Description
Savory yogurt parfait with cherry tomatoes and basil pesto is a refreshing meal that will keep you satisfied for hours.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- For pesto:
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
- 1/4 cup toasted almonds (or any type of nuts you have on hand)
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus more if needed)
- For yogurt:
- 2 cups full-fat, plain Greek yogurt
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- For toppings:
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked, cooled quinoa (I used rainbow quinoa because that’s what I had on hand, but any variety would be delicious; just follow the cooking instructions on the box).
- 1/2 diced cucumber
- 1/2 cup grape tomatoes (slice the big ones in half)
- 1/4 cup fresh, crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- For the pesto:
- Place basil leaves, almonds, garlic, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and olive oil in a food processor. Process until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and process again. Taste-test and add more salt and pepper as needed. Add a couple more teaspoons of olive oil if the pesto needs to be thinned out a little bit more. Set the pesto aside.
- For the yogurt mixture:
- In a small bowl mix together the yogurt, salt, pepper, and garlic. Set the yogurt mixture aside.
- Make sure you have everything prepared for your assembly line. I used two stemless wine glasses. Parfait or martini glasses would also work.
- Begin layering your parfait by spooning yogurt into the bottom of each glass. I spooned about 1 to 2 tablespoons. Make sure to smooth it out into an even layer. Follow the yogurt layer with a teaspoon dollop of the basil pesto, and smooth out. Next spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the cooled quinoa and gently spread out. Follow with a sprinkle of cucumbers and grape tomatoes. Top off with a sprinkle of the feta cheese.
- Repeat the next layer in the same order. Yogurt, basil pesto, quinoa, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and feta cheese. Serve immediately and enjoy.
