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Home » Recipes » Dinner » Sauce + Seasoning + Condiments » Clean Eating Pesto (Video)

Clean Eating Pesto (Video)

Published: Aug 15, 2012 · Last Modified: October 1, 2019 by Dani

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I had a ton of basil in the fridge and wanted to see if I could lighten up my recipe just a little bit more.

By cutting back just a kiss on the oil, cheese, and nuts I was able to make my original recipe even lighter without sacrificing any flavor!

Pesto is full of nutritious ingredients like; basil, garlic, pine nuts and extra virgin olive oil, but when all is said and done, if I can find a way to lighten up a recipe without sacrificing flavor I’m all in!

Here’s what I did:

  • I swapped out a little more than half of the oil for chicken broth (you could easily use veggie broth if you wanted to keep it vegetarian)
  • Reduced my pine nuts from 1/4 cup to 2 tbsp
  • Cut out one tbsp of  the Parmesan cheese

Small changes… big results!

I found that by adding in the broth not only do you save yourself some excess calories, but it makes the pesto creamier (there’s no oil pooling at the top of your pesto), plus it’s easier to spread and coats pasta more evenly. And don’t worry, since you’re not eliminating the olive oil all together, the pesto still benefits from the fruity, richness that the olive oil brings.

Now the question becomes, “What shall I do with my pesto this week?”.  What do you like to make with pesto?

Print Recipe
5 from 24 votes

Clean Eating Pesto

Course: DIET, DINNER, sauce + seasoning + condiments
Cuisine: gluten free, Italian, low carb + keto
Author: Dani Spies
Prep Time10 mins
Total Time10 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 236kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 cups packed basil leaves
  • 2 FAT cloves of garlic if they're not fat, I'd use 3
  • 2 tbsp of toasted pine nuts
  • 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil*
  • 1/4 cup of chicken broth
  • 3 tbsp of Parmesan cheese**
  • Big fat pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Pulse garlic in food processor until finely minced. Add pine nuts and pulse again.
  • Add basil and pulse until finely chopped (you may want to do this in batches).
  • With processor running, slowly add the olive oil and chicken broth, you're looking for a nice creamy consistency. Stir in the cheese and season with some salt...enjoy!
  • *Recipes tend to change just a little every time you make them. Add oil and broth slowly... you may need a little more or a little less.
  • **If you plan to freeze you're pesto, hold off on adding the cheese (it doesn't do so well in the freezer). Simply add it in whenever you are ready to use you're pesto.
  • Makes about a cup.

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcal | Protein: 42g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 95mg | Potassium: 646mg | Vitamin A: 200IU | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 1.2mg
https://youtu.be/UUj0V0aG4Lc

Gluten Free, Low Carb + Keto, Recipes, Sauce + Seasoning + Condiments, Video Basil, chicken broth, clean eating, Gluten Free, Low Carb + Keto, Parmesan Cheese, pesto, Pine Nuts, summer

About Dani

Dani Spies is the founder and host of Clean & Delicious; a weekly cooking show on YouTube and a healthy eating blog that celebrates real, whole foods! She takes a holistic approach to health and wellness and is loved for her approachable, down to earth style both in and out of the kitchen.

Learn MoreWork With Me

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alanna says

    September 5, 2007 at 3:42 pm

    5 stars
    Good for you, Dani – I’m with you on lightening up when stuff is just unnecessarily heavy or even, with pesto, often gree-zy.

    Reply
  2. Dani says

    September 5, 2007 at 6:49 pm

    5 stars
    Alanna – I couldn’t agree more!

    Reply
  3. Katie says

    September 6, 2007 at 7:14 pm

    5 stars
    What a great idea. It makes sense! Thanks for the tip.

    Your recipes are all amazing, thanks for sharing! Enjoy the abundance of basil 🙂

    Reply
  4. Steamy Kitchen says

    September 8, 2007 at 8:54 pm

    5 stars
    Great tip! I like my pesto more liquidy too – and usually use more oil, but now I’ll try broth

    Reply
  5. Dani says

    September 9, 2007 at 9:32 am

    5 stars
    Katie – Thanks for stopping by!
    Steamy Kitchen – I used to do more oil as well, but I’m telling ya, the broth is GREAT!

