The Best Vegan Pesto Recipe

If you’re a recovering cheese addict, vegan, or dairy-free for some other reason and lament that you can’t douse your pasta in fresh, homemade pesto, you’re in luck. I’ve got the best vegan pesto recipe that will knock the socks off you and anyone lucky enough to taste it. The secret? Replacing that old stalwart, parmesan cheese, with cashews and nutritional yeast. Sure, they sell cashew parmesan cheese at Whole Foods but I would never ask you to buy a ridiculously expensive container of something that is a cinch to whip up at home. And if you’re in the market for a standalone vegan parmesan cheese recipe, I have the perfect recipe for you right there! I use a pared down version of that parmesan cheese recipe below.

Vegan Pesto Recipe

The easiest, faux-cheesiest pesto recipe that you'll ever need.

5 from 1 vote

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Equipment

• food processor

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup cashews pulsed in food processor
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 cups fresh basil preferably from the garden! remove stems
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 drizzle fresh lemon juice

Instructions

 

• First, add cashews, nutritional yeast, and salt to food processor (I have a 14 cup one and highly recommend a large capacity food processor — better too big than too small!) and blend until finely crushed. Then, add all the rest of the ingredients and pulse until fully combined, adding a few splashes more olive oil to achieve your desired consistency. Store in the fridge for a few days, or freeze smaller portions in ice cube trays to enjoy throughout the year!

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While I love using this vegan pesto recipe on pasta, my one true love of it is as a pizza topping. Pizza Friday is a religion around here, and pesto pizza is in heavy rotation during the summer. It’s especially delicious topped with other garden goodies. Peep my #fyvgardenpizza posts on Instagram for a little taste of my garden pizza concoctions.

You can also water the pesto down a bit and use it as a salad dressing. Or combine it with a delicious cashew cream to top a roasted veggie and grain bowl. How about you use it as a schmear on a bagel sandwich with cream cheese, tomato, and red onions? The world is your oyster, pesto lover! No longer will you be constrained by the seasonality of basil — either harvest oodles from your garden or buy it en mass from the farmers market, then make large batches of pesto to sock away in the freezer for a cold winter’s day. Future you will thank past you for your foresight! A little taste of summer while you’re hunkered down inside will be just the thing to get you through until springtime.