Breastfeeding Friendly Basil-Pesto Arugula Salad
Peppery arugula meets a vibrant, herb-forward pesto in this salad that feels both refreshing and deeply satisfying. The homemade pesto skips traditional pine nuts entirely, using tiger nut flour instead to create a thick, spoonable sauce with a subtly earthy richness — no nut concerns, no shortcuts. Fresh basil, bright lemon juice, and good olive oil do the heavy lifting, making every bite feel clean and nourishing. Crisp radishes and cool cucumber slices add crunch and color, turning a simple green salad into something genuinely craveable. For anyone focused on eating well while breastfeeding, this kind of whole-food, ingredient-forward dish is exactly the kind of meal worth keeping in rotation. It comes together quickly in a food processor and a single salad bowl, which means less time in the kitchen and more time doing everything else on your plate.
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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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