This easy vegan pesto is nut-free, dairy-free, cruelty-free, cheap, and delicious! I really enjoyed the taste, I think it really goes great with pasta!

I remember trying pesto in Italy and it is one of those things that are sooo amazing that you really want to know how to make it!

Some friends asked me recently if it was difficult to make and when I researched, it turns out to be SO easy to make, that I decided to make a vegan version, and because I love saving money, I even decided to try it with cheap sunflower seeds. The result is really really good! let’s make some pesto my friends!

Let’s make vegan pesto

Get your ingredients

Start by blending the sunflower seeds, the oil, the water and the garlic

Add everything except 1/5 of the basil if you want “to feel the bits” and blend for another minute.

Add the reserved basil and pulse for about a minute until you get the desired texture:

Enjoy!

Recommendations

Quantities are for an oily pesto (yes… let’s indulge with fat if we are going to sin, let’s do it properly, shall we?) but feel free to use less oil, or make it oil free and add more water, reduce. the oil, the seeds, or whatever. Basil has a strong flavor in my opinion, so, I would not use too much of it! I would rather add more water or lemon juice.

Nutritional yeast can cause facial blushing if you eat too much! so easy on it. It is delicious and makes everything super cheesy, but we have to be careful! especially if you are not used to eat it!

This recipe keeps well in the fridge for about a week, or in the freezer for months!

For substitutions: obviously, feel free to use pine nuts, cashews, almonds, or walnuts instead of sunflower seeds. I love sunflower seeds, and I think they go great with this recipe. Feel free to use some coriander as well, or to add or reduce the garlic quantities! I think I like it a bit more garlicky than normal, but feel free to experiment, and let me know your results!

Also, if you want to make a vegan pesto without nutritional yeast, you can use 1 tbsp of white miso paste to give it a bit of a cheesy, cultured flavor, characteristic of cheese.

If you want to make this WFPB compliant, skip the oil, and add the same quantity in sunflower seeds, and make your own broth. If you remove the yeast flakes, this will be a raw vegan pesto recipe!

Also, please note that for Whole30, sunflower seeds are not encouraged, so you’ll have to reduce the portion or skip it.

The original pesto is well known because you “feel the bits” of nuts. and basil, but I am a practical person so I just blend everything and enjoy it. Trust me, I made this recipe 4 times in the last 2 weeks because it is just the best vegan pesto recipe!

What goes great with pesto?

What about a vegan steak? or a dip for sweet potato rounds? perhaps some tofu with almond sauce, as well? Also great with pizza or lasagna!

And, of course, that delicious glass of wine!

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do , it’s:

Nut-free, dairy-free, on a budget, and delicious
Zesty cheesy, and garlicky!
Super easy and ready under 10 minutes!
Goes great with spaghetti or any pasta and some cheeky wine during the weekend
It is a vegan pesto without pine nuts, trust us, you won’t miss them!

If you try this recipe, let us know! leave a comment, rate the recipe or tag a photo on our Instagram or Facebook with the tag #naturalGoodness! Get creative and make it unique, I love to see what you get up to when trying our recipes

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Easy vegan pesto

Easy, quick, on a budget and delicious vegan pesto!

Course Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword dairy free pesto, nut-free vegan pesto, vegan pesto

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 3 people

Calories 280kcal

Ingredients

• 200 g Basil leaves Only the leaves! remove the stems
• 1/2 cup Sunflower seeds
• 1/2 tbs Bouillon powder Known as broth or veggie stock powder. Use homemade for WFPB
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup Olive oil Replace with more sunflower seeds for WFPB
• 1/4 cup Lemon juice
• 3 tbsp Yeast flakes Optional, for cheesiness! substitute with 1 tbsp of miso paste if you don't like yeast flakes!
• 1/2 cup Water

Instructions

• Get your ingredients
  
• Start with blending the oil, water, seeds and garlic
  
• Add everything except 1/5 of the basil if you want "to feel the bits" and blend for another minute.
  
• Add the remaining 1/5 of the basil leaves and pulse, pulse, pulse until you get the right consistency
  
• Enjoy!
  

