Easy Vegan Pesto (5 minutes!)

I made this for my vegan friend and I like it better than the pesto I made for myself with cheese.

It’s so easy and absolutely delicious!

So similar to the recipe that I used for years before becoming vegan. The lemon juice adds a nice tang and helps to maintain the vibrant color of the pesto. I will add that if you cover your jar of pesto with a layer of olive oil, it will keep for several weeks in the fridge. Pull it out for a bit and then mix it all together and the flavors will have married fantastically. Salute.

Thank you, it turned out really great! I used cashews, as I didn’t have any walnuts or sunflowers seeds available.

I made one version of this oil free for my husband who loved it! I also used sunflower seeds. I spread this on sour dough pizza and it was spectacular. Thank you so much.

I made this with sunflower seeds and it’s absolutely delicious. Planning to make a bunch more out of my successful basil plants and freeze it for the winter. It will be lovely to have a taste of summer when it’s 10 below.

Very yummy. I made this in a winter lockdown with no basil around so used tired looking silverbeet, parsley, and NZ spinach that I sweated a little in the oil, before adding a few stalks of fresh parsley and fennel stalks. Sadly I have to share the results so may be raiding the garden again sooner than expected to have a steady supply!

I love this pesto!! Makes amazing pesto chicken. Just coat chicken generously with pesto and bake. Great added to salads. Topped stuffed hot peppers and quinoa with the pesto too.

TL;DR: delicious, lemony, make a bunch to freeze, use part cashews to save money

I may have commented on this recipe a few years ago but I feel the need to comment again because this is THE BEST PESTO RECIPE! It is perfectly lemon-y and bursting with flavor. I am vegan but my omnivorous family likes it too!

I have made this recipe for the last 4 years but we always run out in a month or two so I wanted to try and make enough for a year.

This year I took 3 crowded potted basil pots from Costco wholesale ($8) broke them up into clumps and planted them in two raised beds. I ended up with an entire forest of basil.

After plucking leaves from the stems I ended up with 60+ compressed cups of basil which turned into about around 18 pints of pesto. I used part cashews and part pine nuts because of cost. Half is frozen in jars and the other half in muffin tins and then put into Stashers bags for a quick grab and add to scrambled “eggs” tofu, pizza, pasta, or on grilled “cheese”. Needless to say, I scaled this recipe up a lot.

I doubt it will last a year as I gave away 2 pints and I think my kids have eaten 3 or so more. I think I will need to add another raised bed so I can grow even MORE basil next year. Thank you for this delicious recipe!

I made this tonight with walnuts and fresh basil. Delicious easy in food processor. So good with excellent discussion how to adjust seasonings. Low and no oil options so appreciated.
Your recipes are spot on for use no oil vegans who don’t want to give up taste.
When I saw the sheralzai’s post on Instagram with you, YES, they found you too

So so so delicious and i’m so glad that you give us tips on how to make it tangier, nuttier, etc cause that really helped me out when adjusting it to how i like pesto. Such a great recipe and i will definitely be making it again. Pairs really well with some homemade vegan mushroom ravioli!

Another awesome recipe from Minimalist Baker. I loved this pesto – better than I remember traditional pesto being from my pre-vegan days. I used walnuts and it worked well. I like the hints for how to adjust the seasonings that are included in these recipes. I can usually identify that my food needs “something” just never sure what that “something” is. Based on the suggestions included in the recipe, I am able to adjust seasonings to my liking. I added a little extra salt and nutritional yeast.
This pesto was great on its own (I could have just eaten by the spoonful!) and I enjoyed it with zoodles and carrot spirals, both topped with cherry tomatoes.

i can’t stand the nutritional yeast flavor. it’s too strong and it overshadows the rest of the ingredients. i’m gonna try it without it next time.

I am not vegan but cannot eat cheese. I have used nutritional yeast in other recipes but have not had one for pesto. This recipe helped with proportions and was excellent. I have not used lemon juice in pesto before but this added a brightness that helped to balance the yeast. Next time I might not use quite as much but, in all fairness, I doubled the recipe as my basil has been growing like crazy this summer.
I highly recommend this recipe for pesto!

Loved it. I skipped the water and I used half cashews and half walnuts because sometimes walnuts can be a bit bitter, and added 1 Tbs white miso to up that umami flavor. This will definitely be my staple recipe as I freeze up all the basil from the garden. Thanks for the recipe!!

