Summer Snap Pea Pesto Spread on Crostini
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A fabulous summer appetizer, this summer snap pea pesto is made with fresh peas, basil, and garlic. Spread over crispy crostini, this recipe comes together in minutes and looks beautiful served with bright edible flowers and tender pea shoots. It's the perfect easy, creamy pesto sauce. Serve this bright and light pesto spread as a snack or appetizer at a summer gathering, barbecue, or garden party.
what is pea pesto?
Do you like homemade pesto? Traditionally, pesto is made with basil, olive oil, and pine nuts. Blended with other ingredients like garlic and seasonings, it creates a delicious green sauce that can be used to dress pasta, salads, crostini, and more.
Pea pesto is simply another way of making traditional pesto! Rather than using only basil, peas are blended into the sauce, giving it a unique and delicious flavor.
gathering ingredients to make pea pesto:
To make your own homemade pea pesto spread, you will need to gather a few key ingredients. These should be easy to come by in the late spring and summer, especially if you enjoy shopping at the farmer’s market!
Peas. The peas for this recipe can be fresh or frozen. It’s generally easier to find frozen peas at the grocery store. Simply thaw them out and drain any excess moisture before blending them into your pesto.
Almonds. For this recipe, I decided to use almonds as the nutty base for my pesto. You can swap these out for other nuts like pine nuts or walnuts.
Garlic. You will want to use whole cloves of garlic for this recipe.
Basil. To keep a similar flavor to traditional pesto, basil is blended in.
Chives.
Lemon. You will need fresh lemon juice and zest for this recipe.
Olive Oil. You can also use avocado oil or sunflower oil if you would prefer!
Salt and Pepper.
tips for making pea pesto:
This summer appetizer recipe is perfectly simple and easy to make, so there’s not really too much that can go wrong! This bright lemony pea pesto is ready in about 10 to 15 minutes.
Use fresh ingredients. For a truly delicious pesto, I highly suggest using the freshest ingredients possible! This can be difficult with peas as many commercial grocery stores do not selling English shelling peas in their produce section. If anything, I highly suggest using fresh herbs to make pesto to have the best possible flavor and texture.
Adjust the seasonings to your taste. Pesto is all about your individual preferences! I like saltier food, but you can certainly scale back on the seasonings. Taste the pesto as you make it and adjust the amount of salt, pepper, and even garlic as you like.
Make ahead of time. This pesto will store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 5 to 7 days. It’s a great recipe to make ahead of time and serve later if you are serving it at a party! You can also freeze this pesto for about 1 year.
how to make pea pesto:
Step One: To make the Summer Pea Pesto, combine the peas, almonds, garlic, basil, chives, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and avocado oil in a food processor or blender. Pulse on high speed until smooth, about 4 to 5 minutes, scraping down the container as needed.
Step Two: Next, you will begin making the crostini. Combine melted butter and olive oil in a medium bowl. Lay out slices of a baguette or French bread on a baking sheet and then brush both sides with the oil mixture. Bake the toasts, flipping halfway through baking, for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
Step Three: When everything is ready, it’s time to assemble the crostini toasts! Spread some pea pesto onto a piece of crostini. Then, decorate the toasts to your hearts content. They can be as creative as you like and they can sit out for a few hours during your party, so have fun with it!
how to serve pea pesto:
This healthy pea pesto spread can be served in a number of ways, and not just on crostini! It works great as an addition to pasta dishes, on pizza, served as a dip for crackers and vegetables, on a sandwich, or tossed with roasted potatoes. If you are making these sweet little toasts, you will love these topping ideas:
Flaky Sea Salt
Everything Bagel Seasoning
Sugar Snap Peas or Fresh Shelled Peas
Pea Shoots
Microgreens
Pickled Beets
Pickled Red Onions
Sliced Avocado
Edible Flowers (pansies, violas, snapdragons)
final thoughts:
This is my go-to appetizer in the summer months! It’s absolutely beautiful with the bright green color of the pesto and the beautiful toppings. It’s also absolutely incredible tasting! I could honestly eat this pea pesto every single day and never get tired of it. You can easily whip up the pesto alone in about 5 minutes, making it an incredibly easy appetizer or snack for your summer.
xoxo Kayla
Summer Snap Pea Pesto Spread on Crostini
Ingredients
- 2 cups (226 g) fresh shelled or frozen peas, thawed
- 1/3 cup (54 g) almonds or pine nuts
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup (14 g) fresh basil leaves
- 1 tbsp (3 g) fresh chives, chopped roughly
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 2 baguettes or loaves of French bread
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) melted butter, slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil or avocado oil
- Flaky sea salt, optional
- Flaky sea salt
- Everything Bagel seasoning
- Fresh shelled peas
- Pea shoots
- Pickled beets
- Pickled red onion
- Edible flowers
Instructions
- To make the Summer Pea Pesto, combine the peas, almonds, garlic, basil, chives, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and avocado oil in a food processor or blender. Pulse on high speed until smooth, about 4 to 5 minutes, scraping down the container as needed. Store the pesto in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use, about 3 to 4 days.
- To make the Crostini, begin by preheating the oven to 350° F (177° C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set these aside for now.
- Slice the baguette into 1/2-inch (1-cm) diagonal slices and arrange them on the prepared baking sheets. Pour the butter and olive oil into a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Lightly brush both sides of each slice of bread with the mixture.
- Bake the slices in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes per side or until they are golden brown and crispy. Then, sprinkle the baked toasts with some flaky sea salt to your taste.
- Store the crostini at room temperature in a paper bag or cake plate with a dome to keep them from becoming too moist. They should keep for about 2 days before losing their texture.
- To serve the toasts, spread with the Summer Pea Pesto. Decorate with your favorite toppings. It best to make the toasts just before serving to keep the crostini nice and crisp.
- Store each of the ingredients separately to keep them fresh and the texture crisp.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
164Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