Video

https://youtu.be/Mi3PHmsce2o

Notes

• Calories are estimated using this tool
• Substitute sunflower seeds with pine nuts for a more “original’ pesto recipe. I really liked it with sunflower seeds though! I have tried with pumpkin seeds and it was not as good. Probably because sunflower seeds have more fat!
• This is freezer-friendly and keeps in the fridge for about a week
• Easy with the pasta and pesto, it is one of those meals that leaves you very satisfied, but at the same time a little bit tired, ideal for those special ocassions or to enjoy it with some wine!

The post Easy vegan pesto appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.

Looking for ways to use the vegan mozzarella I had, I decided to make a green pasta sauce! You will love this healthy, easy, cheap and under 30 minutes recipe, it is the right answer to how to make broccoli tasty and how to make spinach tasty! And of course… how to include more greens into your diet!

I made this great recipe for green pasta because it reminds me of a similar one, my mom use to make when I was a kid . If you enjoy all things pasta lol make sure you check our recipe for an easy red pasta sauce.

For those curious… the sausages are obviously vegan, I enjoy buying from time to time Tofurky sausages. They are delicious and healthy!

Spinach benefits

Spinach… I love to have it 2-3 times per week. I am not a health expert but let’s be curious, shall we? these are some of the benefits according to Healthline:

• It is full of vitamins (A, B6, B9, C, E, K1) and minerals (iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium)
• Oxidative stress reduction due to antioxidant components
• Eye health due to lutein and zeaxanthin
• Cancer prevention
• Aids in blood pressure control and reduce the risk of heart disease

Broccoli benefits

There is a very good reason for your mom to tell you to eat your broccoli! but don’t believe me, believe the experts at Healthline who wrote a full article about this. I am summarising the benefits here:

• It has a vitamin A, B9, C, K and minerals like potassium, phosphorus, selenium
• Antioxidants that offer offer benefits such as reduced blood sugar, colesterol, and chronic disease
• Protects against certain cancer (breast, prostate, gastric, renal, to name a few)
• Due to the fiber contents, it helps with a healthy digestion and reduced constipation
• Due to the bioactive contents, it might help to slow mental decline

This recipe is

• Healthy, filling, delicious, with 3 of your 5 a day! (spinach, broccoli, and coriander!)
• To use with your favorite pasta, we love it with wholewheat fusilli and vegan mozzarella
• Nutty flavourful
• The right answer to how to make broccoli tasty and how to make spinach tasty! And of course… how to include more greens into your diet!

If you try this recipe, let us know! leave a comment, rate the recipe or tag a photo on our Instagram or Facebook with the tag #naturalGoodness! Get creative and make it unique, I love to see what you get up to when trying our recipes

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Green sauce for pasta

Easy healthy and delicious green sauce for pasta!

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine International

Keyword Green sauce, Pasta, Vegan

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories 400kcal

Cost 5

Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients

• 1 Medium sized broccoli
• 150 g Fresh spinach (or 4 defrosted spinach cubes)
• 1 Medium sized onion
• 1 tbsp Vegans tock powder (buillon)
• 3 tbsp Tahini
• 1 cup Soy milk (or any other plant-based milk)
• 2 Medium sized garlic cloves
• 20 g Coriander
• 1 tbsp Olive oil

Instructions

• Make sure you have all the ingredients
  
• Boil the broccoli and the spinach for about 8 minutes in different pots
• Preheat a pan at a medium fire with the olive oil, or with some boiling water
• Chop the garlic and add it to the pan
• Chop the onion and add it to the pan
• Chop the coriander and add it to the pan. At this point the Onion and the garlic should be midway to be caramelized, so add the coriander
• Move with a spatula the coriander, garlic and the onion until the onion and garlic are caramelized
  
• Strain the spinach and the broccoli with cold water to prepare them for the blender
  
• Chop the broccoli
  
• Add all the ingredients, but the plant-based milk to the blender, and blend first at low speed, and increase to high speed, and leave it there for 1-2 minutes
• Scrape the blender with a rubber spatula
  
• Add the plant based milk and blend for another minute or 2 until it is smooth
  
• Enjoy!
  

Video

https://youtu.be/L0y9D0HYx24

Notes

• Easy healthy and delicious!
• The answer to: how to make broccoli taste good? how to make spinach taste good? how to include more greens in your diet?
• Feel free to change tahini with a nut butter, I have tried with cashew butter and it is also delicious!
• Since I am Mexican, I occasionally add two bird chilies to make this spicy! try it at your own rist

The post Green pasta sauce appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.

