Breakfast

You’ll Want to Make This Avocado Toast With Kale Pesto & Crunchy Veggies Every Day

Consider it an act of self-care.

By Nihel Ayari

There’s nothing that makes me feel like that girl more than making avocado toast in the morning. Especially if I have a fresh loaf of sourdough bread, a steaming cup of coffee in hand, and an after-burn from a pilates workout. It’s a magical combination that guarantees I’ll have a good day. Although I can no longer justify spending money on avocado toast at a restaurant, I’m always making avocado toast at home. Anyone else remember this viral article that shamed millennials for spending $22 on avocado toast? I’ll admit, I’ve probably spent some serious cash on avocado toast before coming to my senses—who’s with me? If you have, too—and you simply can’t resist a beautifully made avocado toast on a brunch menu—then you’re going to love this avocado toast with kale pesto!

This recipe is bursting with flavor, fresh herbs, and crunchy veggies, not to mention it’s a great blood-sugar balancing way to start your day. This recipe is also part of our Plant-Based RE:SET, have you signed up yet? Read on for a few tips on whipping up this avocado toast, and scroll to the bottom for the recipe.

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Why is avocado toast good for you?

Avocados are rich in fiber, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. There have been numerous studies that show avocados can support cardiovascular health and healthy aging. In order to keep our blood sugar balanced, we need to pair every single carbohydrate with healthy fats, fiber, and protein. These three ingredients slow down the digestion of carbohydrates (aka the toast) and therefore lower the chances of a blood sugar spike. This avocado toast contains lots of healthy fat and fiber from the avocado and veggies but it doesn’t contain much protein. An easy way to add extra protein to this meal is with a poached egg or hemp seeds if you’re looking for a plant-based protein source.

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Tips for the perfect avocado toast

Picking the right avocado is key to making delicious avocado toast. There are two easy ways to tell is if the avocado is ripe and ready to eat. The first method is if the stem easily comes off with a gentle flick of the thumb. The second method is more nuanced—apply gentle pressure on the avocado and if it yields to the pressure slightly, it’s ready to eat! Check out this tip if you need to quickly ripen avocados in a pinch!

How to modify this avocado toast recipe

Since this recipe is part of our #plantbasedreset collection, it’s dairy-free and vegan.

  • If you’re looking to make this recipe gluten-free, simply substitute bread for a gluten-free option! Looking for a great gluten-free bread recipe? We’ve got you covered.
  • Looking for an extra boost of protein? Add a poached egg or a tablespoon of hemp seeds to make this a perfect after-workout breakfast.
  • Didn’t have time to make kale pesto from scratch? Use a pre-made pesto like this.
  • Don’t have fresh herbs on hand? No worries, use dried herbs instead.
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Tools this recipe requires

This recipe is super simple, it doesn’t require any complicated tools. However, if you’re looking to make the kale pesto from scratch a food processor is recommended. If you don’t have a food processor on hand, not to worry, any blender will do the trick! We recommend making the kale pesto on your weekend meal-prep and having it handy to make this recipe a breeze.

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Instructions for freezing, storage, and leftovers

Avocado toast is best served fresh! Avocados easily turn brown so leftovers do not store well in the fridge. However, in a pinch, squeeze a tablespoon of lemon juice on top of the avocado which can help slow down the oxidation and browning of the avocado. Enjoy!

Avocado Toast with Kale Pesto and Crunchy Veggies

Serves 1

An elevated avocado toast recipe with lots of veggies and herbs.

By Camille Styles
Categories

Avocado Toast


Ingredients

  • 1 slice toasted sourdough
  • 1/2 avocado
  • Kale pesto (recipe below)
  • Thinly sliced cucumber OR radish
  • Fresh herbs like basil, mind, dill, chives or cilantro
  • Everything spice

Instructions

  1. Roughly smash avocado, then pile onto toast
  2. Top with cucumber or radish slices, then chopped fresh herbs and everything spice
  3. Add a drizzle of olive oil if desired

Kale Pesto


Ingredients

  • 3 cups of kale, torn and ribs discarded
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (or sub 2 tablespoons parmesan if not making vegan)
  • 1/4 cup toasted walnuts
  • Juice of 1 lemon or lime
  • Squeeze of honey
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil


Instructions

  1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, blanch the kale and garlic cloves for 3 minutes
  2. Remove to ice water bath and let cool
  3. Use your hands to squeeze some of the water from the kale, then add kale and garlic to blender, along with nutritional yeast, walnuts, lemon juice, honey, and olive oil
  4. Pulse until smooth, adding some of the kale water as needed to thin
  5. Add kosher salt to taste

Comments (2)

  1. Patty says:

    When do you add the pesto? Do you mix it in with the avacado?

    1. Casey McKee says:

      Hi! The pesto in this recipe is used as a topping. Once you’ve created your spread of avocado, simply add it on top using a spoon/fork.

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