Updated October 2026.
My favorite pesto is made from arugula. It’s not nearly as pungent as basil pesto and so much easier to make, not having to remove the leaves from the stems like you have to with basil. It only takes a few minutes to pull together and is easily adapted with it’s few ingredients to use what you have and like.
You can scale this recipe up if you like. It doubles or triples easily.
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup any type nut or seed you like. I’ve used almond, walnut, cashews, macadamia nuts (yum) hemp seeds, sunflower seeds. they are all fantastic.
- about 2 cups washed and dried arugula ( used a little less than half a bag)
- juice and zest from one lemon, start with half the lemon and taste and add as you go
- 1/3 to 1/2 or more light flavored olive oil. If it’s too bitter use a neutral oil or mix olive oil and a neutral oil.
- salt and pepper to taste
- optional ingredients, a handful of soft herbs like mint, basil or parsley (get creative!) and/or a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese, a little splash of balsamic vinegar is nice if your olive oil is a little more bitter than you like.
Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse repeatedly until uniformly chopped and well combined.
Store Arugula Pesto in a mason jar in the the fridge for 4-5 days, or freeze for wonderful meals later.
I like to have some pesto in the freezer to have on hand in the winter. I know people put the pesto in ice cube trays and move the frozen cubes into a Ziploc bag and just grab a cube when they need it. You can do that. Sometimes for easier storage I like to put the whole batch in a large Ziploc and just break off what I need. This went into the freezer to lay flat. Original photo from 13 years ago! :-)
