Macadamia Free Arugula & Herb Pesto
Bright, peppery arugula teams up with fragrant basil to create a pesto that feels fresher and more vibrant than anything you'd find in a jar. The combination of those two greens gives the sauce a bold, slightly bitter edge that pairs beautifully with pasta, grilled proteins, or a thick slice of crusty bread. A squeeze of lemon juice lifts everything and keeps the color gorgeous, while a pinch of turmeric adds a subtle warmth and golden hue if you're feeling adventurous. Many store-bought pestos rely on a mix of nuts that can be hard to track — macadamia included — but this recipe skips nuts entirely, so you get all the richness from good extra-virgin olive oil instead. The food processor does the heavy lifting in just a few pulses, making this one of those sauces you can throw together on a weeknight without breaking a sweat. It's endlessly versatile, easy to scale up, and honestly hard to stop eating straight off the spoon.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 2 cups fresh arugula, packed
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the arugula, basil, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until the greens are coarsely chopped and the garlic is broken down.
- 2
With the processor running, pour the olive oil in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube and process until the pesto is mostly smooth with a slightly textured consistency, about 20–30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed.
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