Vegan pesto, a delicious Italian sauce, made in 5 minutes with only 8 ingredients. It’s tasty, healthy, and so easy to prepare!
This vegan pesto is one of those things you can eat with pretty much everything: on toasts, as a salad dressing, with pasta, rice, potatoes, veggies, legumes… It’s so delicious it actually goes well with lots of dishes!
This vegan version of the classic pesto is made with olive oil, fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt, and nutritional yeast, among other ingredients. However, although I love extra virgin olive oil, it has a strong flavor, so feel free to use other oils if you’re not used to it.
Besides, you can customize this recipe with ingredients like ground black pepper and some lemon juice as well. Some people add lemon zest too, but I like it better without it.
This vegan pesto is ready in 5 minutes and only requires 8 simple ingredients. To make it you need a food processor, a regular blender, or an immersion blender. It is so tasty!
How to make vegan pesto – Step by step
- Add all the ingredients into a bowl (photo 1) and blend with an immersion blender until smooth (photo 2). You can also use a food processor or a regular blender.
- Serve immediately.
Pro tips
- I used an immersion blender because it’s easier to clean, although you can also make your vegan pesto with a regular blender or a food processor.
- You can substitute basil for spinach or any other leafy green you have on hand.
- Feel free to replace garlic powder with fresh garlic.
- If you don’t have or don’t want to use nutritional yeast, you could make this recipe with vegan Parmesan cheese instead.
How to serve vegan pesto
Vegan pesto goes really well with plenty of different dishes. You could simply use it as a spread over some toasts, veggies, or pasta.
However, if you’d like a more elaborate recipe, you could try it with things like vegan pesto hummus, vegan pesto, hummus, avocado sandwich, or vegan pesto bruschetta. Go ahead and get creative, this vegan pesto will make your meals be something else!
How long will this vegan pesto keep?
It’s important to store it properly. Just make sure to keep it in an airtight container in the fridge and it will last for 5-7 days.
Can I make vegan pesto without pine nuts?
Of course! If pine nuts are too expensive in your area, this vegan pesto recipe will also work with any other nut, such as walnuts or almonds.
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Did you make this vegan pesto recipe?
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Vegan Pesto
- Prep: 5 mins
- Total: 5 mins
- 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) aprox 1x
- How to, Sauce
- Italian
- Vegan
Servings 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) aprox 1x
Vegan pesto, a delicious Italian sauce, made in 5 minutes with only 8 ingredients. It’s tasty, healthy, and so easy to prepare!
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves (about 0.7 oz or 20 g), large stems removed
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (4 tbsp)
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp pine nuts (raw or toasted)
- 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
- 1 clove of garlic
- Dash of salt
- Dash of ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients into a bowl and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. You can also use a food processor or a regular blender, although I prefer to use an immersion blender because it’s easier to clean.
- Serve your vegan pesto immediately spread over some slices of vegan bread, veggies, or pasta. I also like to use it in recipes like roasted potatoes, vegan pizza, or even roasted red peppers.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days. Freeze in ice cube trays and then store the frozen pesto cubes in plastic freezer bags in the freezer for up to 6 months. It can also be frozen in small jars or airtight containers for 9-12 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Notes
- I used an immersion blender because it’s easier to clean, although you can also make your vegan pesto with a regular blender or a food processor.
- If basil and pine nuts are too expensive or hard to find in your area, you could also use spinach or any other leafy green you have on hand, and any other kind of nuts, such as walnuts or almonds.
- Feel free to replace garlic powder with fresh garlic.
- Add salt to taste.
- If you don’t have or don’t want to use nutritional yeast, you could make this recipe with vegan Parmesan cheese instead.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tbsp
- Calories: 91
- Sugar: 0.6 g
- Sodium: 22 mg
- Fat: 8.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Fiber: 0.9 g
- Protein: 2.2 g
Update Notes: This post was originally published in March of 2019, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions and tips in July of 2020.
So simple yet delicious. I top it off with some vegan parmesan cheese.
★★★★★
Hi Kimmy! That sounds so good 🙂 I’m glad you liked it!
Can I make this without oil?.. or what would be a healthy substitute for it being oil-free?
Hi Lili! I haven’t tried it myself but I think it would work 🙂 But, let me tell you that olive oil is not unhealthy 🙂 Have a nice day!
Hola Iosune,
I have been making your amazing and delicious recipes for a few years now but never left a comment/review before and I feel that I’ve done your hard work a disservice. As my apology here is my contribution.
I did not have access to fresh Basil leaves so I used dried leaves and added 3/4 to 1 cup of water to re-hydrate them and it turned out amazingly delicious. My wife, who has always hated Pesto of any kind, could not get enough of it and now this will be a permanent dish for our family. Thank you so much again for all that you do and keep up the amazing work.
Con mucho amor, respeto, y apreciación de nuestra familia, a la suya.
Gracias \(=^.^=)/
★★★★★
Hola Carlos! Gracias a ti 🙂 Un abrazo!
MY apologies, I hit “jump to recipe” , and found the proportions
Hi Petey! Yes, you have all the ingredients in the recipe box 🙂 Have a nice day!
Easy and fast recipe; I used almond slivers to substitute the pine nuts, an economical and delicious way to make this.
★★★★★
Hi Leonie! So glad you liked it 🙂 Sounds great!