Oh my goodness this was so delicious! I made it as written, but oil-free with veggie broth. Served it over gluten free brown rice pasta with roasted veggies and a little vegan parmesan. Thank you for such a yummy recipe!

This was amazing. It was vibrant and delicious and I found myself eating it with a spoon before I even added pasta. I previously had tried other recipes that called for a vegan Parmesan and the flavor was just not the same. What you did with the nutritional yeast really makes a difference. This is my go to pesto recipe from now on

It really was excellent!!

OMG! It’s exquisite. 🙏 That’s my 1st vegan pesto ever, I love cheese but didn’t find one second it was missing…
I rarely cook and often with random results (weird too sticky pancakes for ex.🥴), but this time it’s a wow! Even if it’s just putting stuff in a blender.😁 Thanks for making me proud of my cooking skills!😋

Best pesto I have ever made, hands down. The flavor is so amazing and well balanced, it makes me realize how distracting the Parmesan is in traditional pasta recipes.

OMG SO YUMMY!!!! I just threw this together from fresh basil and tomatoes from the local farmers market (I made the salad with roasted tomatoes). Hands down the best pesto I have ever made (I used walnuts since it’s what I had in the pantry) and the salad is DIVINE, simple but such complex, satisfying flavors. My picky husband raved and gushed and ate two big bowls. We had corn on the cob as an accompaniment. Perfect summer meal. We have leftovers so I’m curious to see how it holds up for next day eating. Thank you for another delicious, fail proof recipe! Minimalist Baker was the first place I looked for a vegan pesto recipe (since your recipes are such reliable winners) and, as usual, you delivered!!

I made this recipe for the first time after a year of recipeless veggie pesto and finally realize that all my troubles have been due to my commitment to an absurd volume of nuts 😂
I swapped the water and oil volumes, added a bit more salt and lemon to my personal taste and am happily enjoying this for dinner! Great recipe!

DELICIOUS! Easy to make and really liked the flavour! (used walnuts)

I made this tonight with brown rice spiral noodles from Trader Joe’s. I used walnuts (1/3 cup) and did everything else as recipe suggested. Thank you, my whole family enjoyed and I have 2 young daughters who can be on the picky side.

Love this recipe!! Always make it with walnuts and it’s fabulous.

Amazing! I didn’t know what to expect, but this is an incredible recipe. It will definitely be a staple in our home. Thank you!

I made this on Monday and used it as a dipping sauce with roasted cauliflower and the last two days I’ve had it as a pasta pesto dish! Tastes amazing !! And gets better each day will double up next time, thanks so much for sharing !!

Thank you! Made this oil free so threw in an extra tbs of walnuts. I will make this again and again!!!!!

So fast and easy, SO delicious! Will make again and again.

I made this today as my basil plant had lots of extra leaves. I used my food processor. I did not use any water. I had walnuts. I used 3 tablespoons of EVOO. I only used 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast as I was unsure if it would taste too strong with 3-4 tablespoons. Otherwise I did it exactly as directed. I thought it was very fresh and savory at the same time. I had it mixed in with some gluten free pasta, but would also like to try on a pizza. In the future, I will try adding 1 or two more tablespoons of the nutritional yeast, but it still tastes very nice with just 2 tablespoons. I guess it just depends on how “cheesy” you want the flavor to be.

I made this for the first time today and I LOVE it! Definitely my go to recipe from now on!

A truly perfect recipe. Glad I made double the quantity as half of it was gone before dinner was served….Coming from a non cheese eating family. Thank you MB!!

I LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it twice this week alone. 😊 We doubled the garlic because, well, garlic and added burst tomatoes and seitan. My husband usually hates pesto but actually likes this one.

Heavenly!

Not awful, but not good. Disappointing. Runny and too much nutritional yeast. I’ll definitely eat all of the recipe made but next time I’ll just use a regular pesto recipe and substitute a little more nuts and oil for the cheese.

This is super yummy! I followed the recipe as written except I did not need to use any water. Maybe its because I rinsed my basil first so it was a little wet before processing?

I have also made it before with walnuts instead of pine nuts and they work great too.

In any case, thanks for another great recipe!

