Arugula pesto is a 5-minute pesto recipe made with fresh arugula, parmesan cheese, walnuts, olive oil, and lemon. This nutty, zesty, sweet, peppery spread will soon become your favorite, year-round pesto. It’s low carb, gluten-free, and utterly scrumptious!
Arugula Pesto with Walnuts
This super easy arugula pesto is one of the first recipes to appear on the blog in 2014.
My unshakeable obsession with this scrumptious spread dates all the way back to my college days!
Now, five years after publishing the recipe here on TKG, I’m more in love with arugula pesto than ever!
It’s fresh, easy, affordable, and delicious on EVERYTHING! My favorite way to eat it is straight from the spoon. If I’m being more civilized though, I’ll spread it over crostini.
How is arugula pesto different from basil pesto?
The flavors are quite different. This arugula pesto is nutty from the walnuts, sweet and salty from the parmesan, and peppery from the arugula. I literally eat this stuff right off the spoon! I can’t do that with basil pesto as it tends to be too bitter for that.
The pureed textures are pretty much identical with both pestos, especially since the ingredients are so similar.
The preparation is identical. Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender, which yields a similar texture.
The ingredients are almost identical except basil pesto is made with basil and arugula pesto is made with arugula. Also, I always use walnuts instead of pine nuts. You can use either, but I prefer the flavor of walnuts…and you save money!
The cost is budget-friendly with arugula pesto. Store-bought arugula is always available and always reasonably priced. Basil is expensive when it’s not basil season…and I need my pesto fix every month of the year!
How to make arugula pesto
Step 1: Place ingredients into a food processor or blender.
Step 2: Pulse or blend ingredients until well-combined.
Step 3: Add small amounts of water as needed to adjust consistency. (this is one of my pro tips to use less oil…no one has ever complained).
Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to 5 days. Boom! So easy!
How to serve arugula pesto
- dip for vegetables and crackers
- as crostini topping
- marinade for poultry, fish, and seafood
- omelet ingredient
- charcuterie
- sandwich condiment
- pasta sauce
- pizza topping
Arugula Pesto Storage tips
Arugula pesto can be refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoyed within 3-5 days.
Naturally, the fresher, the better, but I think it’s most optimal on day 2 and day 3.
Can I freeze pesto?
Yes, it freezes nicely! You can do one of two things:
1) Place pesto in ice cube trays, freeze them, pop them out, store in the freezer, and thaw as needed.
or…
2) Store pesto in small containers, freeze and thaw as needed. Storing in smaller containers makes it quicker to thaw.
Does this pesto turn brown like basil pesto?
The surface of homemade pesto naturally turns brown over time. When this happens, I simply scrape the browned pesto from the surface and remove it.
But, I’ve noticed that arugula pesto, unlike basil pesto, browns very little, if at all. I don’t always use lemon in it either. It’s a Christmas miracle, really!
Arugula Pesto Ingredients:
- fresh arugula
- extra virgin olive oil
- Parmesan Reggiano cheese
- walnuts
- salt and pepper
- water (as needed to adjust consistency)
- fresh lemon juice
* See full recipe below
Feel free to adapt these ingredients to your liking. We’re pretty confident that if you like flavor, you’ll love this combination!
Tools I use to make pesto:
- 7 cup food processor (fitted with the chopping/mixing dough blade)
- citrus squeezer
- garlic press
- airtight storage containers
Check out these other party platter spreads!
Herb and Artichoke White Bean Dip
Creamy Avocado Ranch Dressing and Dip
Smoked Salmon Dip with Greek Yogurt
Arugula Pesto with Walnuts
TOOLS NEEDED
Ingredients
- 4 cups Arugula loosely packed
- 1 cup Walnuts
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice optional, but recommended
- 2 cloves Garlic chopped
- 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup water as needed for thinning
Instructions
- Place ARUGULA, CHEESE, WALNUTS, OLIVE OIL, LEMON, GARLIC, SALT, and PEPPER in a food processor fitted with the dough/chopping blade attachment.
- Pulse or blend until all ingredients are well-combined.
- Add water in small amounts to adjust consistency.
- Store in airtight container, refrigerated up to five days. I like to separate the full amount of pesto into smaller mason jars and store until needed. This keeps them fresher since they aren't constantly being opened and exposed to air.
RECIPE NOTES
Nutrition
Traci Antonovich
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Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
09/16/2019 at 8:47 amThis pesto sounds so tasty and flavourful! I am definitely going to be giving it a try!
Traci Antonovich says
09/16/2019 at 9:11 amAwesome, Bintu! Hope you love it like we do 🙂 Arugula pesto is so good on EVERYTHING!
Toni says
09/16/2019 at 8:24 amI loved it! So easy to make and delicious!!
Traci Antonovich says
09/16/2019 at 8:34 amAwesome, Toni! So glad to hear it…thanks!
Tawnie Kroll says
09/16/2019 at 7:37 amThis was my first time trying arugula in pesto – so good! Thank you!
