Homemade pesto is an easy way to jazz up your dinner tonight! This homemade kale arugula pesto is a peppery blend of pine nut pesto that you'll choose every time. You can serve it over a bed of pasta, on a sandwich, over chicken or baked salmon.

This post contains affiliate links. Affiliate links support A Joyfully Mad Kitchen at no additional cost to you. I receive a commission if you choose to make a purchase through these links.

I can't remember exactly when I fell in love with pesto, but I know that moving to Italy for four months did?not help that love affair.

My diet was surprisingly limited and simple while living in Italy because of my college shoestring budget, but of course pasta and rice is incredibly cheap in Italy. That meant lots of evenings of pasta which led me to start to branch out to use different ingredients in my dinners.

One of my favorite meals was grilled chicken, tomatoes and pesto over penne with a bit of shaved parmesan on top. MMM, I can still practically taste that meal (probably because I ate it?wayyyy too many times).

It's SO easy in our culture to take for granted the process that goes into making things from scratch. You probably can't remember the last time you made pasta sauce from scratch, right?

So sometimes I force myself to try to make something homemade that I would otherwise buy in a store. It's a great lesson in appreciating the process of how our food is made and usually the result tastes so much better because you're using fresh ingredients!

Pesto can be kind of expensive to buy which is why it's even more practical to make it yourself! If you buy a little jar of pesto like this one, it is almost $10 for a tiny jar.

Making it homemade you can make 2-3x more than that for even less money. Plus the freshness, y'all. Making this blend with arugula and kale gave?this pesto a?much more complex flavor than a typical basil pesto does!

We put this pesto on everything. From orzo and pasta to chicken and salmon.

Table of Contents

What is the correct ratio for making pesto?

For any homemade pesto recipe, you need a ratio of 1:2:2:8. 1 part nuts, 2 parts good oil, 2 parts grated cheese, 8 parts greens/herbs.

For this Kale Arugula Pesto recipe you?ll need:

1 cup arugula
1 cup kale
¼ cup pine nuts
½ cup olive oil
½ fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic
A pinch of salt

What other greens can you use for homemade pesto?

One of my favorite ways to have pesto is just by trying different green variations. One of my recent favorites is pesto made with basil, spinach with walnuts. You can experiment with all kinds of herbs and greens. Basil, cilantro, spinach, kale, arugula, etc. Let me know what you try!

How long does homemade pesto last in the refrigerator?

It depends on how fresh your greens were. Homemade pesto should last 1 to 2 weeks in the fridge. You can also for the pesto into an ice cube tray (affiliate) and freeze for later.

What supplies do you need to make Kale Arugula Pesto?

A good food processor
High quality