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This easy vegan pesto is just as good as a classic basil pesto…without the cheese! It adds big flavor to sandwiches, pizza, pasta, and more.
Have you been growing basil this summer? It’s our #1 favorite herb to grow and use in the summer, and we use it in everything from caprese salads to pasta to popsicles. Are you looking for a plant-based version of this popular sauce? Vegan pesto can be just as good as the traditional version with Parmesan cheese. This recipe tastes very similar to typical basil pesto! Spread on toast with some end of summer tomatoes, it’s delightful. Here’s how to make it!
Vegan pesto ingredients
How do you make pesto with no Parmesan cheese? Here are all our secrets. The beauty of homemade pesto is that it requires few ingredients to create an explosion of flavor. The fresh basil is key here — if possible, get your basil from a farmers market. It’ll taste even better than what you find at the store! Here are all the ingredients you’ll need:
- Fresh basil
- Nuts: pinenuts, cashews, or walnuts
- Garlic
- Miso paste
- Olive oil
- Salt
You’ll see light miso (white miso) is used to achieve a complexity of flavor in this vegan pesto that mimics the Parmesan quite nicely! Here’s a little more about our secret ingredient..
The secret ingredient: miso!
Miso is a Japanese ingredient, not Italian! It’s a fermented soybean paste that’s full of nutrients and savory flavor. Ever had a miso soup? It’s tangy, savory, salty, and super complex. If you eat a vegan diet, you’ve probably cooked with it before because it easily mimics a meaty or cheesy flavor. It’s full of umami, the so-called fifth flavor that is the definition of savory.
Where to find miso? You can find miso at most major grocery stores near the other Japanese ingredients. There are many different types of miso, all with different flavors: red, yellow, and brown. This vegan pesto recipe uses light miso, so make sure to look for that when shopping. Want more with miso? Try these 10 Easy Miso Recipes.
How to make vegan pesto
Pesto is one of the easiest sauces you can make. All you have to do is measure out the ingredients and blend it all together in a food processor or blender. Here’s how to make this vegan pesto:
- In a dry skillet, toast the nuts for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
- Add the nuts, miso, garlic, fresh basil, and lemon juice to a food processor. Turn it on and add the olive oil in a steady stream. OR, you could also do the same process in a mortar and pestle or molcajete! (See this post for more about molcajetes!)
Nuts to use in a basil pesto
You can use a variety of different nuts in this vegan pesto recipe! We like using cashews or walnuts because they’re much cheaper than pine nuts. However, you can use any neutral nut you want in this recipe. Pecans would likely work, as would almonds. Steer clear of peanuts though, as they’re too strong in flavor.
How to freeze pesto
You can extend the life of this vegan pesto by freezing it! Here’s what to do:
- Pour the vegan pesto into separate cubes of an ice cube tray.
- Freeze for a few hours until solid. Then remove the cubes and place them in a freezer safe sealed container.
- To defrost the pesto, place a frozen cube in a container and allow to come to room temperature on the counter or in the refrigerator.
Favorite recipes with pesto
Each year we make huge batches of pesto to use the last of our basil plants. It’s a perfect way to preserve the taste of summer for the cooler months ahead. Pesto uses are endless! Here are some of our favorite ideas for recipes that use pesto:
- Pizza! Try our Pesto Pizza or Italian Pizza with vegan cheese, or our Vegan Pizza.
- Sandwiches. This Grilled Eggplant & Tomato Sandwich was inspired by our trip to Italy! It pairs pesto and olive tapenade for a salty, savory mix (omit the cheese for a vegan sandwich).
- Pasta. Try this tasty Vegan Pesto Pasta: it’s irresistable!
- Quinoa. Another one of our top pesto uses is our Pesto Quinoa Recipe; swirling pesto into quinoa makes it immediately flavorful!
- Burgers: These Pesto Portabello Burgers star grilled mushrooms that are topped with pesto and tomato on a toasted ciabatta roll. For vegan, omit the provalone and generously slather that vegan pesto!
- Dips: This Pesto White Bean Dip can be made vegan using vegan pesto! Adding pesto makes it ultra flavorful.
- Gnocchi: Boil up a pot of vegan gnocchi (like this brand) and cover them in vegan pesto. Dinner in a flash!
This vegan pesto recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Print
Classic Vegan Pesto
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: ¾ cup 1x
Description
This easy vegan pesto is just as good as a classic basil pesto…without the cheese! It adds big flavor to sandwiches, pizza, pasta, and more.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted pine nuts, cashews, or walnuts*
- 1 tablespoon light miso paste
- 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 cups loosely packed fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup olive oil
Instructions
- In a small dry skillet, toast the nuts over medium high heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the nuts to a bowl and allow them to cool slightly. (This step is optional, but brings out a more robust flavor in the nuts.)
- In food processor**, combine all ingredients except the olive oil. Turn on the food processor and gradually pour in the olive oil. Stores for about 1 week in the refrigerator and several months frozen.
Notes
*Pine nuts are traditional, but can be expensive. We’ve tested both cashews and walnuts and they have great flavor. Since we often have these stocked in our pantry, we use these variations more often than pine nuts.
**You also can do the same method using a mortar and pestle, adding the basil leaves gradually and crushing them against the sides of the mortar.
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Mixed
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: vegan pesto
Last updated: February 2020
My basil did not survive in my garden this year, but I did make and freeze a bunch of pesto from the kale I’m growing. I never thought to add nutritional yeast. I’ll have to try it- I too keep it on hand to eat over popcorn.
Yummy pesto!!!
Just an FYI : it calls for 3 cloves of garlic in the “what you need” section, while stating 4 cloves in the “what to do” details. As a bonafide garlic lover, I’m sure either would be great, but perhaps you’d like to clarify for those folks that like to follow recipes to a “T.” Thanks, as always, for a beautiful and tasty recipe (I used 4 medium-sized cloves and it was lovely, btw!)!
Proofreader fail :) Thanks for watching my back! Glad you enjoyed it!
I did this with 2 big cloves of garlic. perfect. also I missed out the balsamic vinegar because I didn’t have any but will add next time to see the difference. Its very yummy.
can you freeze pesto?
I have so much fresh basil in the garden…. many thanks
I make this again and again…as it is my ‘go-to’ recipe when I crave classic ‘Genovese’ basil pesto…about as good as it gets. I love the hint of balsamic as it gives it that necessary ‘pop’
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed this and that it made it as a “go to” recipe! Thanks for letting us know :)
Very delicious.I used pine.nuts and lemon instead of vinegar and walnuts.
★★★★★
So easy, so delicious – I added a 1/4 tsp of Indian black salt (Kala Namak), which adds a cheesy (still vegan) pungency.
★★★★★
You note: Steer clear of peanuts and cashews though, as they’re too strong in flavor. Cashews are used throughout your recipe and even featured on the baking sheet. It seems a contradictory statement. Did you mean almonds?
You’re right, that was a typo! We’ve updated to just call out peanuts as being too strong in flavor for a pesto. Thank you!