Avocado Walnut Pesto Tofu Salad

When I was younger, I didn’t eat nuts — no cashews, almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, nada. I can’t decide which came first: me deciding that my tastebuds weren’t a fan, or me putting them on my silly can’t-eat-because-of-the-high-fat-content-list. Well my friends, I’ve gotten older and wiser, and now am a firm believer in including heart-healthy fats in my diet on a daily basis. Nuts (and most definitely nut butters!) are a frequent part of my eats. I’ll throw a half-serving on top of my yogurt, or eat a serving as a snack here and there.

So when California Walnuts contacted me asking if I’d like to try a bag of their walnuts to play around with in the kitchen, I gladly accepted. The nuts came in a kind of earthy feeling burlap sack, which I thought was a cute touch. To check out some of the benefits of eating walnuts, visit the company’s nutrition page.

When thinking of what to make first with my walnuts, the idea of pesto came into my head.

Separately, after seeing a friend of mine post a vegan “chicken” salad picture on Instagram, I picked up a container of tofu to make something similar with.

I’m kind of iffy with tofu. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t, and when I don’t like it, I usually take a tofu break…. but then a few months later, a tofu container winds up in my shopping cart, and I’m back testing it out in some new way.

This recipe is my walnut pesto and tofu “chicken” salad ideas rolled into one. At the last minute, I threw some avocado into the mix to spice it up even more.

A few things to note about this recipe:

If you want the tofu salad to be more pesto-filled, you can just reduce the amount of tofu you use. I used the entire 14-oz container and liked the light pesto flavor, but if you like a stronger pesto taste, I’d reduce the amount of tofu by 25-50%.

This recipe includes parmesan cheese, but you can easily make it vegan by using nutritional yeast instead.

Avocado Walnut Pesto Tofu Salad

Foodie Loves Fitness

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Prep Time 15 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup fresh basil
• 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 3 oz avocado
• 7-14 oz of extra firm tofu depending on how strong of a pesto flavor you prefer (I used the entire 14-oz container)
• 1/2 cup natural walnuts
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese*
• 2 TSP fresh lemon juice
• 1 stalk celery chopped
• 1 whole clove garlic
• 1/4 TSP salt plus more to taste
• 1/8 TSP pepper

Instructions

 

• In a food processor, blend together the basil, olive oil, parmesan, lemon juice, 2 oz of the avocado, 1/4 cup of walnuts, salt, pepper and the garlic clove. Pulse until well combined.
• Take the block of tofu and crumble it into a strainer, squeezing out excess water as you crumble. Place the tofu in a large bowl.
• Chop the remaining 1/4 cup of walnuts and cube the remaining 1 oz of avocado. Add chopped celery, walnuts and avocado to the tofu.
• Mix the pesto into the tofu bowl. Stir the mixture together, and season with additional salt to taste.
• Enjoy warm or cold with crackers, on a sandwich, in a tortilla, or all on its own!

Notes

*To make the salad vegan, sub nutritional yeast for the parmesan cheese.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

As I mentioned in my WIAW post yesterday, I enjoyed the salad with some Van’s gluten free crackers. A few days later, I wrapped some pesto tofu salad in a tortilla.

Foodie fact of the day on walnut production in California: More than 99% of the walnuts in U.S. are grown in California’s Central Valley. Internationally, California walnuts supply 3/4 of the world’s walnut trade. That’s a lot of walnut growing in this beautiful state that I’m living in!