This was a big hit! So easy! I made it to drizzle on heirloom tomatoes and to also have as a sauce for guests to add on top of vegan tacos. Guests loved it. Bursting with deliciousness! I did not need to add any water to have the perfect consistency, but may have had a little less basil than called for. Next time will double for sure.

My go to vegan pesto recipe-love it every time!

This was a great, simple recipe. My boyfriend is allergic to dairy, and I was sort of sad about having to not use cheese– but honestly, this may have been one of the best pestos I’ve ever made. I also let it blend till totally creamy smooth and it was AMAZINGLY delicate, with a unique acidity that I typically don’t get in pesto. Adding some roasted-till-browned cauliflower to your pasta also helps balance the dish, giving it a hint of sweetness. This is definitely in my regular recipe rotation now!

Just made this for the first time….amazing! I used pine nuts and Nooch (4 TBSP was just right for the cheesy-ness) and added extra sea salt and an extra clove of garlic. Can’t wait to use it on my vegan pizza tonight. Thank you for a great recipe!!

Wow! Are you kidding me? This pesto is fabulous. Full of flavor and super simple. I added half the lemon juice and used water instead of oil. Can’t wait to use as a sauce on my butternut squash pizza (if I don’t eat it all first). Thank you!

Dana, you never disappoint. Used part walnuts, part sunflower seeds, extra garlic and added a fresh jalapeño-we love spicy! Licked the spatula🥰
Happy Thanksgiving!

My absolute favorite pesto recipe (and I have been making pesto for 26 years). Best enjoyed immediately.

Made this recipe and it’s really simple, easy to make and yummyyy. Thanks so much for making this and sharing it.

Thanks so much for this! I used it as a kind of guide and then kinda changed it slightly. I wanted to use basil AND corriander AND parsely haha, so I used a whole packet each of all three, half a squeezed lemon, three tablespoons of rapeseed oil, half teaspon of pink himaylain salt, large tbp of lazy (brand name) chopped garlic in vinegar, whole packet of pinenuts (about 100g) and 5 heaped tbsp of nutrional yeast, and as much water as it needed to my preffered texture. (Nice and thick!) So basically same as yours, just more of it all! Haha. It sits in a nice little pot in the fridge and lasts me about a week.

I really love it, thanks so much! Ive been doing quite a few of your recipes. I found you via a link from this site https://runningonrealfood.com/27-easy-vegan-desserts-6-ingredients-less/

as Im very new to making and baking (about a month) and I love it! Ive bookmarked your website and so many others LOL, and will eventually get through them all! Such fun!

This is delicious -thanks! I have also tried making it with sundried tomatoes instead of basil and I think it was even better. I shall never buy a jar of processed pesto again ☺

I’m not vegan and I prefer this pesto to most others! I add extra lemon juice to keep it bright and I blanched and cooled my basil so it wouldn’t brown in the fridge

Made this pesto for a party, followed the basics of this recipe and added my own flaire. Halfway through the party I went over to try some and people were like “have you tried this pesto?!” I was like “I made it” they were like “woahhh.. we’ve been raving about it for the past 30 minutes, wondering who brought this magic…” Needess to say, they loved it.

Seriously YUMMM!!!
This is so good. I slightly increased the walnuts and olive oil, decreased the water, otherwise did it as written. I’m thrilled — I love pesto and figured a vegan version could never measure up. It totally did! It was perfect. Thank you, Dana!

Love this recipe! We used it for a base on a caprese pizza with vegan mozzarella! It was divine!! My grandson grew the basil and we whipped this pesto up quickly and easily. Thanks for the memories I made with him!!

Amazing and simple!

This was easy to make & oh so flavourful! Didn’t miss the cheese at all!

This pesto is amazing!!! It was so easy to make. In fact, I have a really crappy blender so I added the oil and water in advance (only 2 tbsp each) to get everything to mix so it was a one step process. I also used half spinach because I couldn’t get 2c packed off my plants. Still tasted great! Another really easy mom hack is freezing pureed garlic in batches and then just using a chunk instead of peeling garlic for recipes individually. Saved even more prep work.

I was nervous about using nooch but this a wonderfully bright and fresh pesto. Brava!

This was so easy. Excellent flavor. We used it on zucchini noodles and had garlic toast on the side. Wonderful! I can see many uses for this pesto. Thank you so much for sharing.

