Easy Vegan Pesto (10 Mins)
User Reviews
5
Easy Vegan Pesto (10 Mins)
Description
Beginning by pulsing fresh basil, spinach or substitute greens, sunflower seeds, and pine nuts with garlic, salt, nutritional yeast, and lemon zest creates a coarse herb and nut mixture. Adding olive oil and water smooths the pesto to a spreadable consistency that is creamy yet retains texture from the seeds and nuts.
The flavor integrates the fresh herbal brightness of basil with the subtle earthiness of seed and nut blends, uplifted by the garlic and lemon zest, and rounded by a hint of salt. Nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan introduces a mild cheesy note enhancing the pesto without animal products.
This vegan pesto works as a sauce for pasta, a flavorful topping for salads or pizza, or a spread for sandwiches, particularly paired with roasted vegetables. It stores refrigerated for up to five days and can be frozen in ice cube portions for longer storage. Nut-free variations use seed blends entirely.
Ingredients
- 1 cup basil packed, fresh
- 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 use almonds, cashews, walnuts, (hemp seeds or more sunflower seeds for nutfree, or pecans
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast , optional, add a cheesy flavor, or use vegan parmesan of choice
- lemon or use lemon juice to taste, zest of half
- 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
- For nut-free pesto, substitute nuts entirely with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or hemp seeds.
- If using large or hard nuts, pulse them separately first to create a coarse meal before adding greens and other ingredients.
- Adjust consistency with extra olive oil or water to preference when blending.
- Store pesto refrigerated up to five days or freeze in portions for longer use.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 123 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 123kcal | 6% |
| Carbohydrates | 4g | 1% |
| Protein | 4g | 8% |
| Fat | 10g | 15% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Sodium | 155mg | 6% |
| Potassium | 186mg | 4% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 1215IU | 24% |
| Vitamin C | 4.2mg | 5% |
| Calcium | 23mg | 2% |
| Iron | 1.2mg | 7% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
You'll Also Love
