AIP Friendly Basil-Pesto Garden Salad
This vibrant garden salad is a celebration of fresh vegetables and bold herbal flavor, and it comes together faster than you'd expect for something this impressive. The homemade pesto is the real star — packed basil, garlic, lemon juice, and good olive oil blitzed into a loose, spoonable sauce that coats every ribbon of carrot and half-moon of zucchini beautifully. Traditional pesto leans on nuts and cheese, both of which are off the table for the autoimmune protocol, but this version skips them entirely without sacrificing any of that bright, grassy punch. The lemon juice does the heavy lifting in terms of brightness, and the garlic brings enough depth that you won't miss a thing. Crunchy radishes, cool cucumber, and tender salad greens round out the bowl with satisfying texture in every bite. It serves four and is genuinely the kind of dish you'd be proud to put in front of guests who have no dietary restrictions at all — they'd never guess it was built around a protocol. Finish with a scatter of torn parsley if you have it on hand; it adds a fresh, almost floral note that takes the whole plate up a notch.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
For the salad
- 5 oz mixed salad greens
- 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into half-moons
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and shaved into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
- 1 cup cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
- 1 cup radishes, thinly sliced
- 3 scallions (green tops only), thinly sliced
For serving
- ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, roughly torn (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the basil, garlic, lemon juice, and sea salt in a food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until the basil is coarsely chopped and the garlic is minced.
- 2
With the processor running, stream in the olive oil in a slow, steady pour until the pesto comes together into a loose, spoonable sauce. Scrape down the sides and pulse once more to incorporate any remaining basil. Taste and adjust salt or lemon juice as needed.
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