Easy Vegan Pesto

Easy Vegan Pesto

This recipe comes from the Minimalist Baker, another great source for vegan recipes.

Pesto is so crazy good it does not last in our house.
We keep a basil plant in the garden and use fresh leaves for the pesto.

I tried making this using sunflower seeds, since that was an option and my husband is allergic to pine nuts.  It was good, if a bit... eh... different than regular pesto.  You just need to adjust your expectations.  Pine nuts have a distinctive taste.

On this one, you cannot skip the oil, so this is a very rare treat in our household.

We do not have a food processor, so we once again used the blender/Ninja and just winged it.

Many thanks to Minimalist Baker for this awesome recipe.

Author: Minimalist Baker

PREP TIME

5 minutes

TOTAL TIME

5 minutes

Servings:  (1-Tbsp servings)

Category: Sauce

Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Vegan

Ingredients

• 2 cups packed fresh basil (large stems removed)
• 3 Tbsp pine nuts or walnuts (if nut-free, try sunflower seeds!)
• 3 large cloves garlic (peeled)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 3-4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp sea salt (plus more to taste)
• 2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil*
• 3-6 Tbsp water (plus more as needed)

Instructions

1. To a food processor or small blender, add the basil, nuts, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and sea salt and blend/mix on high until loose paste forms.
   
2. Add olive oil a little at a time (streaming in while the machine is on if possible) and scrape down sides as needed. Then add 1 Tbsp (15 ml) water at a time until the desired consistency is reached - a thick but pourable sauce. (If avoiding oil altogether, sub the oil with vegetable broth or just use all water.)
   
3. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more nutritional yeast for cheesy flavor, salt for overall flavor, nuts for nuttiness, garlic for zing, or lemon juice for acidity.
   
4. Perfect for adding to sauces, dressings, breads, and more! My favorite recently has been adding it straight to zucchini or carrot noodles (see photo) for a beautiful, healthy side dish.
   
5. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 1 week. After that, pour into ice cube molds, freeze, and store up to 1 month or more.