Among the best fruits of summer’s labor are herbs and vegetables. The harvest of basil is short, so seize the opportunity to have it garden fresh and make some pesto. This no-compromise vegan pesto recipe is inspired by traditional pesto and offers all the same tastes and texture but is cruelty-free and without any saturated fat. That’s right – healthy pesto!
Fresh basil, growing on our deck, ready for harvest
You Can Grow Your Own for Amazing Vegan Pesto
If you have just a little bit of outdoor space or a nice sunny spot inside, growing your own is so easy and requires just a little attention. Get seedlings in the Spring and a medium-sized pot, and you will have the freshest available basil. The difference over store-bought is amazing, and no trip to the market!
You Can Tweak It Yourself, Too!
Basil pesto is not an exact science. If you have a favorite recipe that uses parmesan cheese, just substitute nutritional yeast to make a vegan alternative. I love pine nuts, but because they are often expensive, I don’t always have them on hand. I have used walnuts, almonds, cashews, and sunflower seeds and have never been disappointed. So feel free to experiment with this simple, basic recipe and discover your own new tastes!
Doesn’t that look delicious? Get the pasta on, it’s almost time to eat!
But, whether you are inclined to experiment, or simply just want some vegan pesto, right now, here is our recipe that is super easy. In just a few minutes you will be enjoying delicious vegan pesto on pasta, crusty bread, or pizza!
Give Hand-made a Try!
Making pesto by hand
For those of you who don’t have a food processor, you can go the traditional route and make pesto with a mortar and pestle. It requires a little more time, your energy, and a smaller batch but is wonderfully satisfying. Even if you DO have a food processor a mortar and pestle is a beautiful kitchen tool to have. Take a look at our Kitchen Tool post all about them.
We love to see what readers make so please, post your photos on social media (we’re on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) and tag us so we can share, too. Happy pesto!
The no-compromises delicious, rich taste of basil pesto without the dairy.
Ingredients
UnitsScale
1/4cup nutritional yeast (more or less to taste)
1/4cup pine nuts (or a combination of available nuts)
2cups firmly packed basil leaves (if you’re a little short, some fresh parsley can be added to get the right quantity)
1/4–1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4cup olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice, optional
Instructions
Place the nuts, the whole garlic cloves, and the nutritional yeast in the food processor and let it run until the cloves are crushed. I am always looking for ways to use less time and utensils, so this works for me.
Add the basil and salt, and run it briefly
Then add the oil. My processor has a hole in the top and I pour it in in a stream. You may need to scrape down the sides a few times.
Run until completely blended. It should yield about 1 and 1/2 cups.
Notes
The final yield has a lot to do with just how much you pack the basil into your measuring cup.
🙂
Georgia is an unpretentious foodie who, at 50, transitioned from a vegetarian diet to a whole foods plant based diet and is loving it. She works as a nurse, plays as a quilter, loves to run, hates to race.
She thinks dogs are actually angels (in dog suits).
Vegan nacho cheese sauce that will satisfy all your cheesy cravings. Your only problem will…
This Post Has 10 Comments
This is the best vegan cheesy sauce I’ve ever eaten. We added an extra clove and about 1/4 cup canola oil to stretch it a little farther. cheesier than most vegan cheese sauces. incredible
The pesto will be fine for a day or two, refrigerated and in a tightly sealed container. Basil will start to go brown very quickly so it may discolor in that time (but still taste just fine). If you want to keep it for a while, and preserve the nice green color, you can freeze it. We just put it in a small ziplock bag and flatten it out. That way it will thaw out quickly.
I use the snack sized bags and flatten them. I also peel the bag off the still frozen pesto into a bowl so I am not dealing with oily bags and scraping out all the little bits. I often use almonds (ground left over from making Parmesan) or walnuts. As you say, whatever nuts you have around work well.
[…] a super nutritious, low calorie, low fat base for a bowl of zoodles with tomato sauce, or with pesto (pictured below and vegan pesto recipe right here). You can toss them with other types of sauces or […]
This is the best vegan cheesy sauce I’ve ever eaten. We added an extra clove and about 1/4 cup canola oil to stretch it a little farther. cheesier than most vegan cheese sauces. incredible
Hi Kaede,
Thanks for trying the pesto and letting us know what you thought!IMO its never the wrong idea to “add an extra clove” – sounds yummy. 🙂
Sounds perfect!
Its so yummy! Give it a try and let us know what you think! 🙂
What is shelf life?
Hi Tammy!
The pesto will be fine for a day or two, refrigerated and in a tightly sealed container. Basil will start to go brown very quickly so it may discolor in that time (but still taste just fine). If you want to keep it for a while, and preserve the nice green color, you can freeze it. We just put it in a small ziplock bag and flatten it out. That way it will thaw out quickly.
Greg & Georgia
I use the snack sized bags and flatten them. I also peel the bag off the still frozen pesto into a bowl so I am not dealing with oily bags and scraping out all the little bits. I often use almonds (ground left over from making Parmesan) or walnuts. As you say, whatever nuts you have around work well.
When do you add the nutritional yeast?
Hi Marianne! Thanks for the catch! You add the nutritional yeast at the very beginning with the pine nuts and garlic. Updating the post right now.
🙂
Greg and Georgia
[…] a super nutritious, low calorie, low fat base for a bowl of zoodles with tomato sauce, or with pesto (pictured below and vegan pesto recipe right here). You can toss them with other types of sauces or […]