I love your website and all your recipes, but this is my favorite. I make it ALL the time with basil from my garden. How do more people not know about nutritional yeast? It makes my whole pantry smell so lovely! I have tried this with walnuts and sunflower seeds, and it is the bomb!

This recipe turned out to be awesome. I customized it by adding chilies to make it spicy 😀. Thank you so much all your recipes are very flavorful.

This is a great recipe. I used several kinds of basil from my garden, almonds, and added a couple TBS of Parmesan to the nutritional yeast for richness. I’m having some now spread on sourdough bread with kale soup. I’m looking forward to freezing the pesto to enjoy this winter!

So happy to find this yummy pesto!! Using nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt in place of parmesan cheese made my usual recipe dairy-free.

my new favourite pesto!! wow…this recipe packs tons of flavour! amazing.

This is absolutely great. I used a mixture of pine nuts (so expensive) pumpkin seeds and almonds For the “nut” part. Forgive me I did not measure any of the ingredients out carefully but added by eye!! Thank you so much for the recipe It is so tasty and easy to make.

The tastiest sauce in my life. Used it as a dressing to pasta. SO GOOD!!

This was a quick and easy recipe to follow.
I used pecans instead of pine nuts. The peach skin will make your pesto darker in color. So if you want a vibrant green pesto sauce try sticking with the pine nuts or maybe pumpkin seeds instead.
Thank you!

This is great. Easy to make. Delicious. Thank you!!!

Mmm, delicious! Very flavorful with just the right amount of everything- even better on homemade pasta. We subbed half of the basil for spinach and added crumbled feta for serving. The best pesto we’ve had in a long time! Making it again in a few days.

So so so yummy and it’s vegan ❤️
This recipe is so simple, I did use walnuts instead of pine nuts just because pine nuts are soooo expensive. I didn’t roast the walnuts and there was no weird taste. The nutritional yeast adds creaminess and a great taste, plus it’s Vitamin B12 💕 Highly recommend. I also doubled the garlic cause garlic is life.

Soooooooo delicious. I’ve made this a few times now and love it. I will never buy store bought pesto again.

Loved this recipe! I made it for my family and even my 4 and 2 year old boys loved it on their spaghetti! I had to add the liquid (water and oil) pretty quickly because of the size of my blender (it was too large to pour slowly) and it still turned out beautifully. Thanks for the inspiration!

OMG. This was so good! I made this last night for some pizza. I was nervous about the taste because I forgot to buy lemons, but it was sooo good. It honestly didn’t even need the lemon (although next time I’ll give it a try with). I don’t have the strongest blender, so next time I would grind up my pine nuts With my mortar and pestle, but this was so easy to make. Will definitely be doing this one again.

YUMO!!!! Super tasty and super healthy. Living in Australia my herb garden in winter has an abundance of parsley so I substitute the basil and in summer I use my basil. Love recipes that are seasonal and this works perfectly. Love, love, love this recipe. Thank you xx

I was sceptical. I’ve made recipes before, that I’ve found online on other sites, that have turned out less than expected. I just made it a few minutes ago and I’m blown away. Not only is it the best pesto I’ve ever made but it’s the best pesto I’ve ever tasted. I made it with sunflower seeds and some basil I grew in my container garden. Thanks!

I swear this turned out even more delicious than the non-vegan pesto I made last year. Instead of fresh garlic I used fermented garlic, turned out beautifully. Going to serve it with some potatoes tonight for a potato salad. Thanks for the great recipe!

This is my go-to base pesto recipe! Quick & simple clean ingredients. It always comes out great. I’ll sometimes swap the nuts for walnut or even pumpkin seeds. If I want spice, I’ll add in some red pepper flake. Great recipe!

Oh my! I know I shouldn’t, but I could eat this by the spoonful! Knocks traditional pesto to the ground! Be sure to follow the steps and blend all the ingredients without the oil and water beforehand, otherwise (as I’ve found out) you will be unable to blend into a smooth sauce.

This was really good! Thanks! Xx

Love this pesto! We don’t eat a strict vegan diet but love to have it without dairy and it tastes amazing. So easy to make and makes me happy after picking the basil from my garden!

Love this recipe! Made it with walnuts and without oil. It was perfect!

