Arugula pesto is like basil pesto’s rebellious cousin—with the same bright and green flavors but with a little peppery kick from the arugula leaves! Not spicy, just enough zing to make it exciting. Just like basil pesto, arugula pesto has the bright citrus flavors balanced with the walnuts, garlic, and nutritional yeast instead of cheese. It’s also cost effective: making pesto from arugula is much more budget-friendly when the price of basil is steep!

Tips for Success

Stir in the olive oil by hand at the end. This will prevent it from being bitter! When olive oil is exposed to a high speed blade, it creates an emulsifying effect with the polyphenols. Polyphenols are compounds (known for their antioxidant properties) that have a bitter taste but they’re coated with fatty acids which keeps the bitterness from being released. When the blade chops the polyphenols down into smaller droplets, the polyphenols emulsify the pesto (which is good) but also releases the bitterness and disperses that throughout the mixture — leaving the pesto with a bitter taste. By hand stirring, the olive oil stays intact and has a more rustic, smooth flavor!
Use walnuts for a budget-friendly option. I love using pine nuts in pesto but have you seen the price these days?! Walnuts are a beautiful alternative with lots of health benefits while being much easier on the wallet.

Arugula

This leafy green vegetable originated in the Mediterranean and belongs to the cruciferous family, along with kale, cabbage, and cauliflower. Arugula leaves have a unique, peppery bite, which adds a lot of unique flavor to dishes!

Arugula is more than just tasty, though; it has tons of nutrients and health benefits! Arugula has compounds, erucin and sulforaphane, that have protective effects against cancer growth—in particular breast cancer—by promoting apoptosis (cell death).¹ Arugula is a good source of vitamin K particularly, and is also a good source of folate, vitamin C and A, manganese, and contains calcium as well.² Aside from cancer, arugula and other cruciferous vegetables have been shown to help protect against cognitive decline, heart disease, and an overall 10% decrease in the risk of death from all causes with every 100-gram serving.³

Walnuts

Although pine nuts are thought to be the fancier nut to use when making pesto, walnuts are just as tasty and actually have a little bit of a health advantage over pine nuts!

Walnuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids alpha-linolenic acid (one of the few nuts with significant amounts of ALA) as well as polyunsaturated fatty acid. *Small* doses of walnuts in the diet can help keep a healthy heart by lowering cholesterol, reducing inflammation, and overall reducing risk of coronary heart disease. ⁴⁵ Walnuts are high in vitamins, antioxidants, and even have anticancer properties!⁶ Walnuts can also help improve brain function with learning skills and memory, and may help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s.⁷

Bowl of Arugula Pesto with a lemon twist

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