Traci Antonovich says
09/16/2019 at 8:00 amYay Tawnie! So glad to hear it 🙂 I’m so crazy about arugula pesto!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
09/16/2019 at 7:22 amI absolutely love the flavors in this pesto! Very unique!
Traci Antonovich says
09/16/2019 at 8:00 amThanks, Jocelyn! You are so right…arugula pest definitely has a unique flavor compared to other pestos 🙂
Iryna says
09/16/2019 at 7:15 amI adore this pesto! It’s so delicious served over pasta or as a sandwich spread.
Traci Antonovich says
09/16/2019 at 7:59 amThanks, Iryna! So glad you enjoy arugula pesto. I love it over pasta too! 🙂
Eduardo says
07/04/2019 at 5:29 amHi Tracy, I did your recipe and I love it! No more Basil pesto in my house! Thank you!
Traci Antonovich says
07/04/2019 at 1:40 pmOh Eduardo, I totally get it…and I kinda feel the same way LOL. Thank you for the kind words 🙂 My day is made!
Andrea Metlika says
06/19/2019 at 6:37 pmArugula has such a great flavor. This pesto sounds amazing. I can’t wait to make this.
Traci Antonovich says
06/19/2019 at 6:47 pmAwesome, Andrea! Hope you love it like I do 🙂
Sandi says
06/19/2019 at 6:36 pmGirl…this looks so good! I love that you used arugula!
Traci Antonovich says
06/19/2019 at 6:46 pmThanks Sandi! It’s my fav pesto of them ALL! I eat by the spoonful LOL
Danielle says
06/19/2019 at 6:20 pmYum! This looks like the perfect way to use up extra arugula. I love regular basil pesto, so this version sounds so delicious as well!
Traci Antonovich says
06/19/2019 at 6:39 pmThanks, Danielle! If you love basil pesto, I think you’ll feel the same way about arugula pesto. Hope so! 🙂
Jen says
06/19/2019 at 6:17 pmThis sounds amazing! Love how quick and easy it is to make.
Traci Antonovich says
06/19/2019 at 6:38 pmThanks, Jen! Yep, arugula pesto is definitely quick and easy! 🙂
Tilly says
06/19/2019 at 5:34 pmI absolutely love Arugula (although it’s called rocket in my part of the world). I love how you used it here especially with the walnuts. I want to eat this pesto on everything!
Traci Antonovich says
06/19/2019 at 6:43 pmThanks Tilly! Yes, I hear rocket too (sometimes), esp in the culinary world. Hope you love this recipe 🙂
Mike says
07/18/2018 at 4:38 pmI planted arugula in my garden and it grew like crazy on me. Am going to try to make your pesto but am wondering if it can be frozen or maybe even canned. Also as it is flowering already I think it may be bitter so may needsomething to offset that. Any suggestions?
Traci Antonovich says
07/18/2018 at 5:28 pmHi Mike, ya, I freeze pesto in ice cube trays then transfer to a plastic bag/container. I have never canned pesto so you’ll have to google that one. As for the last question, unfortunately the bitter flavor rules once it gets past the flowering stage, in my experience. You could combine the green with something else like kale or basil to cut back on the peppery taste, but those are also bitter. Let me know if you come up with a solution 🙂
Carol Belt says
01/22/2015 at 2:27 pmExcellent! I love your site. I remember you from the days when you worked in the Carbondale Neighborhood Co-op and made the best pizza. My favorite was the arichoke, walnut and feta pizza.
Traci Antonovich says
01/25/2015 at 8:52 amOh Carol, thank you for visiting my site, commenting, AND remembering the old days 😉 I miss that pizza…can’t believe how long ago that was and I remember like it was yesterday.
Hey let me know how what kind of content I can create that helps you overcome cooking/kitchen challenges. I always love to hear from my readers 😉
Cheers!
Lucy says
01/12/2015 at 3:49 pmArugula always reminds me of the greens that the wife craved at the beginning of the Rapunzel fairy tale. Its taste is so unique, I imagine that was what she must have made her husband go steal from the witch.
I can’t afford to use so much pine nuts, do you think walnuts could be a good subsitute, or maybe hazelnuts?
I love your site!
Traci Antonovich says
01/12/2015 at 10:26 pmThanks so much for the comments! And yes, I often use walnuts in my pestos as they are more much less expensive. I got fancy for this blog post 😉
I really do appreciate your visit to the site. Come back anytime!
Angela says
06/13/2014 at 3:14 amLove, love, love this! How do you do it girl? Thank you for giving me even more ways to enjoy arugula. I love it’s spiciness and how easy it is to spruce up almost any meal. Keep those recipes coming, you are awesome!
Traci Antonovich says
06/13/2014 at 6:03 amAngela, I love arugula too and really wanted to spotlight it. Besides eating it straight out of the jar on crackers, it really does go a long way in other dishes. Try it on spaghetti squash sometime. Aye yay yay, it’s awesome!
Btw, thank you for the inspiring words. You make me feel like I’m doing my job. You’re awesome! 😉