Name: Lightened Up Pesto Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese; 1 cups and 1/2 to 2 of fresh basil (leaves only (washed)); 2 cloves of fresh garlic; 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth (you may not use the entire amount); 1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil; 1/3 cup pine nuts; 1/4 teaspoon of salt (I would use half (then add the rest to taste)); 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

I love pesto! Regular pesto is great, but it can set you back quite a few calories (or PointsPlus). I have made this recipe lighter by cutting back on some (not all!) of the olive oil by using some chicken stock. I happened to have home-made on hand, but the boxed kind works just fine too! My original recipe called for half a cup of olive oil, and I has able to use chicken stock for 3/4 of that, lowering the olive oil to 1/8 cup.

Here is the recipe for you to enjoy!

Lightened Up Pesto Recipe

Pesto is great in a variety of ways - as a garnish or a topping, as a stir in to soups and sauces. But my favorite ways is to mix it with some whole grain pasta. I add about 1/4 cup of reserved water used from cooking the pasta. This loosens up the sauce a bit. Yum!

Course Sauces

Cuisine Italian

Keyword lightened up pesto

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 87 kcal

Ingredients

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cups and 1/2 to 2 of fresh basil (leaves only washed)
2 cloves of fresh garlic
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth you may not use the entire amount
1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/4 teaspoon of salt (I would use half then add the rest to taste)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Wash, pat dry and trim the fresh basil to get rid of any stems
Peel and rough chop the garlic cloves
Add all ingredients to the food processor, except for the chicken stock
Pulse the food processor a few times to puree
Remove the lid (while off, not processing!) and scrape the sides of the food processor. Put the lid back on.
Stream in chicken stock slowly through the spout while processing, until desired consistency (I used about 1/3 cup)
Serve immediately for best results.

Nutrition Facts

Lightened Up Pesto Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 87 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 3mg1%

Sodium 64mg3%

Potassium 47mg1%

Carbohydrates 1g0%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 195IU4%

Vitamin C 0.7mg1%

Calcium 53mg5%

Iron 0.5mg3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

If you don’t plan to serve it right away, be sure and place a layer of plastic wrap over the sauce and refrigerate it.

This will slow down the oxidation. Oxidation is what makes the sauce start to turn a brownish color. Alternatively, you can freeze is in an ice cube tray.

I love a good challenge! Are there any dishes that are notoriously heavy that you would like me to try and lighten up? Let me know in the comments!

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Comments

April says

May 24, 2014 at 9:03 am

Smart exchange, Marjorie! I love that you changed out the olive oil for chicken stock. I have some here too! Pinned! Thanks for linking up with Countdown in Style.

- Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
  
  May 24, 2014 at 7:57 pm
  
  Thanks so much April! Hope you are having a great week.
  
Brittnei says

May 21, 2014 at 11:04 pm

I’ve never made this before but it looks tempting! I want to try it now! Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Countdown in Style! I’m going to pin it for later!

- Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
  
  May 24, 2014 at 8:28 pm
  
  Thanks Brittnei!
  
Joanie says

May 17, 2014 at 10:22 am

Hello!

This recipe looks so yummy! I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing!

- Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
  
  May 17, 2014 at 12:16 pm
  
  Thanks Joanie. My family really enjoys it. I hope you do too!
  
Courtney says

May 16, 2014 at 7:17 am

Hi Marjorie! I love your site, so inspiring and full of useful information for a weight watchers newbie! How much is 1 serving of this pesto (2 Tbsp, 1/4 c, etc)? Thanks for sharing your journey and helping others along the way!

- Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
  
  May 16, 2014 at 7:43 am
  
  Thanks Courtney! Great question. I actually measured this recipe out on my food scale, and one serving of mine came out to 22 grams (the whole batch was 175 grams). I will work to convert that to tablespoons/cups because I think that would be more useful. Thanks for following me! Hope you are having a great week.