Name: Perfect Vegan Pesto
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 6
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

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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!

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