Vegan pesto is such an easy healthy swap. This recipe is dairy free and nut free but still packed with cheesy flavor!
I’m a pesto lover and I’ve got to tell you, cheese is my thing. But so many of my friends and kiddos friends can’t eat dairy or nuts anymore. This is problematic to say the least when pesto is made with copious amounts of pine nuts and parmesan cheese. So I set out to make a delicious pesto without nuts or dairy. And we did it!
Tons of fresh basil is an absolute must in our house every summer and this recipe is a big part of that need. I grow at least 2 huge basil plants every summer just to keep us stocked for pesto, chimichurri sauce and my baked caprese chicken.
Lemon juice brightens the whole pesto beautifully. And then the secret star….nutritional yeast! This was the first time I’ve worked with nutritional yeast having used it’s cousin brewers yeast quite a bit in our smoothies. I am in LOVE with it! It adds the most delicious cheesy flavor to this recipe.
Toss everything in your food processor (I love my Cuisinart food processor) and blend until it’s smooth. Scrape it down a few times to really get it blended up.
Beautiful. It is perfect smeared on sandwiches, tossed with pasta or as a main component of our spiralized sweet potato salad.
Happy blending!
Vegan Pesto Recipe
Vegan pesto is such an easy healthy swap. This recipe is dairy free and nut free but still packed with cheesy flavor!
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast you can add more if even more “cheesy” flavor is desired
- Juice of ½ large lemon to taste
- 2 tablespoons pine nutes optional
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- water to thin out if needed
Instructions
- 1. Blend all ingredients together. Enjoy!
