artichoke hearts (I used canned in water)
- 3 tsp crushed garlic or 2 cloves fresh garlic
- 2 ounces extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ounce grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1.5 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Pulse the spinach, basil, artichokes, and a little bit of the oil in a food processor until it's chopped up. Add in the garlic, parmesan, salt, pepper, and lemon juice and continue to pulse. While the food processor is running, slowly add in the rest of oil until the pesto is finely chopped and fairly smooth.
Macros for 1 ounce:
61 calories | 4.5g fat | 2.5g protein | 0.5g fiber | 2.4g carbs
Catherine Clark is a Chicago native sharing noteworthy things she sees and attempts to make in the world. She's a geek, cat lady, designer and editor by day, and noob chef by night.
