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Creamy Vegan Basil Pesto

September 7, 2015 35 Comments Condiments, Gluten Free, Vegan

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Creamy Vegan Basil Pesto - Pesto is the perfect way to use up the rest of your summer basil crop before it is too late!  This pesto goes perfectly with pasta, pizza, sandwiches and much more!

Early September is a strange time of year.  My mind thinks that I should now be sipping hot tea and breaking out the winter clothes, but my body can’t stop guzzling ice water and is still getting sunburned whenever I leave the house without sunblock.  I can definitely tell there is a change in the air, but it hasn’t quite descended upon Tucson yet.

While I really want to be out picking apples and eating pumpkin pie by the truckload, I still have all this basil to use up!  But, I think pesto is a great end of summer recipe because most people with basil plants are probably (hopefully) in the same predicament: they have a ton of basil and not enough time to eat all of it before it gets too cold for the plant to survive.

Creamy Vegan Basil Pesto Steps

If you are feeling that way right now, pesto is the answer!  Really, I can’t think of many times when pesto isn’t the answer 🙂  While I don’t follow a strict non-dairy diet, I do like to limit my dairy in-take and I love using nutritional yeast whenever I can.  I would love to say that I experimented with this recipe over and over again and finally figured out that it was the most delicious when I combined the nuttiness of pine nuts and the creaminess of macadamia nuts, I really just happened to have both of them in my pantry and thought it would be a great idea to throw them both in.

And, sometimes in cooking you get lucky and the nuttiness of the pine nuts and creaminess of the macadamia nuts come together and make the most delicious Creamy Vegan Basil Pesto!

Print

Creamy Vegan Basil Pesto


★★★★★ 5 from 6 reviews
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Total Time: 5 mins
  • Yield: 2 cups 1x
  • Category: Sauce, Gluten Free, Vegan
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Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/3 cup chopped macadamia nuts
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 6 cups packed basil leaves
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients except for the basil, lemon juice and olive oil to the food processor and give a quick whir, about 10 seconds. Next add the basil leaves and lemon juice. Turn the food processor on and slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Blend for 20-30 seconds until everything is combined.

Notes

Recipe makes approximately 2 cups of pesto. Pesto will keep in the fridge for about 5-7 days. This pesto sauce goes well with pasta, pizza, sandwiches, and much more!

 

Creamy Vegan Basil Pesto - Pesto is the perfect way to use up the rest of your summer basil crop before it is too late!  This pesto goes perfectly with pasta, pizza, sandwiches and much more!

Creamy Vegan Basil Pesto-4873

Creamy Vegan Basil Pesto - Pesto is the perfect way to use up the rest of your summer basil crop before it is too late!  This pesto goes perfectly with pasta, pizza, sandwiches and much more!

35 Comments

« 30-Minute Summer Vegetable Tostadas
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Comments

  1. Danielle says

    September 7, 2015 at 12:01 pm

    Early September is a weird time of year here too. You want to start breaking out the Fall stuff, but it’s still like 95 degrees! I’m loving this pesto and that you used macadamia nuts. I’ve never tried them in pesto before, but it sounds delicious!

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      September 14, 2015 at 11:18 pm

      I hope it isn’t too humid in Arkansas still! They are so good in pesto, you should give them a try 🙂

      Reply
  2. Medha @ Whisk & Shout says

    September 7, 2015 at 2:53 pm

    This looks delicious! A vegan pesto recipe is a staple 🙂 Pinning!

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      September 14, 2015 at 11:17 pm

      I agree, Medha 🙂

      Reply
  3. Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says

    September 7, 2015 at 3:47 pm

    I was so excited for fall, but it is currently 95 degrees outside. Insane! And I still have so much basil left in my garden. This will be a great way to use it all up!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      September 14, 2015 at 11:14 pm

      the heat just needs to go away!! You definitely need to get to the pesto making 🙂

      Reply
  4. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says

    September 8, 2015 at 3:49 am

    Mmm basil pesto is one of my favorites! I could eat it by the spoonful, it’s just too good. Love this vegan version, Izzy!

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      September 14, 2015 at 11:14 pm

      Me too, Gayle! I put it on so many things and now I think I need to make more 🙂

      Reply
  5. Traci | Vanilla And Bean says

    September 8, 2015 at 4:32 am

    Ha! Yessss! This weekend I was in the same predicament. Our CSA had so much basil, they were giving away. So, you know, my eyes are bigger than my overstuffed freezer. I brought home a huge bag of it and proceeded to make pesto and chimichurri until I ran out of basil. I have a feeling there’ll be more basil this week. So I’m ready! Olive oil was on sale and nuts are stocked… including macadamia nuts (which I’ve not tried in pesto – thank you Izzy!!). Looking forward to giving this a go! Stay cool my dear!