Easily the best pesto I’ve ever tasted. It’s the only vegan pesto I’ve ever tried and I’m not willing to try others. I come back to this recipe time and time again because it is supremely delicious.

I followed the recipe exactly ( except my
Garlic cloves were huge so I only used two). It was delicious!! I served it over pasta tossed with veggie sausage, broccoli rabe, and sundries tomatoes. Then I roped with some toasted pine nuts. Mmmm mmm.

Great recipe! Served this pesto as a dip at a cocktail party – everyone raved about it & could not believe it was dairy-free. I tweaked it slightly by leaving out the raw garlic and the water; used walnuts instead of pine nuts; and added a very generous bunch of parsley to the mix…scrumptious! I’ll be returning to this recipe again – many thanks!!

This pesto is divine. I used freshly cut basil and squeezed real lemons rather than store bought lemon juice. Loved the freshness that the real lemon brought to it. Hands down my favorite pesto. I have been vegan for 3 1/2 years now and almost exclusively cook from your recipes several times a week over this time. Always reliable, easy, delicious food and a huge variety. Sorry for never telling you how great you are and how much your work is appreciated! I bet there are many other silent devour-ers of your site like me. Please keep them coming!

PS. For those of you new to the site, check out the BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches and Southwest Tofu Scramble. There are not words. Just do it. Now. Really, now.

We have plenty of basil in the garden, so I decided to make this today. It is a super delicious pesto. We have allergies in our family, so I looked for a dairy free recipe. I am so happy I found this one. I have made pesto in the past, without adding the parmesan, and it was ok. This one is amazing. The only change I made was that I toasted the pine nuts before adding to the processor. And I used 1/8 cup olive oil and no water.
Thanks for the great recipe. Will be making this often!

Awesome and fast pesto! I used the food processor and subbed sunflower seeds in for pine nuts. Delicious with pasta, chicken and veggies 😊
Thanks MB! 🙌🏼

I love pesto but hadn’t made it since I thought it would be a time consuming effort. This recipe was fast and delicious – picked fresh basil from my garden and the results are just delicious. Will be making more and freezing it!!! Many thanks for the great recipe!

Ok. Had to fess up….I used this to make a creamy pesto sauce. Back in the day (30 years ago) I used to make chicken in a creamy pesto sauce. I haven’t found (until now) a pesto that would work in a vegan version. It was absolutely perfect!!!! Thank you for this recipe!!!

Once again….you hit it out of the park with this one!!!!! This is fast, easy and out of this world!!!!

We have missed pesto since going plant based three years ago. This recipe is a hit for our family and so easy to make. We make it without salt and oil and it’s great. Thank you!🌱❤️

Had a bumper crop of basil and decided to try this. Made it with walnuts instead of pine nuts. It was delicious and my son (picky non-vegan 22 yo) thought so too! We loved the bite of the raw garlic and did not find it to be too noochy. (My nooch was a bit old and probably milder, and I used 3Tbsp.) Lots of flavour for just a few ingredients and a tiny amount of effort. Thx!

I just made this for dinner. I gave it a four out of five stars since I preferred this to the store brand. The only reason I gave it four and not five stars is that although I doubled the recipe, I feel like it didn’t make as much as I expected. But note, the pesto does go a long way!
My husband, although he liked the fresh ingredients, gave it three out of five stars. I think because it wasn’t what he expected. I did add sun-dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives. I did not have lemon or lime juice, so I substituted orange juice, which I read is the next best thing. I could not taste it. I also used veggie rotini. Delicious!

I think the texture of this turned out perfectly, but a bit too much nutritional yeast for my liking! If you are not used to the nooch flavour, I would add significantly less

I didn’t love this, it was way too garlicky for my tastes, and for my kids! It’s also the first pesto I’ve made with an oil and water mix, which I thought gave it an odd consistency. I’d definitely make it again but with just one garlic clove, and no water and more oil :-)

As a non-dairy gal it is super tricky to get my traditional cheese loving parents to admit anything other than the real deal is even edible. This pesto blew us all away! I followed your recipe exactly and used pine nuts and it was creamy, bright, and so so freaking good. Thank you so much for helping me convert the old sticklers!

Delicious and very easy! It turned out a bit liquid for my taste so I added a few pieces of avocado and it was a delicious & creamy addition!

