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Pesto Salad Dressing

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pesto salad dressing recipe

Whenever I prepare pesto, I always save a little pesto to make pesto salad dressing. I don't know about you, but I always make extra pesto for different recipes. Pesto salad dressing is simple to make with leftover pesto or a favorite prepared pesto. 

First, you need some prepared pesto. Although many store-bought pestos are available, most are loaded with oil. Pesto, although made with healthy ingredients, is weighed down by heavy oils. In my opinion, the integrity of the fresh herbs and ingredients is ruined by oil. 

Of course, pesto can be made without any oil and taste fresh and fabulous. Once prepared, oil-free pesto is simply added to a few other ingredients to create a tasty oil-free presto dressing. 

pesto salad dressing

Choosing pesto as the base for pesto salad dressing

As I said before, there are many recipes and prepared pestos available in stores, I prefer to make my own oil-free version. 

Since I like the pestos equally, here are two separate pesto recipes (one with nuts and one nut-free version). You pick whichever pesto suits your dietary needs.

VEGAN PESTO WITH WHITE BEANS (OPTION 1; NUT-FREE)

  • Fresh basil leaves. The more, the merrier.
  • Garlic 
  • Navy/cannellini beans 
  • Water
  •  Nutritional yeast
  • The juice of 2 lemons
  • Sea salt

VEGAN KALE CASHEW & BASIL PESTO (OPTION 2; NUTS)

  • Kale
  • Raw cashews
  • Garlic cloves 
  • Organic vegetable broth
  • Juice of 1 lemon (2 Tablespoons)
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Garlic salt

Pesto dressing

How to make pesto salad dressing

In order to make a tasty pesto dressing, all you need is a few simple ingredients:

  • Prepared pesto
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Dijon mustard
  • Fresh lemon juice
  • Maple syrup
  • Water

Then, all you need is a high-speed blender, a delicious fresh green salad, and a fork. 

How to make a fresh green garden salad for pesto salad dressing

  • Romaine lettuce
  • Purple cabbage
  • Red onion
  • Red bell pepper
  • Tri-colored tomatoes
  • Cucumber

Although pesto dressing goes well on any salad, the herbs in the pesto really shine on fresh green vegetables. 

Other using for pesto salad dressing:

Oil-free salad dressings are fresh and delicious, so check out these dressings

pesto salad dressing recipe
Yield: 12 servings

Pesto Salad Dressing

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Pesto salad dressing is a tasty vinegarette dressing made with prepared pesto and a few simple ingredients. Oil-free and delicious, this herb-infused dressing is perfect for any green salad, to top a potato, or used as a dip for breadsticks or fresh vegetables.

Ingredients

Pesto Salad Dressing

  • 1/4 cup prepared pesto (two options provided) or prepared pesto
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/8 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave

Nut-free, oil-free Pesto (option 1)

Oil-Free Nut Pesto (option 2)

Instructions

  1. Choose a prepared pesto option or a store-bought version
  2. Place 1/4 cup pesto and the remaining ingredients in a high-speed blender.
  3. Blend until smooth
  4. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

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Nutrition Information

Yield

8 servings

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 121Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 4mgSodium 101mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 4g

Nutrition facts may not be 100% accurate.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

© Kathy Carmichael
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Sauces, Dips & Dressings

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