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      September 14, 2015 at 11:13 pm

      Oh wow, lucky you! A basil chimichurri sounds amazing too! I almost bought a bunch of olive oil that was on sale too, haha! and now I’m thinking I need to go back and get it! The weather is finally cooling down a bit here so I’m very happy about that! I hope you are getting some cool weather too, Traci 🙂

      Reply
  6. Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven says

    September 8, 2015 at 5:13 am

    You are SO right. When isn’t pesto the answer to all things?? It’s right up there with my favorite summer thing on the planet, and I’m definitely not above eating it year-round either! Love that this winner is vegan too!

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      September 14, 2015 at 11:10 pm

      Haha, it really is! I think it is great for all year round consumption 🙂

      Reply
  7. Annie @Maebells says

    September 8, 2015 at 6:25 pm

    I totally know what you mean, our heat index is over 100! I am over it! Fall please hurry!!! 🙂

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      September 14, 2015 at 11:09 pm

      Yuck! And I bet it is humid there too, I hope fall comes soon 🙂

      Reply
  8. Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says

    September 9, 2015 at 4:01 am

    The colour of that pesto is incredible. I am obsessed with pesto at the moment and I would put it on almost anything if I could!

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      September 14, 2015 at 11:09 pm

      Thanks Dannii! I like to put it on everything too 🙂

      Reply
  9. nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps says

    September 9, 2015 at 6:53 am

    That color! Beautiful!

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      September 14, 2015 at 11:08 pm

      Thanks Nicole!

      Reply
  10. Katie @ Whole Nourishment says

    September 24, 2015 at 6:24 am

    Saw this while I was on vacation and loved your use of macadamia nuts. Sharing a pesto “formula” in my next cooking workshop and definitely going to list macadamia nuts now an a option for nut replacements. 🙂 Hope it’s cooled down a little there now!!

    Reply
  11. Brenda says

    January 18, 2016 at 1:09 am

    This is absolutely delicious. I’ve never ever done homemade basil pesto and as I’m commenting my boyfriend is helping me chop the macadamia nuts. Having this for the second time this month. I put mine in a chicken penne pasta and in sandwiches and I used it to bake chicken breast with the pesto. It’s so easy to make and so tasty! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      January 19, 2016 at 10:25 pm

      Thank you so much, Brenda! I’m so glad you liked it! I love always having pesto on hand because it goes so well on so many different things!

      Reply
  12. GreenTony says

    February 27, 2016 at 6:43 pm

    Hello everyone this is my vegan pesto basil 🙂
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5asi0QaFD1E

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  13. Jessica Tiongson says

    July 9, 2016 at 7:11 pm

    Favorite Vegan Pesto! Absolutely delcisious!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      July 9, 2016 at 7:22 pm

      Thank you so much, Jessica! So glad you liked it 🙂

      Reply
  14. Katie-ann says

    September 15, 2016 at 5:25 pm

    Your photography is BEEEEEEAUTIFUL! Looks yummy.

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      September 19, 2016 at 9:31 am

      Thank you so much!! 🙂

      Reply
  15. Susan Bellwood says

    August 11, 2018 at 8:44 pm

    This is the best pesto yet. I used ground almonds, I didn’t have Macadamia or Pine Nuts and I didn’t have quite enough basil so I topped it off with my mint and parsley. The lemon juice gave it a bit of oomph!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      August 11, 2018 at 11:55 pm

      Thank you so much, Susan! One thing I love about this recipe is that it is so adaptable so you can basically use whatever you have on hand! 🙂

      Reply
  16. Larry says

    July 19, 2019 at 10:20 pm

    Since going vegan I have had a hard time finding a pesto recipe I enjoy. This recipe is a winner. I did roast the nuts first. When I finished my meal I wanted more!!!

    Thank you

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      July 25, 2019 at 3:56 pm

      Awesome!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  17. Ann says

    March 10, 2020 at 11:51 pm

    Thanks for sharing your recipe! Homemade pesto is much better than store bought and it is so easy to make!

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      April 27, 2020 at 4:42 pm

      So glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  18. Cynthia Maddox says

    September 15, 2020 at 1:09 am

    I just made this for your pesto quesadilla recipe and it was AMAZING! Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • She Likes Food says

      September 15, 2020 at 4:58 pm

      Awesome!! So glad you liked it!

      Reply

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