Simple Vegan Pesto
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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
Simple Vegan Pesto
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
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine all ingredients except the olive oil. Pulse until evenly chopped. Slowly add in the olive oil through the top of the processor. Pulse until evenly combined, but not completely smooth.
Nutrition Facts
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61 Comments on “Simple Vegan Pesto”
Thank you, thank you for sharing this yummy, flavorful recipe! I start my day with a generous spoonful of this fresh pesto over scrambled eggs, and it keeps me full and satisfied till lunch time. This is fabulous over boring steel cut oats, too. No more unhealthy snacking and I’ve been able to lose some weight.
That’s great to hear! Thanks for leaving a comment.
Absolutely amazing pesto! Thank you! I poured the pesto over zucchini noodles, broccolini and cherry tomatoes. It was delicious and I love that it’s vegan and still tastes amazing!
Thank you so much for posting this. For some reason, I got the “hate cheese” gene and have never been able to stand jarred pesto. I was so happy to find this recipe online. Will try it tonight with some pasta with chicken.
Love this! Very easy to make and i just love it with pasta!
Do I need to toast the pine nuts?
Nope!
is it okay without nuts?
Hi Joannah – It would taste OK without nuts, but the nuts sort of help to thicken it and make it less watery. Perhaps you could substitute chickpeas instead.
So simple, but so tasty! Thanks. Even using recipes I don’t normally get it right but this worked perfectly first try!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Oh yeah! It freezes well! Best Vegan pesto! Thank you Alyssa for the my favourite vegan pesto recipe!
I assume this pesto will freeze well . wonderful site by the way thanks!
Hi Jeannie – Yes, it should freeze well. It might not be as green/vibrant when it’s thawed out, but it will still taste good!
Can i use avocado oil instead of olive oil?
Sure! I haven’t personally tried it, but you can experiment with different oils, nuts and greens when it comes to pesto.
I’m allergic to pine nuts. Can I make it without it.
Yep! Walnuts are a good substitution. If you’re also allergic to walnuts, you could substitute almonds or another type of nut.
I would love to try this- one thing I’m wondering about tho- do you grow basil or where do you buy 3 cups of it? Its like a specialty item here in Midwest in the winter& I find I’m buying these little packets sparingly. I would have to buy all they have almost for 3 cups, i would imagine? Maybe I’m picturing packing it a little too much? Thanks for any input!
Good question. During the spring/summer, I usually buy a small potted basil plant at a grocery store which lasts for a while by a windowsill or outdoors if the weather is moderate. Sometimes at Trader Joe’s they sell a large plastic container of basil (at least 3 cups worth), but I think that tends to be seasonal, too. If you can find a plant, it should last a while and you can keep it indoors if it’s cold outside.
you can also use spinach or kale! I often make pesto with half spinach and half basil, or whatever basil I can find and the rest spinach. It comes out great!
Yes, I do this too if I don’t have enough basil. Sometimes I swap in different nuts, too. It’s a great recipe for using up leftovers of greens and nuts. Thanks for commenting!
This was super simple and fast! So yummy!
hi, I would like to know how many servings does this recipe makes? and how long would it last if tightly sealed on airtight jars and unrefrigerated. Thank you.
Hi Andi – I’d say it makes about a cup of pesto. It’s enough to use on a pound of pasta. And it should keep a week in the fridge – you can also freeze it if you want to make a bigger batch.
This is the best pesto ever!!! All my family really enjoy it… Thanks
Thanks so much, Vivi! I’m glad you all enjoyed it. :)
This is the best pesto I’ve ever had! It’s simple, easy to make, and tastes great! It came out perfect the first time; I didn’t have to adjust the recipe. I’m using it on pizza, pasta and bread. Thank you!!!
Thank you! I made this pesto and it turned out great. This is now a staple for me.
Alyssa, thank you for this delicious recipe. Made it tonight and it’s oh so yummy 😋 . I made two batches, one with Angel Food Parmesan alternative as the thing I miss the most since eating vegan is my cheese. Both were delicious! A definite winner…
Awesome! Thanks for your comment, Leigh. I’m about to make a batch tonight…we still eat this all the time, especially when I manage to actually grow some basil in our yard.
I just love it that we can skip the cheese in pesto and have it be just as amazing! Nothing against cheese, but we need breaks when we can get them. Thanks for sharing this recipe :)
I agree about the cheese breaks, even though I do love it! :)
I LOVE pesto, use it on everything!
Me too :)
Yum, yum, yummy!! I actually prefer pesto without cheese and this recipe is perfect!! It has a gorgeous color and texture! And you’re right, it’s so much easier to make with a food processor. I can’t wait to make your delicious recipe!
Thanks so much, Elaine!
I do love a good pesto – it’s nice to see a dairy free alternative as some of my neices and nephews are dairy intollerant! This will be a great recipe to whip up when they are visitng.
Delicious! I only had a lime on hand and half the amount of pine nuts needed so I substituted with some roasted pepitas 😋
Sounds good. Will certainly try it. You can use Pistachio’s instead of pine nuts also.
How would I fix it if the taste has too much garlic in it for me?
I would add some additional basil and/or lemon juice to balance it out.
I’m so excited to try this recipe tomorrow night! My only problem is that I don’t have a food processor, but I do have a blender. Can I still make this recipe using a blender?
Hmmmm…I can’t say for sure because I’ve never tried using a blender! It might depend on the type of blender you have (ie: Vitamix style vs. a regular blender)
Has anyone tried vegan parm cheese in it. All it is cashews and nutritional yeast blended in a food processor
I tried this recipe this evening, I honestly cannot say how delicious it was!! So much better than any other store bought product and even better when you know exactly what’s going in it, and it is so easy?!
Thank you for this great recipe!
Thank you for your kind words, Caroline! It’s so nice to hear that other people love it as much as we do. :)
Hey everyone! I love reading all the different takes on a classic recipe. Pesto is one of my all time favorites. I tried many different recipes before I settled on the vegan version I like best. Mine is very similar to the recipe in this post, but I add hemp seeds. I love the flavor it adds and, for me, it was the secret ingredient that stopped me from missing the cheese.
XO! Gina
http://www.classyeverafterblog.com
Interesting! I must say, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten hemp seeds, but I’ll have to try it next time I make this. Thanks for your comment, Gina!
This was amazing! Thank you!
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it. :)
Can I use a different nut in place of the pine nuts? I’m intolerant to them
Hi Susan – Yep, you could use almonds or walnuts, or just about any type of nut that you like.
Is there a way to make this without the oil?
I’m guessing you could leave out the oil if you needed to, but the texture wouldn’t be as smooth.
Hi. You can use a veggie stock. Long time ago I watched a Rachael Ray show, she used a chicken stock on one of her episodes to make pesto.
Thanks for the tip, Nicole!
Sounds delicious! Thank you! How long does it stay fresh for in the fridge?
You know, we’ve always gobbled it up pretty quickly so I haven’t had a chance to find out! I’d say it’s probably good for 3-4 days. You can always freeze it, too. It won’t have that same bright green color when it’s thawed out, but it will still taste good, and you could uses it for sauces, etc.
I make pesto all the time but do use cheese. I will have to try this recipe as Mike’s granddaughter is vegan and I struggle with what to make for her .
I LOVE cheese, but I honestly don’t miss it in this recipe. Try it and let me know what you think!