Pea & Mint Pesto
Pea & Mint Pesto is an easy and delicious way to use the fresh peas of the season. So good on and with anything. Mix into hot pasta, gnocchi, spread on crusty bread for crostini, use as a dip for veggies or turn into a soup.
I love fresh pea season! Whether you call them fresh, garden peas or English peas, I always have peas in my freezer.
Peas are one of my favorite vegetables and they’re so handy to have on hand to throw into a soup or to warm-up as a quick side dish. When pea season is here, I buy as many as I can and use them in so many things.
This pesto can be made in under 10 minutes. The fresh peas are boiled for 3 minutes, allowed to cool, then blended with fresh mint, parmesan salt, pepper and olive oil. Done!
Finding this recipe in a no-pea season? No problem! Just use defrosted frozen peas.
Pea & Mint Pesto Secret Ingredient
This pesto is a little different to the way pesto is usually prepared. Fresh garlic is typically used in pesto, but for this recipe, I didn’t want to overpower the sweetness of the peas and fresh mint so I substituted leek for extra flavor. In addition, this is a nut free pesto because I want a nice smooth texture so I can use it for soup.
This pesto also freezes well, just add to a freezable container and seal well. Defrost in the fridge overnight.
If you’ve tried this Pea & Mint Pesto or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!
Pea & Mint Pesto
Fresh peas, leek, mint and Parmesan cheese are blended to smooth perfection. Serve on crusty bread, use as a dip or turn into a soup.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (181 grams) fresh peas or frozen peas defrosted
- 1/2 medium leek, chopped
- Small handful of fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 cup (45 grams) Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup (118 ml) olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a pan filled half-way with water to a boil and add the peas and leeks. Cook for 3 minutes, drain and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. If using frozen peas, skip this step.
- Add the cooled or defrosted peas, leek, mint, parmesan, salt & pepper to a food processor.
- Pulse 10 times until chopped, then with the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil until well blended.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1/4 cupAmount Per Serving Calories 79Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 2mgSodium 381mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 4gSugar 4gProtein 4g
This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.
13 Comments on “Pea & Mint Pesto”
We love this pesto, it’s delicious, the best pesto I have tasted. I make it every year with mint from our garden, we grow lots of it. It has slightly different flavours depending what mint you use- spearmint, Tashkent, Moroccan, pineapple mint, basil mint etc, all of them equally yummy.
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback. It’s one of my favorites right now as well and you can’t beat fresh mint from the garden 🙂
Not seeing any comments from folks who have actually tried this recipe, so I’ll add mine. I’ve made this many times over the last few years — it’s an absolute summer (mint season) favorite of mine. I do use some minced garlic instead of leeks — mainly because I always have fresh garlic on hand. Love the flavors in this dish!
Thank you so much for leaving your feedback and I consider that fact that you have made it many times a great compliment.
What a lovely spin on pesto. I love peas with mint so this is right up my street, pinning to make later x
wow! Lovely idea to use peas in pesto!
Perfect flavour combinations, I love the sound of this peas and mint really are a match made in heaven!
Oh God, what a tasty looking this Pea & Mint Pesto is! I am in love with the colors and how simple and short the ingredient list is. Yum!
What a delicious pesto recipe! I love any and all pesto! I should give this a try!!
Yum! I absolutely love pesto and am always on the hunt for new variations! Love the addition of peas! Sounds so delicious and perfect for spring!
What a fantastic spin on pesto! I am also a big fan of peas and I’m loving the added nutrients they bring to the table!
I love peas too, Janette, especially those tiny sweet ones.
What a great idea to make a pesto from them! I can see all sorts of uses for them!
Love peas! I recently tried pea hummus, but can’t wait to also try this pea pesto! So fresh and I’m sure delicious!