Yes, pesto is an Italian sauce traditionally made with parmesan, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic and pine nuts. If you're interested in some of our other vegan Italian recipes, you'll love our Vegan Bolognese , Vegan Lasagna , and our Vegan Cannoli for something sweet.

What makes pesto bitter?

If your vegan pesto is bitter, the likely culprit is the olive oil. Over-blending the olive oil can cause it to release bitter-tasting compounds. Additionally, olive oil can go rancid, so be sure to use fresh, quality oil.

Do you eat basil pesto warm or cold?

This easy vegan pesto recipe can be enjoyed both warm and cold. If enjoying your pesto in a warm dish, toss it with the pasta just before serving. This will keep the pesto a bright green color and reserve the flavor.

Classic Vegan Pesto (7 ingredients!)

Name: Classic Vegan Pesto Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1.5 ounces (2 cups packed) fresh basil leaves; 1/3 cup pine nuts* (see notes); 3 cloves garlic; 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice; 1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil; 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste; Optional: black pepper, to taste

Description

This Classic Vegan Pesto is our go-to version for pastas, pizzas, dipping, and spreading on sandwiches. All you need is 7 simple ingredients and 5 minutes to make. Perfect for meal prep or using up fresh basil leaves!

Ingredients

1.5 ounces (2 cups packed) fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup pine nuts* (see notes)
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Optional: black pepper, to taste

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S blade, add in the basil, pine nuts, garlic, nutritional yeast and lemon juice. Pulse until everything is well combined and coarsely ground, about 30 to 60 seconds.
Next, process everything on high speed and begin to slowly drizzle in the olive oil until you have added the full 1/3 cup. Stop the food processor, scrape down the sides and and season with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, add in more olive oil to reach 1/2 cup.

Notes

Feel free to tweak this recipe as you desire! You can add more or less lemon juice, nuts, etc. based on your preference!
Pine nuts: If you don’t want to use pine nuts, slivered almonds and sunflower seeds are great substitutions.
Garlic: If you don’t have or don’t want to use fresh garlic, you can use 3/8 teaspoon garlic powder instead.
Nutritional yeast: This is used in place of parmesan cheese. If you aren’t a fan of it, you can opt for a vegan parmesan cheese alternative instead.
Extra virgin olive oil: High quality olive oil is recommended as it will result in a better tasting pesto!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Category: Sauce
Method: Food Processor