Basil Pesto Without Cheese

User Reviews

5.0

6 reviews
Excellent
  • Prep Time

    15 mins

  • Total Time

    15 mins

  • Servings

    16

  • Calories

    92 kcal

  • Course

    Condiments

  • Cuisine

    Italian

Basil Pesto Without Cheese

This simple plant-based basil pesto recipe without cheese packs all of the delicious pesto flavour of traditional basil pesto, but it's dairy-free and gluten-free. By using a food processor, we make light work of processing loads of basil leaves for a flavourful bright green vegan pesto sauce.

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Ingredients

Servings
  • 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
  • ½ teaspoon Salt, more to taste
  • ½ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted*
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, more to top
  • 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
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Instructions

  1. Place the roughly chopped garlic clove in a mortar with half a teaspoon of salt. Grind the garlic into a paste. Then add the toasted pine nuts and bash into a creamy paste. (Or process in a food processor with half the oil until you have a creamy paste.)
  2. Add the chopped basil leaves to a food processor bowl and drizzle with half of the olive oil. Pulse, stopping to push down the leaves with a spatula a couple of times until you have a fragrant, emerald-green basil paste.
  3. Transfer the basil paste to a bowl with the remaining olive oil, and add the salty garlic and pine nut paste. Mix in the lemon juice and nutritional yeast.
  4. Taste and adjust the salt and acidity. Keep in mind that the flavours develop as the mixture sits. Add more olive oil for a thinner consistency.

Notes

  • Toast raw pine nuts in a hot, dry pan for a few seconds – taking care not to burn them. 
  • When I plan to freeze basil, I don’t add lemon juice or nutritional yeast. I add it when I defrost the basil pesto for the perfect fresh basil pesto taste. You can also stir in some extra olive oil to revive it a bit.
  • See the full blog post for ingredients and substitutes and step-by-step instructions for pesto without cheese.

Nutrition Information

Show Details
Serving 1tablespoon Calories 92kcal (5%) Carbohydrates 1g (0%) Protein 1g (2%) Fat 10g (15%) Saturated Fat 1g (5%) Polyunsaturated Fat 2g Monounsaturated Fat 6g Sodium 73mg (3%) Potassium 64mg (2%) Fiber 0.4g (2%) Sugar 0.2g (0%) Vitamin A 496IU (10%) Vitamin C 2mg (2%) Calcium 18mg (2%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 16Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 92 kcal

% Daily Value*

Serving 1tablespoon
Calories 92kcal 5%
Carbohydrates 1g 0%
Protein 1g 2%
Fat 10g 15%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g 12%
Monounsaturated Fat 6g 30%
Sodium 73mg 3%
Potassium 64mg 1%
Fiber 0.4g 2%
Sugar 0.2g 0%
Vitamin A 496IU 10%
Vitamin C 2mg 2%
Calcium 18mg 2%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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Overall Rating

5.0

6 reviews
Excellent

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