Name: Mustard Green Pesto
Prep time: 2 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 cups mustard greens (loosely chopped); 1 cup fresh basil; 6 cloves garlic; 1/2 cup walnuts; 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt; 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus more if needed)

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This mustard green pesto is garlicky and spicy, simple to make, and is a great no cook pasta sauce for summer nights. A mustard greens recipe that is no cook and so simple!

If you are wondering what to do with mustard greens that you got from a veggie or local CSA box then look no further!

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Table of Contents

Pesto is a perfect mustard greens recipe to make with fresh abundant greens. The raw garlic in the pesto compliments the slightly spicy mustard greens, and combines to make a fantastic, simple, and quick summer sauce.

No cooking required and ready in 5 minutes. Its great over pasta, as a dip, or drizzled over pizza for that extra kick.

This Mustard Green Pesto Is:

Packed with flavor!
Bright
Bold
Slightly spicy
Fresh
Raw vegan, gluten free, paleo friendly, whole30 approved!

A Great Pesto without Basil

Pesto is one of those staple sauces that we enjoy all year round! In the summer our garden yields tons of mustard greens to use in pesto, but you can use any green you have on hand. I like spinach, kale, beet greens, etc. We love pesto stirred into pasta. I also love to add a heaping scoop of pesto into my Pesto Risotto! Of all the fresh greens we’ve made in pesto, I have to say that mustard greens rank at the top.

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What’s In This Mustard Green Pesto?

Be sure to visit the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!

Fresh Mustard Greens: These grow like cray in our garden, and pesto is the best mustard greens recipe we have found that highlights the flavor of these awesome leaves.
Basil: Traditional in Italian pesto, the fresh basil adds a kick and complexity that pairs really well with the mustard greens.
Garlic
Walnuts: because YUM in this pesto.
Extra virgin olive oil

Mustard Green Recipes For the WIN!

On a whim, we decided to grow mustard greens in our garden… and they exploded! They are a hearty and resilient green which stood up to the cooler May nights, and continued to thrive in the warm and wet June. A groundhog got into them a little (we have since put fencing up) but we have been harvesting them for weeks now.

Aside from this pesto, another favorite mustard greens recipe we have is chopping the raw greens and adding them to tacos. A nice and spicy bite! They go great with fresh chopped red onion, TVP taco meat, and warm corn tortilla shells right out of the oven.

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How Do I Make This Pesto with Mustard Greens?

In a food processor add the mustard greens, basil, garlic, almonds, and salt.
Pulse a few times, then turn the food processor on low and steam in the olive oil. Stop, and check the consistency, adding more olive oil if needed.
Toss with fresh pasta, use pesto as a sauce on homemade pizza, or enjoy pesto as a dip for vegetables or bread

What Do I Make With Mustard Greens?

While there are tons of ways to cook mustard greens, this mustard pesto has been our favorite method by far! This mustard greens recipe really compliments the fresh, bold, spicy flavor of the leaves. For a little extra spice, a few shakes of crushed red pepper flakes would be an ideal addition to this sauce.

To make this mustard pesto you can use either the blender or the food processor. I used the blender, but either appliance will give you an awesome texture and flavor. Use less olive oil for a chunkier sauce, and more for a thinner sauce.

Easy Recipes for Garden Mustard Greens

This mustard pesto recipe is the perfect way to use those extra garden greens. Throughout the spring and fall our garden is overloaded with mustard green plants all ripening at once. I make this garden fresh pesto recipe with my extra greens and a quick meal is ready in no time.

Enjoy that garden mustard leaf bounty with this bright and fresh pesto recipe all summer long – if not your garden, then get fresh mustard greens at your local farmer’s market stand 🙂

Dietary Modifications

So, this pesto is already vegan, gluten free, whole30, and paleo friendly! Traditionally pesto recipes use cheese, which I opted to leave out of this for a dairy free version. But if you aren’t vegan or dairy-free then I would recommended adding a big scoop of freshly grated parmesan in the sauce or to top your pasta before serving.

What to Serve with Pesto

Toss with cooked pasta for a delicious dinner
Add to Garlic Lovers Garlic Bread
Use pesto as a pizza sauce, or top your pizza with a drizzle
Add to my pesto tortellini pasta salad for a fresh summer side dish
Mix a scoop into risotto for a delicious pesto risotto
Make pesto minestrone soup, which combines fresh vegetables, beans, noodles, and pesto in the broth

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If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

Mustard Green Pesto

By Kelly Jensen

This mustard green pesto is garlicky and spicy, simple to make, and is a great no cook pasta sauce for summer nights. Great way to use mustard greens from your garden.

4.89 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 2

Blend Time 3

Total Time 5

Course Dinner, Sauce

Cuisine American

Servings

Calories 250 kcal

Equipment

▢
Blender or Food Processor

Ingredients

Instructions

In a food processor add the mustard greens, basil, garlic, almonds, and salt. Pulse a few times, then turn the food processor on low and steam in the olive oil. Stop, and check the consistency, adding more olive oil if needed.
Toss with fresh pasta, use pesto as a sauce on homemade pizza, or enjoy pesto as a dip for vegetables or bread.

Nutrition

Calories: 250kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 4gFat: 37gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 21gSodium: 298mgPotassium: 208mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1167IUVitamin C: 22mgCalcium: 66mgIron: 1mg

Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a rating and comment below, let us know what you loved about it!

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4 Comments

Meghan says:

June 11, 2021 at 6:45 pm

What is the measurement for olive oil, it just says 1/2 but not the unit of measure

1. Kelly Jensen says:
  
  June 11, 2021 at 9:42 pm
  
  Hello Meghan,
  It should say CUP, 1/2 cup olive oil, thank you!
  
Chasady Quinn says:

March 2, 2021 at 8:46 pm

Absolutely delicious! I love the flavor this adds.

1. The Herbeevore says:
  
  March 2, 2021 at 11:21 pm
  
  Thank you so much Chasady, I am so happy to hear you loved this one! We are growing a new batch of mustard greens now too, and I cannot wait to make this one again 🙂

4.89 from 9 votes (5 ratings without comment)

Mustard Green Pesto Recipe