Vegan Pesto Recipe (No Nuts)
Tired of hunting for the perfect vegan pesto (nut free) in the grocery store? Look no further. My creamy and delicious pesto recipe is vegan, nut allergy friendly, gluten free and simple to make. With 7 ingredients and just 15 minutes, you will have an amazing pesto that comes out right every single time.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 90kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups basil leaves fresh
- 5 garlic cloves peeled
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil have more on hand if needed
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas) other seeds such as sunflower seeds may be substituted
- water optional
Instructions
- Trim stems from basil leaves and peel garlic cloves.
- Add basil, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast in food processor and pulse.
- Combine pumpkin seeds (pepitas) and pulse.
- Use additional olive oil or water until desired texture.
Notes
This recipe makes 1 ½ cups of pesto.
For a low budget recipe nut allergy friendly recipe without compromising the nutty flavor, I use pumpkin seeds, pepitas These seeds can be used either raw or you can roast them. Make sure not to burn the seeds if roasting, because the flavor of your pesto will then be bitter. Feel free to substitute a different seed of choice if pumpkin seeds are not your thing.
It is better to use a food processor vs. a blender to make pesto. You will find it much easier to adjust the consistency with a food processor. Use more oil or just a little water for a creamier texture.
Nutritional yeast can be purchased in most grocery stores, health food stores, or online. I prefer nutritional yeast with B12 added.
Pesto can be refrigerated for up to two weeks.
Pesto is perfect for freezing. I use 1 cup freezer bags, but other freezer options are air-tight freezer containers or ice cube trays. Freezer bags and freezer containers will last up to nine months in the freezer. Ice cube trays will last up to three months in the freezer.