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 🙂
Easy vegan pesto
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
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!