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    Home » Recipes » Dinner » Spiralizer

    Spiralized Kale Pesto Pasta

    Published: Jan 16, 2018 · Updated: Feb 10, 2021 by Neil 14 Comments

    626 shares
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    A bowl of spiralized kale pesto pasta with a sliced lemon for decoration in the background.

    Spiralized kale pesto pasta is a delicious and easy 30 minute meal combining all the goodness of kale with spiralized courgettes. It's low carb, budget and vegetarian too!

    Birds eye view of a bowl of spiralized kale pesto pasta with a fork and spoon in. Two lemons and a courgette at the top and a block of parmesan cheese and grater at the bottom.

    Well folks, if you thought that budget healthy meals couldn't get any easier than those Quick Healthy Chickpea Cakes I published last Tuesday, how about this tasty spiralized kale pesto pasta offering?

    Similarly, like those chickpea cakes, this is another brilliant, time saving recipe whereby everything (except the courgettes) goes straight into your blender and is blitzed into a perfect meal. In this case its blitzed into a perfect pesto pasta paste.

    Of course you can serve the kale pesto with traditional pasta if you want, no problems, but I just love this served with spiralized courgette.

    It's a perfect low carb, low calorie wheat pasta alternative if you're looking to try and eat a few less carbs after Christmas!

    Close up view of a bowl of spiralized kale pesto pasta with a fork and spoon in. Two lemons and a courgette in the background.

    Now folks let's talk a little about carbs (carbohydrates) here.

    First of all carbs are absolutely essential and necessary for our everyday functioning.

    Carbs are important to our health because in a healthy balanced diet, they are the body’s main source of energy and they are also what our brains use to function.

    So, when in a recipe, like this kale pesto pasta, I advocate that it can help you eat a few less carbs I'm not talking about removing the carbs from your diet in any way at all.

    No, it's a case of substituting those other sources of carbs, such as wheat pasta, with a healthier source of carbs like courgettes here which can provide all the essential benefits you need but with less overall calories.

    The veggies used here courgettes and kale, are two excellent sources of fibre too!

    Read my section on carbohydrates and fibre to learn more.

    Birds eye view of a bowl of spiralized kale pesto pasta. Two lemons and a courgette at the top and a block of parmesan cheese and grater at the bottom.

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    Other Popular Pesto Recipes For You To Try

    • Baked Aubergine With Red Pesto And Cheese - this is a fantastic mid-week cheesy meal that's packed full of flavour but also quick and cheap to make!
    • Butternut Squash Noodles with Spring Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes - this is again a fantastic low carb alternative to pasta with a spring pesto sauce.
    • Baked Salmon Pesto - this simple and tasty oven baked salmon pesto is ready in just 30 minutes and comes with a fantastic creamy cauliflower mash too!

    Spiralized kale pesto pasta is a delicious and easy 30 minute meal combining all the goodness of kale with spiralized courgettes. It's low carb, budget and vegetarian too! Click to Tweet

    Spiralized Kale Pesto Pasta Recipe

    Cost wise, I can make this kale pesto pasta for literally a couple of pounds with plenty to freeze for future meals as well.

    So hopefully wherever you are in the world you can take advantage of that low cost factor too.

    I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂

    Spiralized kale pesto pasta is a delicious and easy 30 minute meal combining all the goodness of kale with spiralized courgettes. It's low carb, budget and vegetarian too!
    Print Recipe Save Recipe Saved Recipe!
    5 from 2 votes

    Spiralized Kale Pesto Pasta Recipe

    Spiralized kale pesto pasta is a delicious and easy 30 minute meal combining all the goodness of kale with spiralized courgettes. It's low carb, budget and vegetarian too!
    Prep Time25 mins
    Cook Time5 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Course: Dinner
    Cuisine: International
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 346kcal
    Author: Neil

    The following links and any links in the recipe card below are affiliate links.

    This means that if you click on it and then buy that product I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).

    If you do click through then thanks for being a part of Neil’s Healthy Meals!

    Equipment

    • Spiralizer
    • Food processor
    • Wok
    • Kitchen scale
    • Chopping board
    • Kitchen knives
    • Measuring jug
    • Juicer
    • Measuring spoons
    • Wooden spoon

    Ingredients

    • 85 g kale chopped with stalks removed
    • 50 ml olive oil
    • Juice of ½ lemon
    • 2 garlic cloves
    • 85 g pine nuts
    • 25 g Parmesan grated
    • Salt and freshly ground pepper
    • 4 medium sized zucchini / courgettes spiralized
    Metric - US Customary

    Instructions

    • Wash the kale in a colander and rinse with cool water.
    • Place the kale in a food processor and add the olive oil, juice from the lemon, garlic cloves, pine nuts and Parmesan. Purée the mixture until smooth. Add more oil if required. Season to taste and set aside.
    • Gently heat a wok / frying pan, add the spiralized courgette / zucchini and heat through for about 2 minutes, stirring.
    • Add 1 – 2 tablespoons of kale pesto and stir in until the courgette / zucchini is sufficiently coated.
    • Divide the pasta equally between bowls and serve.

