Vegan Garlic Bread with Kale Pesto

Growing up, garlic bread was a staple of almost every birthday party, sleepover and sporting event that I ever attended. Basically, if there was a gathering where copious amounts of delivery pizza was involved, garlic bread followed close behind. Because let’s be honest, what’s not to love about garlic bread? A crispy crust, a soft interior and a heavy slathering of butter and garlic is a guaranteed recipe for success.

So what’s happened to garlic bread over the last few years? It seems to have all but disappeared from my diet. Have you noticed this too?

So it got me thinking, maybe garlic bread needed a bit of a makeover. Something more “adult”. Which is why I’m here today. To bring you this recipe for Vegan Garlic Bread with Kale Pesto.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. If there isn’t any butter, then it’s not really garlic bread. But don’t knock it until you try it! I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the great depth of flavor in this recipe. And I doubt you’ll even notice that I sneakily left out the Parmesan cheese from the pesto. The layer of kale pesto gives this bread a hint of freshness and the perfect pop of color. And if you want to change it up, feel free to use spinach or arugula in place of the kale.

Serve this Vegan Garlic Bread with Kale Pesto along side your favorite Italian dish. Or add a few slices of fresh tomato on top once it comes out of the oven for a delicious open faced sandwich. And let’s put garlic bread back on the menu!

Vegan Garlic Bread with Kale Pesto

Traditional garlic bread gets a makeover with freshly minced garlic, olive oil and a layer of homemade kale pesto.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 8-12 servings

Ingredients

For the pesto:

• 2 cups torn kale leaves
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For the garlic mixture:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons minced garlic (from about 4-5 garlic cloves)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For assembling:

• 1 baguette, cut in half lengthwise

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
2. Make the pesto. In the bowl of your food processor with the blade attachment, combine the kale, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic clove, salt and black pepper until almost smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
3. Make the garlic mixture. In a medium bowl, stir together the olive oil, minced garlic, garlic powder and red pepper flakes.
4. Assemble the garlic bread. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the baguette halves cut side up on top of the foil. Spread the garlic mixture evenly over the baguette halves. Then spread the pesto over top of the garlic mixture. Depending on your taste preferences, you may not use all of the pesto for this recipe. You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in your refrigerator.
5. Transfer the baking sheet to your pre-heated oven and bake the garlic bread for 12-15 minutes. The bread should be warm and starting to crisp and brown around the edges. Remove from the oven. Carefully transfer the garlic bread to a cutting board. Slice and serve.