Oil Free Vegan Pesto! All the saucy, nutty, cheesy goodness with a vegan twist that is sure to get those taste buds tingling.

Nothing shouts summer more than pesto!  Bright and flavorful, this healthy Oil Free Vegan Pesto is so easy to make, delicious, and it’s great on pasta, bread, pizza, roasted veggies, baked potatoes, and more! You can’t beat a bold sauce ready 5 minutes or less!

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

We are a pesto loving family!  Pesto reminds me of warm sunshine-filled days, full of vibrant basil and sunshiny lemony flavors.

It’s super easy to make, just buzz the ingredients in a high-speed blender, mix, and it’s done!  Ready in less than 5 minutes.  Now how cool is that! You gotta give this one a try!

If you a basil lover, be sure to check out these recipes too!

• Vegan Oil Free Avocado Pesto
• Vegan Pesto Cabbage Chopped Salad
• Fast and Easy Sundried Tomato Basil Sauce
• Italian Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: Pesto is typically made with fresh basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. This healthy oil-free vegan version tastes fantastic.  If you are not a fan of fresh basil, then perhaps this recipe is not for you.
• Soaking Nuts is Not Required: There is no need to soak the pine nuts or almonds in water before placing in the high-speed blender.  Pesto is typically not a super smooth type of sauce. It typically has a very tiny bit of texture, but you should not be chomping on nuts.
• Nut Substitutions: We really don’t have any great substitutions to offer for replacing the nuts.  You can, however, use all of one nut instead of two.
• Fresh Basil: Pesto recipes use fresh basil.  We don’t recommend using dry basil.
• Amount of Sea Salt: Our family was completely divided over the amount of sea salt needed to season this pesto.  Start on the lower end and work up.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered container.

This sauce can be frozen.

Kitchen Products Used:

• High-Speed Blender

We certainly hope you give this deliciousness a try.

If you try this flavorful sauce, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

Oil Free Vegan Pesto

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 5 Minutes
• Total Time: 5 Minutes
• Yield: 2/3 cup 1x
• Category: Sauce
• Cuisine: Italian
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Nothing shouts summer more than pesto!  Bright and flavorful, this healthy Oil Free Vegan Pesto is so easy to make, delicious, and versatile.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 cups (packed) fresh basil (2 oz.)
• ¼ cup pine nuts *
• ¼ cup blanched almond slivers *
• 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon water (+/-)
• 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon lemon juice (+/-)
• 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
• ½ teaspoon minced garlic
• Pinch to ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *

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Instructions

1. Place the all the Base Ingredients into a high-speed blender, blend on high until somewhat smooth and emulsified, about 1 to 2 minutes. You may need to use the tamper tool at first to get everything moving.  Scrape down the sides about halfway.
2. Taste test the pesto, adjust the flavors as needed.
3. If you want a thinner sauce, add more water or lemon juice. Just a little at at time until your reach your desired consistency. If using sauce for pasta, you may wish to use a little pasta water to thin the sauce.

Serving Ideas:

• Serve over pasta, as a pizza sauce, in a salad, mixed with cooked rice/cooked grains/roasted veggies, over a baked potato, as an appetizer/dip, and so much more!

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Notes

*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Servings:  Makes 2/3 cup

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