    Reply
  6. Karen says

    September 17, 2007 at 6:41 am

    5 stars
    I love this tip — almost like that traditional Italian method of adding pasta water to the sauce!

    Reply
  7. Dani says

    September 17, 2007 at 6:54 am

    5 stars
    Karen – Exactly!

    Reply
  8. Beth B says

    May 2, 2011 at 3:33 am

    5 stars
    I love pesto tossed with pasta. I love that this is lower fat. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Dani says

      May 2, 2011 at 3:33 pm

      5 stars
      Me too! Pasta and pesto is go to for sure;)

      Reply
  9. Danielle says

    May 2, 2011 at 5:49 am

    5 stars
    This looks like a great lighter pesto! I need to try this sometime. I love using pesto in this recipe:
    https://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/heathers-quinoa-recipe.html
    I make it without the tomato, and often use wheatberries for the grain. I love the combination of grain, corn and pesto.

    Reply
    • Dani says

      May 2, 2011 at 3:34 pm

      5 stars
      Thanks for sharing the recipe! I made a little pesto/brown rice/tomato mix for my daughter and she LOVED it!

      Reply
  10. Heather @ Multiply Delicious says

    May 2, 2011 at 6:22 am

    5 stars
    Great recipe Dani! I always add spinach to my pesto to add a little more veggies in it for the little ones but I will have to add broth next time. Great way to lighten it up!! Can’t wait to try.

    Reply
    • Dani says

      May 2, 2011 at 3:34 pm

      5 stars
      Brilliant! I am so doing that next time…

      Reply
  11. Mitch says

    May 3, 2011 at 4:21 am

    5 stars
    I like to mix in some broccoli and grilled shrimp then toss with whole wheat rotini. I see you also cut back on the cheese which is also not a bad idea. I’ll try the lighter version next time.

    Reply
    • Dani says

      May 3, 2011 at 12:20 pm

      5 stars
      Love your recipe idea… simple, yummy, and nutritious… my kind of food! As for the cheese… I didn’t even miss it. Besides… if you do, you can always add an extra sprinkle to the top of your dish!

      Reply
  12. Andrew says

    May 6, 2011 at 2:56 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for the recipe! The lighter pesto will go well in my tuna fish sandwiches. Thanks!

    Reply
  13. Laura S. says

    July 21, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    5 stars
    I noted that you made a comment about freezing pesto….how?
    I have a LOT basil growing out back and I’m going to need to do something with it and this looks great.

    Reply
    • Dani says

      July 22, 2011 at 1:39 pm

      5 stars
      Laura – you can do this several ways… you can use ice cube tray a make little pesto cubes. Once they freeze pop them into a bag and use as needed. You can also do this with a mini muffin pan for slightly larger portions. Super convenient way to spruce up a busy weeknight meal!

      Reply
  14. basia says

    April 4, 2012 at 9:26 pm

    5 stars
    I have so much basil in my garden I always look for inventive ways to use it. My latest : pesto mixed with avocado sprinkled with pomegranate. A delicious quick treat on toasted Arabic bread.

    Reply
  15. Kristina says

    July 30, 2012 at 2:32 pm

    5 stars
    Just made this – didn’t have enough basil, so I should have put less broth, but regardless, it’s delicious! I’m currently enjoying this with some brown rice, tomatoes and black beans. Yum! Thank you for sharing! 🙂

    Reply
  16. Lori says

    August 16, 2012 at 6:27 am

    5 stars
    This is a great idea that I will be trying. Dani…what type of food processor do you use? I have a Wolfgang Puck big model but haven’t used it to make pesto yet. Thanks.

    Reply
  17. Tracey says

    August 16, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks so much for this recipe! I can’t wait to try it! I never would have thought to use broth in place of some of the oil.
    One of our favorite quick dinners is to take Trader Joe’s Lemon Pappardeli and toss it with pesto, baby spinach and sauteed shrimp along with a little pasta water. I just put the spinach in the colander I’ll be draining the pasta into and that’s enough to wilt it without overcooking it.

    Reply
  18. Yuki says

    April 19, 2015 at 11:25 pm

    5 stars
    hey Dani, thank you so much for the recipe. Does vegetable broth work as well for vegetarians?

    Reply
    • Dani says

      April 20, 2015 at 9:17 am

      5 stars
      Yes! Veggie broth would be great:)

      Reply

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