Chicken Pesto

I found this pesto recipe a few years ago and have made it over and over again with different variations.  When served without chicken, this is a vegetarian and vegan dish.

1/3 c. pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds (preferably raw and unseasoned)

2/3 olive oil (this is a great chance to use up extra virgin olive oil if you need to)

5 cloves garlic

1/3 c. nutritional yeast- found in bulk in many stores or in the nutrition department

1 bunch fresh basil leaves

salt and pepper to taste

optional add in: 1-2 handfuls of raw spinach

Directions:

If your pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds are raw, toast them over medium heat, stirring constantly, until they start to brown.  Don’t over cook them.

Add all pesto ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. Notice if your seed/nuts are already salted and salt accordingly.

Serve over your favorite gluten free noodles and top with baked chicken.

I over-salted my pesto, so I added in some spinach leaves.  It actually gave it a nice color and fixed my salt problem.  It made it so much prettier that I may add some next time just for flair.

Before adding spinach

First I tried adding the spinach as a salad. It tasted good, but I wanted a more polished look.

After adding spinach to pesto

Original recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/yummy-vegan-pesto-classico

Author: glutenfreeveganish

I eat gluten, dairy, and egg free and want to make food that other people would want to eat too. View all posts by glutenfreeveganish