I’ve always been a big fan of pesto. It’s become one of my favorite ways to dress up salads recently as well. We have a small (3 plants) herb garden on our balcony and when I returned home from my hunting trip, I found that the basil plant had grown quite a bit so what better opportunity was there to trim it up some and make my own pesto? Now traditionally, pesto is made with pine nuts but I decided to use raw macadamia nuts (a little more expensive I know) since they are naturally ketogenic in nature with a 3:1:1 ratio of fat:carbs:protein. I was fortunate enough to have a grocery store that sold them in bulk, but if that’s not an option for you, try online. Amazon has some really good deals. The result from the macadamia pesto was a much creamier texture and flavor and it came out great.
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup raw macadamia nuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- 3 tbs finely grated Kerrygold Dubliner cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- In a blender or food processor, pulse macadamia nuts until finely chopped.
- Add garlic cloves and basil leaves and pulse until evenly combined.
- Add olive oil and lemon juice and blend until smooth.
- Mix in cheese and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Enjoy on salads or as a substitute for marinara sauces or even on the ketogenic pizza!
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[…] them in substitution for most nuts actually. Even going as far as utilizing them to make a great garden fresh pesto. I set off to try and make an easy macadamia nut butter recently and after much tinkering, I […]