Legume Free Turmeric-Ginger Parsley Lemon Pesto
Most pesto leans on pine nuts or cashews, but this vibrant sauce swaps in raw walnuts for a rich, slightly earthy base that keeps things completely legume-free without sacrificing any of that satisfying depth. Fresh flat-leaf parsley does the heavy lifting here, bringing a bright, grassy flavor that pairs beautifully with the warm heat of fresh ginger and the golden glow of ground turmeric. A generous hit of lemon juice and zest keeps everything lively and sharp, so the finished pesto tastes anything but one-dimensional. The food processor does most of the work in under a minute — a slow stream of good olive oil is all it takes to pull the whole thing together into a thick, spoonable paste. It's the kind of sauce that makes you want to drizzle it on everything: roasted vegetables, grilled chicken, crusty bread, or stirred into a bowl of warm grains. Store it in a jar with plastic wrap pressed against the surface and it stays brilliantly green in the fridge for up to five days, ready to elevate whatever you're cooking next.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, loosely packed
- ⅓ cup raw walnuts
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1–2 tbsp water, as needed to thin (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Add the parsley, walnuts, garlic, ginger, turmeric, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and black pepper to a food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until the mixture is coarsely chopped and the ingredients are roughly combined.
- 2
With the processor running, stream in the olive oil in a slow, steady pour until the pesto comes together into a thick, slightly textured paste, about 20–30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides once midway through.
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