Make vegan Pesto at home that will beat anything you could buy at the store both in flavor richness and healthy benefits!! This recipe harnesses the rich cheesiness of the cashew nut and also uses a surprise bunch of spinach to boost your green intake and stretch the tasty goodness!
What ingredients do you need to make vegan pesto?
- Fresh Basil
- Fresh Spinach
- Cashews
- Garlic cloves
- Salt
- Nutritional Yeast Flakes
- Lemon Juice
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Tools to make Vegan Pesto:
I prefer to make this pesto in the food processor as it leaves the texture of the cashews a little rougher which contributes to the ‘parmesan-like’ texture but don’t worry, a blender will work too. Your outcome might be a bit smoother but certainly still amazing!
How do you make Vegan Pesto?
Start by measuring dry cashews into a food processor or blender.
Pulse the cashews until they are mostly powdery, but still slightly chunky. See the pic below for the ideal texture.
Next gather the rest of your ingredients: basil leaves, spinach, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, garlic cloves, nutritional yeast flakes, and salt.
Put all the ingredients into the food processor together and process until almost entirely smooth.
Look at that green perfection!!! Bet you can’t wait to taste it! Let me tell you, it’s unbelievable!! You’re non-vegan friends will have NO idea that it has NO cheese in it or that they are eating handfuls of spinach! Score!
Why add two cups of spinach to this vegan pesto?
First off, it adds a bunch of healthy raw spinach into your day! Yeay!
Second, the spinach thins out the pesto a bit, allowing it to spread more easily to coat pasta, grilled sandwiches, roasted veggies etc.! No need to add extra oil or water! Just add spinach!
Can you freeze Vegan Pesto?
You can make several recipes of pesto at once, and freeze for use within 6 months. To freeze individual servings, spoon into an ice cube tray and freeze for 12 hours before emptying ice cube tray and freezing cubes all together.
Vegan Pesto will keep for at least 10 days in a refrigerator in an airtight container.
What can Vegan Pesto be used for:
- use as pizza sauce
- mix into salad dressings
- flavor soups
- spread onto sandwiches
- toss pasta in it
- top or toss veggies in it
One of my all-time favorite ways to eat this Vegan Pesto is on pasta (of course!) with my Favorite Fresh Bruschetta on top!! Absolutely swoon-worthy!
IF YOU LIKE THIS POST YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:
- REAL Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
- Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese
- Creamy Fresh Vegan Tomato Soup
- Tofu-Ricotta Stuffed Shells
If you’ve tried this Perfect Vegan Pesto recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I LOVE hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what this blueberry farm girl is keepin’ busy doing!!!
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Perfect Vegan Pesto
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Raw Cashews (try sunflower seeds if nut-free)
- 2-3 Cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Sea Salt scant
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 cup Basil Leaves pressed firmly into cup - remove large stems
- 2 cups Spinach leaves
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, grind up the cashews into a coarse meal.
- Now add remaining ingredients and process until mostly smooth.
- A little coarse nuttiness is ok. It adds to the authentic 'cheesy' texture.
I made this today and it was perfect. Like you, I’ve been on a quest for an awesome pesto recipe and I’ve tried the pine nuts and the walnuts, but I’ve never even considered cashews. That’s genius! This recipe is the perfect balance of salty, tangy and slightly sweet (from the cashews). I put it on a yummy grilled veggie sandwich and we were happy campers.
Yeay! So glad you liked it! Sounds like a super yummy sandwich idea, too!