This delicious dairy free pesto is vegan and made without any cheese. Whether you're out of parmesan or accommodating food allergies, cheese-free pesto is the perfect way to enjoy this classic, flavor-packed sauce.
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My whole family loves basil pesto and I often make it cheese-free to accommodate my toddler's dairy allergy. Sometimes I simply leave the parmesan out, and sometimes I sub nutritional yeast. Both methods are delicious.
It's great for making pesto chicken pasta and pesto salmon with grilled veggies on the side. Pesto is also delicious as a salad dressing or marinade for steak, shrimp and chicken.
Another fun and unexpected use? Stir a big spoonful into roasted tomato soup and your life will be forever changed.
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Your Grocery List!
- Pine nuts: Or walnuts/cashews. Use hulled pumpkin seeds (also called pepitas) or sunflower seeds for nut free.
- Garlic cloves: 1 large or 2-3 small. Feel free to use more if you're a garlic lover! I'm certainly not going to stop you.
- Olive oil: High quality, extra virgin olive oil is best for pesto.
- Salt: Just a touch! Since we're leaving out the parmesan you can add more for extra flavor if you like.
- Fresh basil: Buy bright green basil with few to no brown leaves. Don't store it in the fridge, this can make it turn a lot faster! Instead, trim stems and put them in water for later use like you would a bouquet of flowers. 🌱🌸
- Lemon: Fresh lemon juice helps to preserve the bright green color of pesto and it adds nice flavor. Omit if desired.
- OPTIONAL: Nutritional yeast. I've made vegan pesto with and without nutritional yeast and it's delicious either way. Nutritional yeast does add some cheesy flavor, but it's not required.
How To Make Vegan Pesto
Keep scrolling for the full recipe card and measurements. We’ll start here with a quick overview!
Toast pine nuts (optional):
- Add nuts to a skillet and toast over medium heat for 5-8 minutes until golden. Keep a close eye as they can easily burn. Remove toasted nuts from the heat and let them cool fully.
- *NOTE: You can leave pine nuts raw for lighter flavor. Toasted nuts add richness which I enjoy, especially in the absence of cheese.
Grind:
- Add toasted nuts, garlic cloves and half of your olive oil to a food processor. Blitz for about 20 seconds.
Add basil:
- Add remaining olive oil, salt, lemon juice and basil to the food processor and puree again, scraping down the sides of the food processor as needed.
Enjoy!
- Mix your pesto into pasta or slather it on baked chicken or salmon. I also really like adding pesto to Caprese salad.
Stacey's Top Tips
- Avoid over-blending: Stop pureeing when everything combines, it doesn't have to be perfectly smooth! Too much pureeing can lead to gummy texture.
- Add other greens: Short on basil? Bulk pesto with some baby spinach or arugula.
- Purée in layers: Avoid throwing all ingredients into the food processor at once. Puréeing in "layers" makes a difference and results in better texture.
Recipe Variations
Nutritional yeast: You can easily make dairy free pesto by simply leaving the cheese out. But you can also substitute nutritional yeast to replicate some of that cheesy flavor. I like adding 3-4 tablespoons when I've got it on hand.
Nuts: Traditional pesto is made with pine nuts, which are pretty expensive. The good news? You can use almost any nut in pesto: swap almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts or macadamia nuts.
Nut free: To accommodate a nut allergy, make your pesto with hulled pumpkin seeds (also called pepitas) or sunflower seeds.
Herbs: Make pesto with cilantro, parsley and even mint. Greens like arugula and spinach are also great options.
Other flavors: Give pesto a kick with some red pepper flakes or cayenne! Blend in sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives or miso paste for extra umami flavor in the absence of cheese! You can also add unique flavor with infused olive oil.
Make Ahead & Storage
Refrigerate: Scoop pesto into an airtight container or jar. Smooth the top to create a flat, even layer and drizzle with olive oil. This creates a seal to help prevent oxidation and browning. Pesto will stay good in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Freeze: I love freezing my pesto! An ice cube tray is handy for making pesto cubes, which are very convenient for weeknight cooking. Freeze cubes, pop them out, and store in a plastic bag for 6+ months.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use young, tender stems! Avoid adding the big, bulky main stems.
Most pesto recipes are gluten free, including this one!
I absolutely love stirring a big spoonful of pesto into pasta or smothering it onto salmon fillets before baking. It's also really good spread on crostini toasts with tomatoes and balsamic glaze on top.
Some blanch their basil before making pesto in hopes of preserving bright green color for longer. I eat my pesto too fast (within 3 days) to run into browning issues so I don't worry about blanching. Also, I freeze leftovers if I don't get to them fast enough and that preserves color nicely.
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Dairy Free Pesto
Equipment
- 1 Food processor *or blender
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup pine nuts *toast if desired *see note below
- 1 large (or 2-3 small) whole garlic cloves *peeled
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil *divided *see note below
- 2 cups basil leaves *loosely packed *2-3 ounces
- ½ teaspoon salt *plus more to taste
- Juice from ½ small lemon *can omit if desired
Optional:
- 3-4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Recipe notes:
Pine nuts: Lightly toast pine nuts for rich, nutty flavor or leave them raw for a light and fresh pesto. Olive oil: For a smoother pesto, you can add extra olive oil! Serving ideas: Dollop pesto into roasted tomato soup for an easy flavor boost or stir into cooked pasta. Pesto also makes a great marinade for shrimp, chicken or steak!Instructions
- If you choose to toast nuts, place them in a skillet over medium heat and stir constantly for about 5 minutes until golden. They burn easily so be careful!
- Add pine nuts, whole peeled garlic cloves and half of your olive oil to a food processor. Puree 20-30 seconds.
- Next add lemon juice, salt, remaining oil and basil leaves along with any young, tender stems. Don't include stems that are large and tough.
- Puree until everything is well incorporated. The mixture doesn't have to be completely smooth. Don't over-blend or it can become gummy.
- Add nutritional yeast (optional) and pulse the food processor a couple more times to mix. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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