This is an absolute game-changer vegan mozzarella recipe, it is super easy to make, stretchy, gooey, and delicious, I hope you are as excited as I am for finding how to make this! Psyllium husks and sunflower seeds are the base of this recipe!

Into vegan cheese? check all our recipes here!

Uses for psyllium husks

Psyllium is a form of fiber made from the husks of the Plantago ovata seeds. They can be used to make a diverse range of vegan “gelatinous” recipes, from desserts, to, yes, cheese! If you mix a teaspoon in water, it will eventually become coloidal, making it very useful for vegans.

Side effects of psyllium husks

It is generally safe to eat, but it can have some side effects:

• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Gas
• Loose stools
• Frequent bowel movements

Benefits of psyllium husks

• Improves digestive health
• Helps with heart issues (helps to reduce cholesterol)
• Aids weight loss
• Can help with glycemic balance

For more information on the benefits and side effects, check this post from Healthline.

Where can you buy psyllium husks?

This depends a lot on where you live! You are very likely able to buy it from Amazon, or if you live in the UK (like me!) get it from shops like Planet Organic. Psyllium husks are cheap, around £ 5 for a bag that can last for many, many batches of vegan mozzarella!

Note: I am using psyllium husks, not psyllium husks powder, the powder is more powerful, so you would need less, but I haven’t tried with this, so at the moment, I don’t know the quantities!

Let’s make vegan mozzarella cheese!

Get your ingredients:

1 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbsp Psyllium husks
1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1 teaspoon Garlic powder (or a minced clove of garlic) Optional
1 teaspoon Black pepper Optional
5 g Fresh oregano leaves Optional
400 ml Boiling water

Put the sunflower seeds to boil with water for about 20 minutes, or soak them overnight (this second method is preferred, it will leave them softer)

If you don’t have a super powerful blender, the key to make the cheese more smooth is to remove some of the seeds shells. They’ll come out to the center of the pot while you boil them, so you can remove them with a wooden spoon

While the seeds are boiling, add 400ml (1 3/5 cup) of boiling water in a bowl and add the 2 tablespoons of psyllium husk and let it rest for about 15 minutes (basically… while seeds are boiling!)

After boiling the seeds, you can cool them down to prepare them for the blender by putting them in a strainer and running cold water over them

Add the sunflower seeds, the garlic powder, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper and oregano leaves to the blender. Note: If you have a Nutri Ninja blender like me lol I discovered that the bullet blender yields much smoother results! so use that one if you can

Blend at low speed for about 10 seconds, then use a rubber spatula to integrate everything well. Blend again for 2 minutes at high speed to integrate well. Note that you may need to add some water at this point in order for the blender to blend properly

Add half of the psyllium husk with water mix (now it should be a jelly solid thing!) to the blender and blend for about 2 minutes at high speed until it is well integrated!

Add the remaining psyllium husk with water and blend at high for another 2 minutes. It should be very smooth! like in the picture!

Transfer to a bowl and to make the block smooth, press a bit with a rubber spatula

Put the bowl in the freezer for about 20 minutes, or in the fridge for about 30-40 minutes

Enjoy with pasta, pizza, or anything you normally use mozzarella for!

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do , it’s:

• Stretchy
• Gooey
• Melty
• Absolutely fabulous on pizza, pasta, as a side with veggies, fruits or anything else
• Super delicious and customizable! Nothing like the vegan cheese you buy in stores!
• No cashew cheese!
• Cheap vegan cheese
• It goes great with a Mexican vegan steak!
• Very healthy and requires no flour, no starch!
• WFPB (whole foods plant-based) whole30 and paleo diet compliant!

Did you Like this recipe? make sure you check our easy pasta sauce!. If you are looking for more ideas to use psyllium husks, try our vegan flan recipe as well!

If you try this recipe, let us know! leave a comment, rate the recipe or tag a photo on our Instagram or Facebook with the tag #naturalGoodness! Get creative and make it unique, I love to see what you get up to when trying our recipes

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Easy and stretchy vegan mozzarella cheese!