I made the recipe as an attempt to please my mom, who had to go on a dairy-free diet and was completely skeptical of “that thing called ‘nutritional yeast’.” Well, we can honestly say the vegan version almost beats the traditional pesto. Bear in mind that if you want a stronger flavor, pour just a little bit of water into the mix and don’t save on olive oil.

I was nervous to make this recipe without oil, but it turned out just as good! (I’m avoiding oil for 10 days while I’m on a cleanse.) I added two cups of fresh Spinach, since I had it; and it’s quite common to make it that way in Peruvian cuisine, which is what I grew up with. I served it with spiraled sweet potato noodles. Mmmmmm! Such a great combo!

So yummy, we loved this!!! I made a few modifications due to a lack of pine and walnuts, so I used cashews instead. I also added parsley. Used with gluten free spaghetti. Highly recommend and would make again.

I like this recipe a lot. It is the first time I made pesto. It turned out great! I had to improvise a little, using cashews for the nuts and avocado oil instead of olive oil. I will try to make it with walnuts and olive oil next time I have those on hand!

Yet another amazing vegan version of a traditional dish. I made this over spaghetti with chopped tomatoes and fried shiitake mushrooms. Lovely!

It’s soooo good! Just made it and I’m impressed with this beautiful flavor!

I really wanted pesto for dinner but only had parsley and walnuts so modified this recipe a little. It was really delicious and I will add it to my regular repertoire.

I made this today and it’s delicious! I added a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar and turned it into a dressing for a salad of roasted pumpkin, spinach, walnuts, and fetta. The taste was perfect. Thank you for the recipe!

First time making pesto and oh my gosh- it turned out amazing! Subbed for walnuts and the flavor was unreal. I really think the nutritional yeast really took the flavor profile up a notch. I was literally licking the bowl. We served it over protein pasta but will try with our soybean and lentil pastas next. Thanks for always having wonderful vegan recipes, Dana! I love them!

Excellent! I made 10 servings in my Vitamix in under an hour and froze it in small containers. Now all I have to do for dinners is cook the pasta! Btw, the bulk of that hour was spent removing the basil leaves from the stems. The actual recipe preparation took no more than 8 minutes.

Delicious! I made some modifications to accommodate what we had on hand. Spinach + cilantro in place of basil, Extra garlic and half the lemon. I look forward to making it with basil when I get some. I’ve made so many of your recipes and love them all! Thank you

I normally absolutely love all of Minalmist Baker’s recipes but this one is a no for me. I followed her recipe to a T and it simply didn’t taste right and I’m a HUGE pesto lover.

So easy and delicious! I followed the recipe precise and it had exactly enough garlic and lemon juice! 3tbs of olive oil and 3tbs of water were more than enough as the pesto was quite liquidy that way. Delicious over my lasagna and on my ciabatta!

Best diy pesto! Easy to make and great for pasta, pizza, or to use as a condiment.

Ugh, this is a staple. I always eat spoonfuls out the fridge! Delicious as is.

Nice and easy however 3 cloves of garlic was way too much, it killed the rest of flavours, I can still taste it the next morning. I’d add it to taste or roast before adding. Also I’ll try roasting pine nuts next time.

Easy and delicious. I like how you can just blend it all together before adding the oil. I don’t like to get the processor out because I’m lazy, but it was definitely worth it.

I made this with plans to save it for some pasta tonight, but it was so good I ate almost all of it with a spoon!

Was very delicious, but a little too tangy. I’ll just use less lemon juice next time, as everything else was perfect :)

FABULOUS! My measurements were a little different because I needed to use up my fresh basil. I probably had about 3 cups fresh basil a rounded 1/4 cup of each pine nuts and nutritional yeast, juice of 1 lemon, 4 cloves garlic since this was more than the recipe and rounded portions of everything else to hopefully adjust so it was close to the original flavor profile. I subbed water for the oil with red flags raiding in my mind that no way could this be as delicious as regular homemade pesto with freshly grated cheese and olive oil. Despite my preconceived notions, I found it flavorful and fabulous! No one would EVER know it was vegan or oil free. So glad I tried it and thank you for such an amazing and healthy recipe!!!!!

