This swiss chard pesto is one of my favorite swiss chard recipes! It makes a delicious and earthy pesto sauce to serve over pasta, risotto, or with garlic bread! This sauce is the perfect recipe for swiss chard that came out of the garden, from the farmer’s market, or at the store.
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I have been loving our CSA boxes at work! We get such a great variety of amazingly fresh and local produce. One of the major perks is that I get to try all kinds of things that I never had before, and find cool ways to use them in the kitchen. This swiss chard pesto is a bright and fresh way to use your Swiss Chard, and tastes amazing. While pesto usually is made from fresh greens, I lightly sauteed the swiss chard to give it a creamy and soft texture.
This Vegan Chard Pesto Recipe Is:
- Bright
- Earthy
- Flavorful
- Garlicky
- Fresh
- Savory
- Ready in 15 minutes
- Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, and SO good!
With a few extra ingredients, the pesto came together into one of the most amazing and delicious sauces I’ve ever made. Its perfectly garlicky (and we looooove garlic) and earthy and sweet from the basil. Its a vegan recipe, but you won’t miss the cheese because the bold flavor is incredible from the chives.
One of the Best Seasonal Swiss Chard Recipes
This swiss chard pesto sauce recipe is a great way to get in some seasonal fresh produce! Swiss Chard is available here in New England in late spring and early summer. And add in some garlic scapes in the pesto for an extra zing of spring flavor!
I cooked mine up with pasta + sautéed zucchini + spinach, but the possibilities are endless! Pastas, dips, spreads, pizzas, soups, etc! This would be great in Soup Au Pisto!
This recipe makes a LOT of sauce, which is perfect for a LOT of leftovers 🙂
What’s In this Rainbow Chard Pesto?
- Swiss chard, washed, chopped, both leaves and stems – you can use a single color chard or a rainbow chard for this vegan pesto.
- Garlic: I use fresh garlic when I have it, and this great jarred organic garlic when I don’t have fresh. It’s actually super convenient to have pre-chopped garlic on hand for quick and easy meal prep.
- Garlic Chives or Garlic Scapes
- Olive Oil: I like to use this fruity Zoe olive oil which has a fantastic flavor and deep color- it’s really inexpensive online here, so I keep a few liters stocked up in my pantry. For the quality of oil you get, it’s an excellent value, I would highly recommend!
- Pine Nuts: A Traditional nut from pesto, I love toasting these little pine nuts (also called pigniolis) in my oven or pan for that authentic pesto flavor.
- Pumpkin Seeds or Pepitas – I love these delicious pumpkin seeds from Anthony’s Organics, this huge bag of them is such a great value online. They are organic and have a really wonderful nutty crunch.
- Fresh Basil
- Pink Himalayan Sea Salt: I like to use a pink Himalayan Sea Salt in my kitchen, which has more natural minerals than plain processed table salt. It’s fairly inexpensive, so I’d recommend this salt if you’re looking for an easy way to level up your spice pantry.
- Tellicherry Peppercorns: Like the salt, it’s amazing the flavor difference you can get with really good tellicherry black pepper. Amazon has a generic brand tellicherry peppercorn which is the same price is buying pre-ground, and has a million times more flavor… so I use these really great tellicherry peppercorns, which I would definitely recommend.
How Do I Make Swiss Chard Pesto?
- In a large pot, sauté 2 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the garlic for 3 minutes until it begins to crisp. Add the swiss chard and sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Turn oven broiler to low and toast pine nuts and pumpkin seeds for 5 minutes until lightly browned on top.
- In a food processor or high speed blender, add the swiss chard and garlic, toasted pine nuts + pumpkin seeds, garlic chives, fresh basil, salt, and pepper.
- Add 1 cup of olive oil, and blend on high.
- Add the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil slowly until pesto is a medium thick consistency.
- Store in an airtight container for 3 days in the fridge!
Get the Same Ingredients I Use For My Swiss Chard Pesto Recipe:
As always, if you make this vegan and dairy free swiss chard pesto recipe be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe, and tag me @theherbeevore on Instagram so I can feature you. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
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Swiss Chard Pesto (Vegan, Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 2 large bunches Swiss chard washed, chopped, both leaves and stems
- 10 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 cup garlic chives chopped
- 1.5 cups olive oil divided
- 1 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 cups fresh basil
- 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Tellicherry Black Pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot, sauté 2 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the garlic for 3 minutes until it begins to crisp. Add the swiss chard and sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Turn oven broiler to low and toast pine nuts and pumpkin seeds for 5 minutes until lightly browned on top.
- In a food processor or high speed blender, add the swiss chard and garlic, toasted pine nuts + pumpkin seeds, garlic chives, fresh basil, salt, and pepper.
- Add 1 cup of olive oil, and blend on high.
- Add the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil slowly until pesto is a medium thick consistency.
- Store in an airtight container for 3 days in the fridge!
Nutrition
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This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that support The Herbeevore and our beehives!
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