This Avocado Sunflower Pesto brings the smooth texture of avocados and buttery flavor of sunflower seeds together with bright basil for a nutritious dip.

If you love pesto, check out our traditional pesto recipe too!

What makes pesto?

What do you think of when you think pesto? Basil? Oil? Pine nuts? Pasta?

How about just DELICIOUS?

We’ve taken pesto for a spin today by switching avocado for most of the oil and sunflower seeds for the tasty pine nuts.

And, we think we might be on to something.

An Avocado Pesto

While the avocado does change up the texture a bit, it also gives more substance. And, we’re not just talking thickness either.

By switching to avocado, we’re keeping the good fats associated with olive oil (because many of the fats are similar), but also adding nutrients such as fiber, vitamin K (which helps your blood clot), and folate (which promotes healthy cell and tissue growth).

A Sunflower Pesto

As an added bonus, sunflower seeds are higher in protein, calcium, and iron than the pine nuts traditionally used in pesto. And, they complement the avocado’s smooth texture with their buttery flavor.

The thicker sauce works perfectly to create cute appetizer crostini. We toasted whole grain bread, topped it with a dollop of the pesto, and finished it all off with some diced tomatoes. It would also be great as a sandwich spread. (And just think about the health benefits of swapping this for your mayo!)

Avocado Sunflower Pesto from Curious Cuisiniere

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Avocado Sunflower Pesto

This Avocado Sunflower Pesto brings the smooth texture of avocados and buttery flavor of sunflower seeds together with bright basil for a nutritious dip.

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Italian-American

Servings: people

Calories: 126kcal

Author: Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere

Ingredients

1 avocado, pitted and peeled
4 garlic cloves
2 c fresh basil leaves, chopped coarsely
¼ c sunflower seeds
2 tsp olive oil
4 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth. (If your avocados are particularly firm, you may need to gradually add more oil to reach a smooth consistency.)
Serving Suggestions: Serve as a toast or cracker topper with some diced tomatoes. Use it to moisten your favorite sandwich instead of mayo. Try it with pasta or chicken.

Notes

To peel and pit the avocado, we normally take a small knife and cut a slit all the way around the circumference of the fruit, cutting down to the pit. Once the cut is made, you can twist the halves in opposite directions and the pit should release from one of the sides. To remove the pit from the other side, give it a good whack with a large knife. When the knife is imbedded in the pit, twist to pop it out. You can then use a spoon to scoop the flesh out of the skin.

Nutrition

DISCLOSURE: We received samples of California Avocado that were used in this recipe. We were not compensated for our time. As always, all opinions are our own.

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Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere

Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.