The most delicious, stretchy, healthy and easy to make vegan mozzarella!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine International

Keyword Mozzarella, Plant based, Vegan cheese

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Resting time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 7 people

Calories 120kcal

Cost 6

Equipment

• High speed blender

Ingredients

• 1 cup Sunflower seeds
• 2 tbsp Psyllium husks
• 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 1 teaspoon Garlic powder (or a minced clove of garlic) Optional
• 1 teaspoon Black pepper Optional
• 1 teaspoon Fresh oregano leaves Optional
• 1.5 cups Boiling water

Instructions

• Put the sunflower seeds to boil for 20 minutes, check them periodically so they don't run out of water! Note: if you have time, it is better to soak them overnight in a big pot, it will make it easier and the result will be smoother
  
• The key to make it a bit smoother, is to remove some of the seed shells. they'll come out at the center of the boiling pot, so just remove them with a wooden spoon. If you soak them, the shells will also come to the surface of the pot, so just remove the water and the shells when draining them
• Put the 400ml of boiling water in a bowl, and mix the 2 tablespoons of psyllium husks. Mix it well with a spoon, and let it to rest for about 30 minutes
  
• Once the seeds are ready, remove the water and cool them using cold water
  
• Add the sunflower seeds, garlic powder, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper and oregano leaves to the blender
  
• Blend at low speed first for about 10 seconds, then integrate everything with a rubber spatula. Blend again for 2 minutes at high speed to integrate everything very well
• Add half of the psyllium husks mixed with water to the blender, and blend for another 2 minutes at high speed. Everything needs to be very well integrated, if not, blend again until it looks very smooth.
  
• Add the remaining contents of the psyllium husks mixed with water to the blender, and blend at high speed for other 2 minutes. Look at how amazing it looks now!
  
• Transfer to a bowl, and to make the block smooth, press a bit with a rubber spatula from the top of the bowl
  
• Put the bowl in the freezer for about 20 minutes
• Enjoy with fruit, pasta, pizza, it can melt very well! and it tastes amazing! If you leave it for another day, the flavor is stronger and it gets a bit mode solid!
  

Video

https://youtu.be/SBP7-MZ6vHU

Notes

• You will get smoother results if you soak the sunflower seeds overnight with plenty of water. Also try to remove the shells coming on the top if you use this method
• Using sunflower seeds makes this recipe absolutely cheap and very delicious! however it is not completely smooth, so if you don’t like that texture, I suggest that you try with cashews
• You can make it even easier by using cashew butter, mixed with water. You would use 100g of cashew butter + 50 ml of water to replace the soaked sunflower seeds
• This ends up super stretchy and easy to melt! it really is a game changer for those looking for a mozzarella cheese
• Also, it won’t taste like mozzarella, but it will have a similar consistency, and also, I really believe it triggers the same tasting emotions that mozzarella cheese do, give it a try with your favorite wine and other sides or add it to your pizza/pasta and let me know what you think!
• It keeps well in the fridge for about a week, I haven’t tried to freeze it, because I finish it in 3-4 days!
• I really like it with garlic powder pepper and oregano leaves, this is where you get creative and use whatever flavour you want to put into the cheese
• I noted that using a bullet blender gives smoother results! so if you have a bullet but high-speed blender, then you may get better results

The post Easy and stretchy vegan mozzarella cheese! appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.

As a kid, my mom always made an easy and delicious homemade tomato sauce from scratch. No cans, no tomato paste, only fresh ingredients and tons of love This easy pasta sauce recipe is made by simmering tomatoes until they become a sauce, and combining them with other ingredients, feel free to use roasted tomatoes instead!

I made this sauce as an excuse to make delicious pasta and combine with my vegan stretchy mozzarella recipe! it was super yummy!

Let’s make pasta sauce!

First, get your ingredients:

• 10 Medium sized tomatoes
• 2 Medium sized onions
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 5 g Fresh oregano leaves Basically the leaves of 3 big stems of oregano. Feel free to replace with basil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 400 ml Boiling water
• 2 tbsp Olive oil Optional
• 1 teaspoon Coarse pepper Optional

Preheat a pot (or saucepan if you don’t have a pot) on high temperature
Mince the garlic, or substitute with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

Add 150ml of boiling water to the saucepan, as you cook this sauce, you’ll have to add water little by little, since we are not using the oil, the pan should always have enough boiling water, so it does not burn the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients

And then add the garlic and leave it for about 1 minute

Add the onion to the saucepan and add a little bit of water if it already consumed. Leave this to simmer for about 2 minutes

Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes in pieces of around 2.5 cm (1 inch). Don’t get too crazy measuring, but they should be relatively small. Note: I like to use the whole tomato, however! many chefs recommend removing the seeds because it might make the sauce a bit bitter

Add the tomatoes and then add more water to continue the cooking in simmering

Add only the leaves of the oregano to the saucepan. If you want to include the pepper, add it at this point, as well

At this point, use a turner to move the sauce every minute or so. Once the tomatoes start to become a sauce, you should use a pestle to mash the tomatoes and make them more “sauce-like”

Continue this process for another 10 minutes until it looks like this

Add the olive oil once the sauce is done, this will accentuate the flavour in the sauce! that’s why I prefer to add it as the last step.


Enjoy!

What are tomatoes good for?

• Getting more lycopene which is a component that fights depression, heart disease, and cancer
• Antioxidant contents (especially tomato juice)
• Combined with healthy fats, it increases the absorption of phytonutrients

For detailed information, go to the nutrition facts page!

Is olive oil good for you?

Scientific research has not shown a significant benefit from eating olive oil. That’s why I put it as an optional ingredient. You can see it as empty calories in comparison with eating whole foods (olives!). If you want to read more about olive oil, I suggest you follow this link from nutrition facts.

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do , it’s:

• A delicious and easy homemade recipe for an easy pasta sauce, it works great on pizza as well!
• Whole foods and whole30 compliant (if you skip the oil, and salt, of course!)
• Your easy answer to how do you make spaghetti sauce from scratch?
• Freezer friendly!
• Ideal to make in batches for parties with your friends
• Customizable!
• Use it with tofu scramble for a delicious breakfast!
• Or with a delicious pizza as we did for dinner, yesterday!

If you try this recipe, let us know! leave a comment, rate the recipe or tag a photo on our Instagram or Facebook with the tag #naturalGoodness! Get creative and make it unique, I love to see what you get up to when trying our recipes

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Easy pasta sauce

Delicious homemade whole food fresh tomatoes sauce for that amazing pasta or pizza!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine International, Italian

Keyword tomato sauce, Vegan, Whole30, wholefoods

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 70kcal

Cost 10

Ingredients

• 10 Medium sized tomatoes
• 2 Medium sized onions
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 5 g Fresh oregano leaves Basically the leaves of 3 big stems of oregano. Feel free to replace with basil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 400 ml Boiling water
• 2 tbsp Olive oil Optional
• 1 teaspoon Coarse pepper Optional

Instructions

• Make sure you got all the ingredients
  
• Preheat a pot (or saucepan if you don't have a pot) on high temperature
• Mince the garlic, or substitute with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• Add 150ml of boiling water to the saucepan, as you cook this sauce, you'll have to add water little by little, since we are not using the oil, the pan should always have enough boiling water, so it does not burn the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients
  
• and then add the garlic and leave it for about 1 minute
• Dice the onion in small pieces
• Add the onion to the saucepan and add a little bit of water if it already consumed. Leave this to simmer for about 2 minutes
• Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes in pieces of around 2.5 cm (1 inch). Don't get too crazy measuring, but they should be relatively small. Note: I like to use the whole tomato, however! many chefs recommend to remove the seeds because it might make the sauce a bit bitter
• Add the tomatoes and then add more water to continue the cooking in simmering
• Add only the leaves of the oregano to the saucepan. If you want to include the pepper, add it at this point, as well
• At this point, use a turner to move the sauce every minute or so. Once the tomatoes start to become a sauce, you should use a pestle to mash the tomatoes and make them more "sauce like"
• Continue this process for another 10 minutes until it looks like this
  
• Add the olive oil once the sauce is done, this will accentuate the flavour in the sauce! that's why I prefer to add it as the last step
• Enjoy with your favorite pizza or pasta
  

Video

https://youtu.be/kGwtccezmwo

Notes

• Try it without oil first! I was surprised of how amazing and easy to make this sauce is. Remember that oil is mainly empty calories (yes, even from olive oil)
• Use it for your favorite pastas and pizza recipes
• This is an amazing sauce for Italian recipes
• Roasted tomatoes would also work for this recipe very well!
• Calories are without oil!
• If you make it in a pot, it will make it easier as the heat is not escaping easily

The post Easy pasta sauce appeared first on Natural goodness | Fuss free recipes everyone can make.