Easy Healthy Pesto Sauce

Easy, healthy, pesto sauce sauce to twirl your favourite pasta in. A go-to choice when you’re in a hurry and need to fix a quick meal at home. The addition of pumpkin seeds makes the sauce creamier, while walnuts complete the flavour profile. All you need to whip up this green goodness – 10 minutes!!

I wonder if anyone else is as fascinated with a good pesto sauce as I am. While I do love the classic Genovese pesto sauce too, over time I customized my own version of it by replacing pine nuts with walnuts and pumpkin seeds. I’m not a vegan, although I do sometimes switch the good ole parmesan with nutritional yeast, just to see if the taste is as good as they claim. Sure enough, it does turn out yum, with a kind of lightness it renders to the pesto, not to mention the nutritional benefits!

So, this yummilicious healthy pesto version of mine has the following elements:

So what all goes into this Pesto Sauce?

Basil

Not only is this aromatic herb a taste powerhouse, basil also boasts of benefits that make it practically irreplaceable. Belonging to the same family as Holy Basil or Tulsi (a sacred herb in India), Basil is known for its anti-inflammatory, immunity-boosting and anti-bacterial properties. It has also been known to prevent diabetes and lower cortisol levels, thus helping the body fight stress and diseases. However, if you do not have a lot of basil handy, or would like to make some changes, do try my Spinach Pesto which is just as easy and ranks high on the nutrition front, too!

Nuts and seeds

Pumpkin Seeds – Rich in Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, minerals like zinc, calcium, magnesium, iron, antioxidants as well as good fiber content, pumpkin seeds can prevent diabetes and heart diseases and aid digestive health. What is more, these are cheaper and more easily available than pine nuts, and render such amazing creaminess to the sauce in addition to the rich green color, so why not!

Walnuts – Did you know that walnuts have the highest antioxidant content when compared to most of the commonly available nuts? Chock-a-block full of vitamin E, melatonin  and polyphenols, walnuts can reduce bad cholesterol aka LDL levels, improve gut health and may even prevent certain kinds of cancer. Did I mention the part where walnuts are richest plant-source of Omega-3s? That plus the nutty flavor profile they bring to my pesto sauce – priceless!

Nutritional Yeast

(For Vegan version, or when I’m not using parmesan): Amidst the several benefits of nutritional yeast, it’s rich vitamin B12 content (a whopping 17.6 mcg per quarter-cup) HAS TO BE the biggest one, especially for vegans as vegan diet usually is lacking in this essential micronutrient. It also provides 8 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber and plenty of potassium, calcium and Iron, all in 60 calories! Not resenting the lack of parmesan now, are we?

Parmesan cheese

For those who don’t mind the extra calories that come with the amazing taste.

Garlic

Which, according to me, you can put never too much of in anything, ever. However, I’ve put just the moderate amount of it in the recipe, so people with all kinds of taste buds and preferences and enjoy the sauce. It might help to amp up your knowledge about the proven health benefits of garlic – immunity boosting properties, prevention against heart disease and mental conditions like dementia, high antioxidant content etc are just a few examples.

Olive oil

Plenty of it! There’s ample research pointing towards benefits of olive oil, including better heart health, prevention against stroke, lower risk of diabetes etc. However, it’s always advisable to know how much oil you’re using, measure and track the calories and compare the same with your intended calorie intake from fat for the day – too much of anything is never good.

What are we waiting for, then? Let’s get to the recipe already!