Low-Calorie Pesto With Pasta

Pesto is traditionally made with fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. Although there is flexibility in the recipe—you can swap out the basil for a different fresh herb, or use walnuts instead of pine nuts—it is the nuts, cheese, and olive oil that add the most calories to the recipe.

There are different ways to cut down on the calories in Italian pesto. Make fresh basil the main ingredient. All the other pesto ingredient are secondary and with a few little tricks, you can use much less of them than many recipes call for. 

Nuts vary in their calorie content. Nuts with fewer calories than pine nuts are almonds, cashews, pistachios, and hazelnuts. Whichever nuts you are using, whether it’s pine nuts or others, make sure to toast them before adding them. This will give them a richer flavor and even a very small amount will be enough. 

You also don’t need a whole lot of olive oil to make pesto, just enough so that the blade of the food processor does not run dry, and to give the pesto a smooth consistency. 

Another way to cut down on calories is to either use less pasta or eliminate it completely. Although pesto and pasta are always mentioned in the same breath, pesto can be used in numerous other ways, including in a low-carb diet. Use pesto as a topping for grilled chicken or fish, in meatballs, or spooned over roasted vegetables. It can turn even rather bland vegetables such as steamed cauliflower into a flavorful dish. In sandwiches, you can use pesto as an alternative to mayonnaise.

To get a more consistent mince of the garlic, put the cloves in the food processor first and pulse a few times to begin the chopping process. 

This recipe makes a small amount of pesto, just enough for one meal. If you make a bigger batch of pesto, it is best to freeze it.