Vegan Pesto Recipe
Pesto is the best-o! No really it is, and it’s so easy to make! In the last couple of years pesto has taken the number one spot for pasta sauce in our house. This vegan pesto recipe is definitely a kid approved favorite. Plus, I love how quick and simple it is to make, just toss all the ingredients into the blender and you’re done. It is really that easy. This year I finally got smarter and planted basil around the base of every tomato plant in our garden. Now that it’s late summer we have oodles of fresh basil and can make fresh homemade pesto at least once a week, yum!
What to Do with Vegan Pesto?
Pesto is such a versatile sauce—you can use it as a pasta sauce, a sandwich spread, dip for veggies, marinade for tofu, pizza sauce, and the list goes on. Pesto—the good green goo—is a tasty sauce that my kids absolutely love, which really makes this mama happy because it is loaded with good healthy stuff. Probably our favorite way to enjoy pesto is as a pasta sauce, but I love that we can use it in so many ways and we have never, I repeat never, had any go to waste. This vegan pesto is loved by kids and adults alike and always gets gobbled up.
Made with Fresh Basil
So you know we have basil growing everywhere in our garden this year. Planting basil around the base of each tomato plant was seriously a stroke a brilliance (not my own, a much better gardener neighbor’s brilliance), but we will totally be doing it again next year! As much as I love having fresh fruits and veggies in the garden, I love fresh herbs even more. Fresh herbs make everything taste just that next level amazing, but fresh herbs can get pricey quick in the store, plus sometimes they just don’t last long. Have you ever bought the clamshell of basil that looks fresh only to open it up to find brown wilty leaves hiding inside? Yup, I think we’ve all been there. Even if you live in a small space, try growing some fresh herbs like basil on your kitchen counter. Your taste buds will thank you!
Added basil bonus—the lovely smell. I absolutely love the smell of fresh basil. Yes, I’m the weirdo smelling herbs in the garden. Basil has such a fragrant and inviting scent, almost as good as it tastes!
We usually use basil for making pesto, but you can certainly use arugula or parsley for pesto as well. We also add spinach to our pesto, mostly because adding spinach means we can make more pesto with less basil, we love to make a big batch to use for multiple meals. Sometimes we use frozen peas in pesto as well. Basil is one of those super good for you foods, but according to WebMD basil’s health benefits only apply to fresh basil, not dried. Like many leafy greens basil is full of antioxidants, is a blood sugar reducer, heart disease preventer, it reduces inflammation, and helps protect against infections. All good stuff to live a healthy and long life, plus it is packed with amazing flavor.
What is in Traditional Pesto?
Traditional Italian pesto is made with basil leaves, pine nuts, parmesan, olive oil, and garlic. It is typically hand chopped and contains a very liberal amount of olive oil. This vegan pesto recipe has a few additional ingredients, but is equally as delicious.
How to Make Vegan Pesto
It doesn’t get easier than this, the whole process takes about 5 minutes! Literally just toss all 8 ingredients—fresh basil, fresh spinach leaves, cashews, garlic, vegan parmesan, olive oil, salt, and lemon juice—into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, approximately 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary. That’s it!
Why Cashews?
Traditional pesto uses pine nuts, but we have strayed away from pine nuts over the years. Mostly because they are not something we usually have on hand in our pantry and they are pricey (at least here in Denver). I have tried both almonds and cashews and both work well in this recipe. Cashews do have a creamier kind of taste and texture so we lean towards using them. The bottom line is that you do need some kind of nut in this pesto recipe to give it the right texture and to hold the sauce together (think nut butter almost gooey texture). So go nuts—pick your favorite whether it’s cashews, almonds, or pine nuts.
Vegan Parmesan
Any kind of parmesan will work in this recipe, but we really like the Violife Vegan Parmesan. It comes in an adorable little wedge that looks like the real deal. More importantly the flavor is good and the texture is right. Vegan parmesan works great in this pesto recipe, especially since it is not cooked. I haven’t quite got on board with cooked vegan cheese. Plus with all the bold flavors in this pesto—basil, garlic—no one will be able tell that this is vegan parmesan. Trust me, no one.
How to Keep Pesto from Turning Brown?
To keep pesto looking that striking bright green hue I add a little lemon juice. Just a teeny bit of lemon juice compliments the flavors and keeps the brown away. Nothing wrong with improving a good ole classic recipe. Now time to get cooking!
PrintVegan Pesto
Super fresh and flavorful vegan pesto recipe with basil, cashews, garlic, olive oil, and vegan parm. Great for pasta, a sandwich spread, or even a yummy dip! Not only is this pesto recipe delicious it is so quick and easy to make.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Plant-based
- Method: Homemade
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 cups of fresh basil leaves
- 2 cups of fresh spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup of unsalted/unroasted cashews
- 2 cloves of garlic, smashed
- 1/4 cup of vegan parmesan
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
Instructions
- Toss all ingredients into a blender.
- Blend on high for about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides with a spatula and blend again. Repeat until the sauce is nice and smooth.
Notes
You can use this immediately, it is great on hot pasta or delicious cold as well. Flavors really combine after about 24 hours and the pesto is even tastier.
Can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen.
