Easy Vegan and Paleo Pesto Salad

I've made an easy vegan and paleo pesto salad that is a healthy and refreshing take on a traditional pesto salad recipe. It's made up of spiralized zucchini noodles, blistered cherry tomatoes and topped off with a fabulous basil and pine nut vegan pesto recipe. Yum!

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Total Time 20

Servings

Calories 321kcal

Author Monica Stevens Le

Ingredients

Vegan Pesto

3 cups fresh basil packed
2 ½ tablespoons pine nuts
2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
½ avocado pitted and diced
3 large garlic cloves chopped
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Salad

1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste
5 large zucchini spiralized (see instructions)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, toss together cherry tomatoes with olive oil. If the cherry tomatoes are large, you can cut them in half. Sprinkle with just a bit of salt for taste. Transfer the tomatoes to the baking sheet and spread out in a single layer.
Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10-15 minutes, making sure to give them a nice stir halfway through the cooking time. They are all done when they start to blister and bubble up! Remove from the oven and set aside to slightly cool.
Spiralize the zucchinis. I like to use the "C" blade on my Inspiralizer. Feel free to spiralize it as thick or as thin as you'd like. Set aside in a large bowl.
Place all of the pesto ingredients into a food processor except for the olive oil. Pulse several times on high until everything is well combined, scraping down the sides if necessary. Turn the food processor on low and slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Pulse until smooth throughout. Set aside.
Toss the zucchini noodles with the pesto. I prefer to use my hands for this to make sure everything is well coated and even. Top off with blistered tomatoes and adjust for seasoning if needed. Serve right away.

Nutrition