    Notes

    Add some cooked chopped chicken if you want to “bulk” the meal up a little. There will be plenty of kale pesto left over which is perfect for freezing.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 346kcal | Carbohydrates: 18.7g | Protein: 11.4g | Fat: 27.8g | Saturated Fat: 5.6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17.7g | Cholesterol: 8.5mg | Sodium: 220.8mg | Fiber: 5.9g | Sugar: 11.3g | Vitamin A: 1550IU | Vitamin C: 178.2mg | Calcium: 280mg | Iron: 2.5mg

    Nutrition Facts
    Spiralized Kale Pesto Pasta
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 346 Calories from Fat 250
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 27.8g43%
    Saturated Fat 5.6g35%
    Monounsaturated Fat 17.7g
    Cholesterol 8.5mg3%
    Sodium 220.8mg10%
    Carbohydrates 18.7g6%
    Fiber 5.9g25%
    Sugar 11.3g13%
    Protein 11.4g23%
    Vitamin A 1550IU31%
    Vitamin C 178.2mg216%
    Calcium 280mg28%
    Iron 2.5mg14%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Related

    « Easy Moroccan Chicken Soup
    Healthy Mussel Chowder »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Shashi at SavorySpin

      January 16, 2018 at 11:58 am

      Neil, this spiralized courgettes with kale pesto looks and sounds delicious - and am willing to bet that kale pesto would even go well slathered on some salmon or chicken!
      I don't mess with mussels often so am looking forward to your creation on Thursday! Happy Tuesday to you and Lady Lynne!

      Reply
      • neil@neilshealthymeals.com

        January 16, 2018 at 1:02 pm

        Yes definitely Shashi. We often "bulk" up this meal by adding chunks of cooked chicken breast or turkey breast meat and so I think salmon would go great with this recipe.

        Looking forward to bringing you my new mussels creation on Thursday too!

        Reply
    2. Deborah Brooks

      January 16, 2018 at 12:42 pm

      I am loving your version of pesto! This looks fantastic. Pinning! We would love to have you join our meatless Monday linkup sometime

      Reply
      • neil@neilshealthymeals.com

        January 16, 2018 at 1:03 pm

        Hi Deborah, thanks so much for taking the time to comment and to Pin too!

        I'll certainly check out your meatless Monday linkup, thanks for letting me know about it! 🙂

        Reply
    3. David @ Spiced

      January 16, 2018 at 2:12 pm

      You know, I'm not a huge fan of kale. I've tried it a couple of times, and I'm just not a fan. But with that said, I've never thought about putting it into a blender and turning it into a pesto...this is a great idea, Neil! I'm definitely going to try this...talk about one heck of an awesome (and healthy!) meal right here. I hope your week is off to a great start so far!

      Reply
      • neil@neilshealthymeals.com

        January 16, 2018 at 3:21 pm

        This recipe totally "revolutionizes" Kale David, you honestly would not know that any Kale had actually been used in making it!

        Our week has been one of snow so far, still we've nothing to compare here to the extremes of your weather there!

        Reply
    4. Agness of Run Agness Run

      January 16, 2018 at 4:27 pm

      Exceptional pasta recipe, Neil! I love a good pasta recipe and this one simply rocks.

      Reply
      • neil@neilshealthymeals.com

        January 16, 2018 at 4:32 pm

        Thanks very much Agnes. 🙂

        Reply
    5. Ashika | Gardening Foodie

      January 16, 2018 at 7:27 pm

      5 stars
      OH YUM this looks so good Neil, I absolutely love the idea of a kale pesto. And served with spiralized courgettes, a really genius recipe. Seriously you make healthy eating absolutely delicious. Thank you for all the great recipes and ideas.?

      Reply
      • neil@neilshealthymeals.com

        January 16, 2018 at 8:34 pm

        Your comment about me making healthy eating absolutely delicious made my day Ashika. Thank you! 😀

        Reply
    6. Christina

      January 16, 2018 at 10:00 pm

      YUM! This is the first time visiting your blog and I'm LOVING your creations! This Kale pesto pasta looks amazeballs! I hardly ever use my spiralizer but you've inspired me to give it another go!

      Reply
      • neil@neilshealthymeals.com

        January 17, 2018 at 4:53 am

        Glad you like my recipes Christina and thanks for visiting!

        Reply
    7. Ben|Havocinthekitchen

      January 19, 2018 at 3:03 am

      5 stars
      I will never give up on pasta, but I'm trying not to consume it as often as I would do in the past. Also, few years ago I discovered zucchini noodles, and although it's not the same, this is a good way to spice up the diet. Like this nutty and hearthy version too!

      Reply
      • neil@neilshealthymeals.com

        January 19, 2018 at 4:31 am

        I couldn't give up on normal pasta either Ben. Not only because it's so tasty but because its one of the budget meal ingredients we always turn too. Especially in January when we're skint after Christmas. Ha ha! But yes, zucchini noodles are great as a substitute to pasta being healthier and often just as cheap too! Thanks for your comment. 🙂

        Reply

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