Kale Pesto Pasta

4.75 from 8 votes

This Kale Pesto Pasta is made with just kale. It's a cheaper way to enjoy pesto year-round when basil is scarce, and just as flavorful!

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Noodles and Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 484kcal

Author: Kaitlin

Ingredients

1 pound mezzi rigatoni (or any other short cut pasta you like)
8 cloves garlic (peeled, ends trimmed)
¼ cup pine nuts (or walnuts)
½ cup parmesan cheese (plus more for topping)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon (if you'd like it extra lemony, use the whole lemon)
1¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
10 packed cups curly kale (about 8-9 ounces/225-250 g)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Red pepper flakes (I use aleppo chili flakes; to taste)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Set a large pot of salt water to boil on the stove for the pasta.
To the bowl of a food processor, add the garlic, pine nuts, parmesan, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and the kale. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may need to make this in multiple batches or add the kale in a handful at a time.
With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube. The pesto should come together relatively quickly, but let the food processor run for 1-2 minutes to make sure everything is thoroughly pulverized.
By now, your water should be boiling. Cook your pasta according to the package instructions. When the cooking time is almost complete, reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water in a heatproof measuring cup. Drain the pasta, and transfer to a large skillet over medium-low heat.
Add half of the pesto (you'll have the remainder to freeze for another day!). Stir the pesto into the pasta, adding a little pasta water as you go to make a silky, “creamy” sauce.
Sprinkle the pasta with grated parmesan and some Aleppo chili flakes. You can also top with some zest from that lemon you juiced for the pesto, if desired. Serve!

Notes

Note: Recipe makes about 2 1/2 cups pesto. Use half for 1 pound pasta, and freeze the remainder (about 1 1/4 cup) for another day! Nutrition information is for 1 pound of pasta, plus half of the pesto. To freeze, transfer to a pint container, pour a thin layer of olive oil over the top, cover, and freeze.

Nutrition

Kale Pesto Pasta by The Woks of Life. Recipe URL: https://body-goals.fit/kale-pesto-pasta/%3C/em%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-79998":{"type":"food","name":"Kale Pesto Pasta","slug":"wprm-kale-pesto-pasta","image_url":"https:\/\/thewoksoflife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/kale-pesto-13.jpg","rating":{"count":8,"total":38,"average":4.75,"type":{"comment":8,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"1","unit":"pound","name":"mezzi rigatoni","notes":"(or any other short cut pasta you like)","converted":{"2":{"amount":"450","unit":"g","unit_id":5264}},"unit_id":5275,"id":1967,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"pound","timestamp":1774154778000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"pound","unitParsed":"pound"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"450","unit":"g","unitParsed":"g"}}},{"uid":1,"amount":"8","unit":"cloves","name":"garlic","notes":"(peeled, ends trimmed)","unit_id":5267,"id":269,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"8","unit":"cloves","timestamp":1774154778000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"8","unit":"cloves","unitParsed":"cloves"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","name":"pine nuts","notes":"(or walnuts)","converted":{"2":{"amount":"35","unit":"g","unit_id":5264}},"unit_id":5269,"id":5359,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774154778000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"35","unit":"g","unitParsed":"g"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"parmesan cheese","notes":"(plus more for topping)","converted":{"2":{"amount":"45","unit":"g","unit_id":5264}},"unit_id":5269,"id":1966,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774154778000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"45","unit":"g","unitParsed":"g"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"Juice of 1\/2 a lemon","notes":"(if you'd like it extra lemony, use the whole lemon)","id":4686,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1774154778000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":5,"amount":"1\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","name":"sea salt","notes":"","unit_id":5268,"id":1496,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774154778000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","name":"black pepper","notes":"","unit_id":5268,"id":420,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774154778000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"10","unit":"","name":"packed cups curly kale","notes":"(about 8-9 ounces\/225-250 g)","converted":{"2":{"amount":"250","unit":"g","unit_id":5264}},"id":5836,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"10","unit":"","timestamp":1774154778000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"10","unit":"","unitParsed":""},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"250","unit":"g","unitParsed":"g"}}},{"uid":8,"amount":"1","unit":"cup","name":"extra virgin olive oil","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"235","unit":"ml","unit_id":5271}},"unit_id":5269,"id":1176,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774154778000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"235","unit":"ml","unitParsed":"ml"}}},{"uid":9,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"Red pepper flakes","notes":"(I use aleppo chili flakes; to taste)","id":522,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1774154778000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}}],"originalServings":"6","originalServingsParsed":6,"currentServings":"6","currentServingsParsed":6,"currentServingsFormatted":"6","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1,2],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0}}}