Easy Arugula Pesto

This Arugula Pesto Recipe is bright green and peppery: a perfect way to use up those leafy greens! Serve over pasta, bread, pizza and more.

Do you have arugula handles to use? Try to make this silky, garlicky Aragule pesto Recipe! Arugula is ideal for a light green pesto: the flavor is powerfully peppery yet bright. This bubbly sauce announces your presence! Stir into hot pasta, spread on pizza, or spoon over crostini with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. There are so many ways to go about this versatile sauce! Let’s go.

Arugula pesto ingredients

Pesto is a sauce that has its origins in Italy (more precisely in the city of Genoa). The word pesto comes from Italian and means “pounded” or “pounded”. Genoese pesto or Genoa pesto is the most popular version made with basil. Substitute arugula for the fresh basil and you have arugula pesto! We like to use cashews in our rocket pesto because it’s cheaper: and the sweet taste of the nut contrasts nicely with the bitter green. What you need for this recipe:

• Unsalted Roasted Cashew Nuts
• parmesan cheese
• Garlic cloves
• Baby Arugula Leaves
• lemon juice
• Sugar
• Salt
• olive oil

Tips for making this Arugula Pesto Recipe

do you have your ingredients Here are some notes on how to prepare this rocket pesto recipe, both the recipe and the ingredients:

• Baby arugula works best, but you can use the standard if you like. We recommend baby arugula as it tastes milder. Conventional bunched arugula has a more bitter and tangy taste: but you can definitely use it!
• Sugar softens bitterness. The sugar may seem unexpected, but just ¼ teaspoon complements the bitter taste. trust us!
• Use a food processor or mortar and pestle. If you have an old-fashioned mortar and pestle, this is our favorite way to make pesto: the traditional way! But a food processor works just as well: and it’s faster.

Variants of pesto

Would you like to vary this arugula pesto? You can use different types of nuts or even make it vegan! Here’s what to do:

• Replace cashews with pine nuts. This gives more of a classic pesto flavor.
• Make it dairy free: Go to Vegan Pesto and substitute arugula for the basil.

Storing the pesto

This rocket pesto recipe will keep in the fridge for about 1 week. But if you’re not planning on eating it all at once, you can freeze it! How to freeze pesto:

• Pour the pesto into an ice cube tray and place in the freezer.
• Once frozen, remove the cubes and place in a sealed freezer-safe container.
• When you’re ready to eat, you can take out small portions of pesto. Place them in a container and let them come to room temperature on the counter or in the fridge.

Ways to Use Arugula Pesto

Now for the fun part: how to use this Arugula Pesto Recipe! You probably have a lot of great ideas (and share them in the comments below). Here are some ways we like to eat it:

More arugula recipes

Do you like that peppery leafy green? Try these other great arugula recipes:

This Arugula Pesto Recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten free. For vegans go to Vegan Pesto.