Basil Pesto Recipe (Nut-Free)
This easy basil pesto recipe comes together in less than 5 minutes. It's cheesy, flavorful, and nut-free. Enjoy this delicious spread with salads, sandwiches, pasta, and many Italian dishes.
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil large stems removed
- 3 tbsp hemp seeds
- 3 large cloves garlic peeled
- 1 juice of ½ lemon
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil plus more as needed
- 3 tbsp water or more lemon juice plus more as needed
- black pepper and garlic powder (optional) to taste
Instructions
- Add fresh basil, hemp seeds, roasted garlic (feel free to use raw garlic), lemon juice, nutritional yeast, sea salt to a food processor or small blender and pulse/blend on high until the mixture forms a paste.
- Drizzle in olive oil while the food processor is running and just scrape the sides down as needed. Following that, feel free to add 1 Tbsp of water or lemon juice until you reach your desired consistency. You should have a thick but pourable pesto sauce. (If avoiding oil, sub the oil with veggie broth or just use all water.)
- Do a taste test and adjust the flavor as needed, add more hemp seeds for more nuttiness, garlic for more garlic flavor, nutritional yeast for that cheesy flavor, lemon juice for that lemony flavor, and sea salt for overall flavor.
Video
Notes
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Alternatively, pour into ice cube tray, freeze, and store up to 1 month or longer.