Name: Easy Vegan Pesto (10 Mins)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 cup packed fresh basil; 1 cup spinach (or baby kale, or loosely packed parsley, cilantro or more basil); 2 tbsp sunflower seeds (or hemp seeds ); 3 tbsp pine nuts or pecans (or use almonds, cashews, walnuts, (hemp seeds or more sunflower seeds for nutfree) ); 2 cloves of garlic; 1/4 tsp salt; 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (, optional, add a cheesy flavor, or use vegan parmesan of choice); zest of half a lemon (or use lemon juice to taste); 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; water as needed; black pepper (, red pepper flakes or other flavor addition)

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Easy and Delicious Vegan Pesto. Use with pasta, salads, over pizza, over garlic bread, roasted veggies, sandwiches, lasagna, wraps! Nut-free option. Vegan gluten-free soy-free Recipe. Jump to Recipe

When there is abundance of fresh herbs, dont let them sit and spoil. Make a flavorful and easy pesto and use or freeze! A good pesto adds refreshing flavor to a simple pasta meal. It can be used in other ways too. Add to roasted veggie sandwiches, Grilled cheese sandwiches, pasta salad, grilled flatbreads/pizza, serve with lasagna soup and what not!

This easy pesto has just a few ingredients, fresh herbs, some nuts and seeds, flavors from salt, garlic lemon and cheesy flavor from nutritional yeast(which can easily be omitted). Just process in a food processor and done!

What can I use the Vegan Pesto for

Try the Vegan Pesto Pasta with charred broccoli and blistered cherry tomatoes.
Use it on a Pizza with toppings of choice.
Toss with Spaghetti and serve with chickpea “meatballs”
Add to sandwiches with roasted seasonal veggies and vegan cheeses, or plain grilled cheese sandwiches.
Add to lasagnas and lasagna soup.
Use as salad dressing or add to bowl meals.

Ingredients for Vegan Pesto:

Basil and greens like spinach, parsley or cilantro make up the herb base
I like to use a combination of sunflower seeds and nuts in the pesto for texture and flavor. Use pine nuts, pecans, walnuts, cashews or almonds.
To keep the pesto nut-free, use a combination of 2 or more of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds
Garlic, salt and zest of a lemon add amazing flavors.
a bit of extra virgin olive oil rounds it up.
Some water is added for consistency instead of adding more oil

VEGAN PESTO QUESTIONS

How long does vegan pesto last in the fridge? You can keep the pesto for 5 days in the fridge.

Can I make it Nut-free? Yes, use a combination of 2 or more of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds

Can I make the Pesto Oil-free? Yes, just omit the oil.

What other herbs can be used to make the pesto? Any tender flavorful herbs and greens and combination of herbs can be used such as parsley, cilantro, mint, arugula, baby kale, spinach, chard etc.

More Pasta Meals from the blog

Sundried Tomato and Garlic Pasta with Soy curls.So beautiful!
Garlic Pasta with Cajun Cauliflower – super popular
Rose Sauce Farfalle – so Creamy!
Lentil Bolognese with Spaghetti.– Hearty
Cauliflower Parmesan Pasta Bake – sliced cauliflower, baked then dressed in vegan mozz, baked over pasta
Chickpea Chorizo, Quinoa shells in tomato sauce. GF – So Meaty.

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5 from 6 votes

Easy Vegan Pesto (10 Mins)

Easy and Delicious Vegan Pesto. Use with pasta, salads, over pizza, over garlic bread, roasted veggies, wraps! Nut-free option. Vegan gluten-free soy-free Recipe

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Side

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: dairy free pesto, easy vegan pesto, nut free pesto, vegan pesto recipe

Servings: 4

Calories: 123kcal

Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

1 cup (24 g) packed fresh basil
1 cup (30 g) spinach or baby kale, or loosely packed parsley, cilantro or more basil
2 tbsp sunflower seeds or hemp seeds
3 tbsp pine nuts or pecans or use almonds, cashews, walnuts, (hemp seeds or more sunflower seeds for nutfree)
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp nutritional yeast , optional, add a cheesy flavor, or use vegan parmesan of choice
zest of half a lemon or use lemon juice to taste
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
water as needed
black pepper , red pepper flakes or other flavor addition

Instructions

Add basil, spinach, sunflower seeds, pecans, garlic, salt, nutritional yeast, lemon zest to a food processor. Process until a coarse mixture.
Add olive oil and a tbsp or so water. and process again. Add more water if needed to make a homogeneous mixture.
Taste and adjust flavor. Add more oil to preference, adjust salt, add more nutritional yeast for cheesier. Use with pasta, salads, over pizza, over garlic bread, in sandwiches with roasted veggies and other applications.
Store refrigerated for upto 5 days. Freeze in ice cubes.

Notes

Nut-free: Use a combination of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds instead of the nuts.

Tip: if using large nuts of harder nuts, pulse just the nuts first to make into a coarse meal then add basil etc.

Nutrition is for 1 serve of 4.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Easy Vegan Pesto (10 Mins)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 123 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Fat 10g15%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Sodium 155mg7%

Potassium 186mg5%

Carbohydrates 4g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 1215IU24%

Vitamin C 4.2mg5%

Calcium 23mg2%

Iron 1.2mg7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Easy Vegan Pesto

What can I use the Vegan Pesto for