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.
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!
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Creamy Vegan Basil Pesto
Prep Time: 5 mins- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Sauce, Gluten Free, Vegan
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Pin RecipeIngredients
- 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
- 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!
Danielle says
September 7, 2015 at 12:01 pmEarly 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!
She Likes Food says
September 14, 2015 at 11:18 pmI hope it isn’t too humid in Arkansas still! They are so good in pesto, you should give them a try 🙂
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
September 7, 2015 at 2:53 pmThis looks delicious! A vegan pesto recipe is a staple 🙂 Pinning!
She Likes Food says
September 14, 2015 at 11:17 pmI agree, Medha 🙂
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
September 7, 2015 at 3:47 pmI 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!
★★★★★
She Likes Food says
September 14, 2015 at 11:14 pmthe heat just needs to go away!! You definitely need to get to the pesto making 🙂
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
September 8, 2015 at 3:49 amMmm basil pesto is one of my favorites! I could eat it by the spoonful, it’s just too good. Love this vegan version, Izzy!
She Likes Food says
September 14, 2015 at 11:14 pmMe too, Gayle! I put it on so many things and now I think I need to make more 🙂
Traci | Vanilla And Bean says
September 8, 2015 at 4:32 amHa! 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!
She Likes Food says
September 14, 2015 at 11:13 pmOh 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 🙂
Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven says
September 8, 2015 at 5:13 amYou 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!
She Likes Food says
September 14, 2015 at 11:10 pmHaha, it really is! I think it is great for all year round consumption 🙂
Annie @Maebells says
September 8, 2015 at 6:25 pmI totally know what you mean, our heat index is over 100! I am over it! Fall please hurry!!! 🙂
She Likes Food says
September 14, 2015 at 11:09 pmYuck! And I bet it is humid there too, I hope fall comes soon 🙂
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
September 9, 2015 at 4:01 amThe 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!
She Likes Food says
September 14, 2015 at 11:09 pmThanks Dannii! I like to put it on everything too 🙂
nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps says
September 9, 2015 at 6:53 amThat color! Beautiful!
She Likes Food says
September 14, 2015 at 11:08 pmThanks Nicole!
Katie @ Whole Nourishment says
September 24, 2015 at 6:24 amSaw 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!!
Brenda says
January 18, 2016 at 1:09 amThis 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!!!
She Likes Food says
January 19, 2016 at 10:25 pmThank 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!
GreenTony says
February 27, 2016 at 6:43 pmHello everyone this is my vegan pesto basil 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5asi0QaFD1E
★★★★★
Jessica Tiongson says
July 9, 2016 at 7:11 pmFavorite Vegan Pesto! Absolutely delcisious!!
★★★★★
She Likes Food says
July 9, 2016 at 7:22 pmThank you so much, Jessica! So glad you liked it 🙂
Katie-ann says
September 15, 2016 at 5:25 pmYour photography is BEEEEEEAUTIFUL! Looks yummy.
She Likes Food says
September 19, 2016 at 9:31 amThank you so much!! 🙂
Susan Bellwood says
August 11, 2018 at 8:44 pmThis 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!
★★★★★
She Likes Food says
August 11, 2018 at 11:55 pmThank 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! 🙂
Larry says
July 19, 2019 at 10:20 pmSince 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
★★★★★
She Likes Food says
July 25, 2019 at 3:56 pmAwesome!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!