I made this with all spinach and love the flavor. While not vegan, I am dairy and soy free. I had not tried pesto before making this so I can’t compare it to that made with parm. I make it in a wide mouth quart jar and my immersion blender. No extra dishes to wash, just screw on a lid and put in the fridge. I love it on toast in the morning too.

Soooo good!! I added sundried tomatoes, and skipped the lemon as I never used to use it when making classic non-vegan pesto. I can’t really explain how happy it makes me that pesto can still be on a vegan’s menu!! ?

This recipe is easy, fast and absolutely delicious. I added extra lemon because I didn’t think it was worth saving the extra from a whole lemon. I ate it over zucchini noodles. I love that it can be frozen!

I just made this pesto and I‘m amazed how insanely delicious it turned out! I used walnuts, omitted the oil and used 5 tbsp of water instead. Never would I have imagined this could taste this great without any oil. Thanks a lot for the recipe MB – 5 stars!!

I have made this multiple times and love it! Sometimes I do no oil and all water, other times I add a couple TBSP of EVOO. I use pumpkin seeds instead of pine nuts. I did try sunflower seeds but I think the pumpkin seeds give it the flavor I’m looking for. Thank you for such a wonderful quick recipe! It’s a hit with everyone who has tasted it!

I wanted to make an awesome and impressive vegan dish for my carnivorous friends. They had superb compliments although I left out the oil. I would certainly make my oil free version of this vegan pesto again and again.

It’s okay, I personally found it much too tart for my taste and couldn’t get the fatty mouthfeel that pesto usually has. I followed the recipe at first, then added extra salt, oil, and nutritional yeast. It’s still meh for me. I don’t think I’ll make it again but if I did I would roast the garlic, and use toasted salted nuts.

Simple and super easy. I made the pesto tonight with cashew nuts instead because that’s what I had in the pantry. It was so delicious with my red and white quinoa macaroni. My husband and I really enjoyed it. I will definitely make it again. Thank you so much for such a great recipe!

This literally takes only 5 minutes to make!

I used 3 Tbsp of nutritional yeast.
I used 3 Tbsp of EVOO.
I didn’t use any water.

I served this pesto over 1 pound of Banza bow tie pasta and added fresh san marzano tomatoes.

It was very, very good.

I just wish I made more pesto or didn’t use a whole box of pasta when mixing it together.

Excellent recipe. I used one large clove of garlic and a little more lemon juice and it was nice and zesty. Love. Love. Love. Thank you!

Hi! Can I sub pecans in place of pine nuts? Also, I am allergic to garlic, what can I use in place of it? Onion possibly or onion powder even? Also, what happens if I add more olive oil instead of water?Thank you, your recipes are a life saver for someone like me with TONS of food allergies and intolerance. I’ ve found that your recipes are straight forward, healthy and easy to adjust if needed.

This was so good! Tossed it with pasta and steamed broccoli for dinner. Will definitely make again.

Just made this for dinner tonight, soooo good and so easy! Will be making this often!

Thank you very much for this recipe, it was quick, it was delicious (made it with walnuts) and I´ll definately do it again! :)

This was quick and easy and very delicious. I put it on Modern Table Elbows, pasta made with lentils, rice, and peas. For the pesto, I only needed to add 1 Tbsp of olive oil and 1 Tbsp of water. I used the pine nuts. Yummy recipe!

I made this and it was really yummy! I used fresh basil from my garden and only made a few changes. I only added a splash of lemon juice since I’m not a huge fan of too much lemon. Then I used only olive oil vs olive oil and water. I just slowly added it till it got to the consistency I liked. I haven’t made pesto since I went dairy free so I was really missing it and was worried about not being able to add parmesan like I was used to. This was still super good without the parmesan and I’ll be making it again for sure. :D

Followed the recipe to a t and it came out delicious!!!!

Followed this recipe, substituting the pine nuts for cashews with sea salt because that’s what I had on hand. My dairy-allergic son absolutely loves pesto, but the vegan variety that we usually get at the grocery store has been out of stock, so we tried this instead. Absolutely delicious! Thank you for an easy and excellent recipe!

Sauce came out better than I expected. Added this to some vegan tortellini from kite hill and it was absolutely delicious. I did substitute half of the nutritional yeast for vio-life Parmesan and added pasta water instead of regular water. Also, roasted garlic instead of raw and added fresh pepper. Overall, this is a keeper!