Simple Vegan Pesto

Name: Simple Vegan Pesto
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 3 cups basil (moderately packed); juice of one small-medium lemon; 1/3 c pine nuts; 2 large garlic cloves (peeled and roughly chopped); 3/4 tsp kosher salt; 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

March 24, 2016 by Alyssa // 54 Comments

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This easy vegan pesto recipe is packed full of fresh basil and delicious flavor. It’s dairy free, and so much tastier than store-bought pesto. Only five ingredients, and you can make it in minutes!

As the weather starts to warm up, and things begin to bloom outside, I start to think about planting some herbs. The first herb that always pops into my mind is BASIL.

I love basil. I love it all year round, but during the spring and summer months I could eat it almost every day, in any dish, in any form.

One of my favorite things to do when I have an abundance of basil in my herb garden (or when I see a great deal on basil at the store) is to make pesto.

I make my own vegan pesto without cheese for two reasons:

I think homemade pesto just tastes better
My daughter is allergic to dairy, and almost all store bought pesto contains parmesan cheese

When I first started experimenting with making vegan pesto, I expected it to taste like something was missing. But as I continued to tweak the recipe, I discovered that I actually liked pesto better WITHOUT the parmesan cheese.

It’s just lighter and fresher (especially with the addition of fresh lemon juice), and the flavors taste brighter.

Homemade vegan pesto ingredients:

basil
pine nuts
lemon juice
garlic
olive oil
(plus a little salt)

Of course, you can always add cheese to this recipe if you love parmesan in your pesto; or you can do what I do…shave a little bit of fresh parmesan over the top of whatever dish you’re serving with your pesto.

Homemade pesto making tip:

Although I’ve tested this recipe multiple times and these are the proportions that worked best for me, you may need to adjust some of your ingredients after you’ve blended it together.

Depending on the age/potency of your lemon, garlic, and salt, you may find them a little too strong or a little too weak for your taste.

The nice thing about making pesto is that you can keep adding a little of this and a little of that until it comes out completely perfect.

Can you make pesto without a food processor?

Technically yes. You can chop everything by hand, but the texture will definitely be different, and it will be very time consuming.

If you are up for the challenge, this article beautifully explains how to chop pesto by hand like an Italian grandmother. :) It’s actually sort of inspiring, and I might try making it this way one of these days.

Shortcuts and Substitutions:

If you’re short on basil, or you want to experiment with different flavors, you can substitute arugula, spinach, cilantro, kale, or parsley (or any combination of these greens).
You can also swap out the type of nut you use in this pesto recipe. Look for a creamy nut, such as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, or sunflower seeds.
This pesto should stay fresh in a sealed container for about a week, but if you’ve got leftovers you can freeze in an ice cube tray to add flavor to pasta sauces or soups.

Favorite Ways to Use Pesto:

Stir into warm or cold pasta (Chicken with Pesto Pasta and Vegetables is a fantastic dinner idea).
Use it to dress a pasta salad
Spread on a slice of tomato when making a caprese salad
Use in a sandwich (a turkey and pesto sandwich is a favorite of ours)
Spread onto toasted baguette slices for an easy appetizer
Combine with chopped tomato, chopped buffalo mozzarella, and fresh basil
Use in place of tomato sauce on a homemade pizza
Mix with mayo for an easy dipping sauce or sandwich spread
Use as a topping for chicken, fish or steak
Stir into scrambled eggs

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