Super Easy Vegan Pesto
Bright, aromatic and delicious dairy free pesto sauce. Goes great on pasta for an easy weeknight dinner idea.
Servings: 4
Calories: 257kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil tightly packed
- ½ cup pine nuts or raw walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, or hemp seeds.
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ lemon juiced
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan
- ¼ teaspoon salt add more if needed
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 tablespoons water if needed
Instructions
- Rinse the basil leaves off and remove the leaves from the stems. Set the leaves aside.
- Add pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, salt and nutritional yeast to a small food processor or small blender and pulse until roughly mixed.½ cup pine nuts, 3 cloves garlic, ½ lemon, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- Add the basil leaves to the food processor and pulse. Drizzle in the olive oil while it's running. Add some water if needed for desired consistency. Stop the food processor occasionally to scrape down the sides.2 cups fresh basil, ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 2-3 tablespoons water
- Taste and add more salt if needed. If it's too acidic, add more nutritional yeast, if it's too thick, add more olive oil or a splash of water.
Notes
To store, put in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to a week. Make sure the container is airtight because pesto will turn a dark brown color if exposed to air.
It's best to use a smaller food processor. Using a large food processor won't blend up the pesto very well. You can also use a mortar and pestle, or a blender on a slow setting.
You can also freeze the pesto in an ice cube tray. Once the cubes are frozen, seal them in a freezer friendly ziploc bag in the freezer.
Try using roasted garlic instead of raw garlic for a deeper flavor or if raw garlic upsets your stomach. You can also gently toast the pine nuts on the stove for a more unique flavor.
You can also quickly blanche the basil leaves before adding to the food processor so the pesto maintains a bright green color.
If you're allergic to nuts you can use sunflower seeds, hemp seeds or pumpkin seeds (pepitas) for a nut free pesto.
Nutrition
Calories: 257kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Sodium: 147mg | Potassium: 237mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 641IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 2mg