Low-Sodium Pesto

Low-sodium basil pesto in a glass jar on a wooden cutting board.

Kayla

This Low-Sodium Pesto is creamy, flavorful and packed with nutrition. It's also much lower in sodium than most commercial brands. You can make your own in less than 5 minutes!

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Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Course Condiments

Cuisine Italian

Servings

Calories 480 kcal

Equipment

Food processor

Ingredients

2 cups fresh basil
½ cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
½ cup olive oil extra virgin
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt see notes
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast optional
pinch cayenne pepper powder optional

Instructions

Start by washing your fresh herbs in water and then pat them dry in a paper towel or use a salad spinner.
In a food processor, process the garlic first until its finely chopped, or you can grate it in there to make sure there aren't any chunks of garlic.
Remove most of the stems from the basil (some are okay) and put the basil in the food processor. Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until the pesto comes out smooth.
Enjoy!

Notes

If you need to further reduce the sodium in this pesto, you can leave out the salt altogether. This will put the sodium level at about 1 mg per tablespoon.
Additionally, coarse kosher salt does not measure the same as a fine salt. If your salt is not coarse, consider using less as it can be saltier.

Nutrition

Calories: 480kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 4gFat: 52gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 12gMonounsaturated Fat: 31gSodium: 196mgPotassium: 211mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 852IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 2mg

Keyword low salt pesto, low sodium pesto