Servings: 8 Tbsp
Calories: 40.1kcal
Equipment
- food processor
- garlic press
- measuring cups & spoons
- storage bowl
Ingredients
- 24 g basil leaves
- ½ c light Kraft mayonnaise
- 4 tsp grated romano cheese
- 1 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove of garlic if you have it
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Rinse off the basil leaves and place on a paper towel to dry.
- Place the light mayonnaise, basil leaves, garlic and romano cheese into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until all the basil is very finely chopped and incorporated into the mayo along with the garlic and romano cheese.
- Taste the pesto aioli and add more garlic if you think it is needed. I like to taste the garlic but at the same time, I do not want it overpower the other ingredients. You may like a stronger garlic taste.
- Lastly, add the lemon juice and pulse a few more times to incorporate it into the aioli.
- Transfer the pesto aioli into a storage container. Refrigerate until you are ready to use it.
Notes
Grated parmesan cheese can be used in place of romano cheese.
Jarred minced garlic or garlic powder can be used in place of fresh garlic cloves.
You mix some of your favorite brand of jarred pesto with mayonnaise instead of making it from scratch.
The bulk of the sodium in the entire recipe comes from the light mayo. The sodium from the romano cheese is very small in comparison, 760 mg vs. 139 mg, respectively
For those who need to reduce their sodium, you can use less than 1 tbsp to cut sodium back that way. You can make your own mayo from scratch and reduce the sodium content that way. Regular mayonnaise has lower sodium levels than the light versions but they are more caloric and have a higher fat content. If you are hard pressed to keep your sodium low, using the full fat Mayo version and planning for the increased number of points may be your better option.
Hellmann's makes a lighter that light mayonnaise that is low in sodium but I have never tried it so I can't comment on its flavor. It has an average rating of 3/5 star review from 4 reviews. Two of the reviewers gave it 5 stars and 2 gave it 1 star. With the basil, garlic and romano cheese mixed it, it may be OK.
Finally, Mrs. Taste Zero Sodium Mayonnaise has 0 g fat and 0 mg sodium. It has a 3.1/5 star review from 125 reviews.
Nutrition
Serving: 1tbsp. | Calories: 40.1kcal | Carbohydrates: 2.3g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 3.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 112mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.6g
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