Artificial Food Coloring Free Basil-Pesto Arugula Salad
This vibrant green salad is everything a warm-weather dish should be — bright, peppery, and packed with fresh flavor from first bite to last. The homemade pesto comes together in a food processor using fresh basil, garlic, lemon juice, and tiger nut flour in place of the usual pine nuts, creating a thick, spoonable sauce with real depth. Every single ingredient here is whole and unprocessed, so there's zero guesswork about what's actually going into your bowl. That matters more than people realize with store-bought dressings and pre-made pestos, which can sneak in synthetic dyes through unexpected additives and flavor enhancers. Crisp baby arugula, cool cucumber, and thinly sliced radishes give the salad great texture and a natural pop of color that needs no artificial help whatsoever. A final drizzle of olive oil and fresh lemon juice ties everything together with a clean, tangy finish. It's the kind of salad that looks impressive enough for a dinner party but comes together fast enough for a Tuesday night.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp tiger nut flour
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
For the salad
- 5 oz baby arugula (about 6 cups loosely packed)
- 4 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cucumber, thinly sliced into half-moons
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- flaky sea salt, to taste
For serving
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, torn (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the 2 cups packed basil leaves, garlic cloves, tiger nut flour, 2 tbsp lemon juice, and fine sea salt in a food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until the mixture is coarsely chopped and the garlic is broken down.
- 2
With the processor running, stream in the 1/3 cup olive oil in a slow, steady pour until the pesto comes together into a thick, spoonable paste — it will be slightly textured, not completely smooth. Scrape down the sides and pulse once more to incorporate. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
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