Nut-Free Bone Broth Pesto with Sweet Potato Rounds (Gluten Free, Paleo)

This post is generously sponsored by Pacific Foods. 

Now that colder weather is here, I'm allll about cozying up with hot drinks and warm meals. (I mean, I do live in Minnesota after all!) But sometimes a girl gets bored of tea or wants an easy way to pump up the flavor and protein in her cooking. That's where Pacific Foods' unsalted chicken bone broth - and my delicious nut-free bone broth pesto recipe - comes in!

Like all of Pacific Foods' products, their organic bone broth is made with simple ingredients, like chicken bones, onions, apple cider vinegar and spices. Every 8 ounces of broth contains naturally occurring protein, is 40 calories or less, and (my favorite part!) it's also free of any added salt and additives like MSG. Plus, you can use bone broth in tons of different ways. Mix warmed bone broth with your choice of seasoning (anything from garlic to turmeric to chamomile) to enjoy as a savory alternative to your usual sweet teas. Or, like with the paleo pesto and sweet potato recipe I'm sharing today, you can use bone broth to boost the flavor and protein of your favorite meals.

And let me tell you guys. This snack recipe is UNREAL. In the spirit of Pacific Foods, which uses simple, traditional recipes for all of their products, this gluten free snack only requires a handful of common ingredients. But it is soooo flavor-packed, you'd never guess. The secret? Replacing the oil usually used in pesto and roasted sweet potato rounds for Pacific Foods' bone broth! Add some crunchy raw veggies for dipping, and this snack of fluffy sweet potato rounds with thick, creamy pesto is one meal you'll be excited to dig into!

Ready to taste how delicious cooking with bone broth can be? Start by gathering the following simple ingredients:

Ingredients For the Nut Free Bone Broth Pesto:

1/3 heaping cup of mixed seeds (I used hemp, sunflower and pumpkin seeds)
2 cups of fresh spinach (or other greens)
6 TBSP of Pacific Foods Unsalted Chicken Bone Broth
Sprinkle of oregano and thyme
A squeeze of fresh lemon

Ingredients for the Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds:

One medium sweet potato
2-3 TBSP of Pacific Foods Unsalted Chicken Bone Broth
Spices of choice (I used more oregano and thyme)

How to Make Your Bone Broth Paleo Pesto and Sweet Potato Rounds

The other great thing about this paleo snack recipe? It’s super easy to make!

Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and cutting a medium sweet potato into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Then pour two to three tablespoons of Pacific Foods Unsalted Chicken Bone Broth into a reusable bag, along with your sweet potato rounds. Shake thoroughly until all the rounds have been coated in the stock before placing the rounds on a lined baking sheet. The final touch is sprinkling on your choice of seasoning. This time, I used oregano and thyme, which complement the earthy bone broth, but paprika, mustard, and salt and pepper are also delicious! All you have to do after that is pop your tray in the oven and roast for around 20 minutes, flipping the rounds halfway through.

By the time you take the sweet potato rounds out, they should be soft in the middle and a little crispy on the edges. The bone broth coating helps the seasoning stay on and keeps the rounds from sticking to your baking tray. Plus, the extra boost of savory flavor doesn’t hurt either!

While your sweet potatoes are roasting, you can work on whipping up your homemade pesto. Start by picking your seeds. I used a mix of hemp, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Then, place your seeds on a skillet and warm them on medium heat, stirring the whole time, until they smell nutty and are toasted golden brown. Toasting my seeds only took me two minutes, but if you’re really in a time crunch, you can use raw seeds instead. However, I think toasting them adds a lot more flavor to the pesto.

Either way, you’ll then put the seeds in a high-speed blender or small food processor. Add two cups of spinach (or your choice of other greens), your choice of spices (I kept with the oregano and thyme theme), and 6 tablespoons of bone broth before blending! I’d suggest waiting to add the squeeze of lemon until the end so you can adjust the acidity to your own taste preferences.

To be completely honest, even I was blown away at how well the bone broth worked in this gluten free pesto! Because there's no oil, this pesto tastes less “heavy” than most store-bought varieties. Yet the undertones of chicken, rosemary, other vegetables and spices from the bone broth give the pesto a rich, earthy flavor. After I tried my first spoonful, all I could say was "yum!".

How to Eat Your Bone Broth Pesto

I thought the creamy pesto and fluffy sweet potato rounds would taste even better with a little crunch, so I served mine with raw zucchini. Thanks to the protein in the pesto and the slight sweetness of the sweet potato, this has been an ideal snack to pack for long days at grad school.

If raw veggies aren't your thang, there are countless other ways you can add this bone broth pesto to your weekly menu. Slather it on a pizza crust. Use it as a spread for potatoes, meats, pasta or vegetables. You might even turn this paleo snack recipe into a full meal by making mini “sandwiches” with two sweet potato rounds, a thick layer of nut-free pesto and some fish or another additional source of protein. And, of course, you can use the leftover bone broth from this recipe in a variety of different dishes, like beans, grains, soups, gravies and more. The only limits to cooking with bone broth are your imagination and taste buds!

Especially during busy times in life (like the crazy semester of grad school I’m going through right now!), making nutritious meals and snacks can feel overwhelming. That’s when companies like Pacific Foods are even more helpful than usual. And the good news is that if you love the sound of Pacific Foods, you can check out much more than just their bone broth. Pacific Foods also offers a variety of soups, stocks, broths and even plant-based drinks.

So as temperatures start dropping and you start craving some cozy, warm meals, I hope my paleo pesto recipe gave you some new ideas about how bone broth can make your fall eats even tastier. And if you become as addicted to this pesto and sweet tater combo as I am...well, you can thank me later!

Have you tried bone broth? Tell me your favorite way to drink or eat bone broth in the comments below!