Nut-free pesto makes a delicious summery sauce for adding to your favorite sandwiches, pastas, and pizzas. With basil, garlic, olive oil, and nutritional yeast, this pesto is packed with fresh flavors and wholesome ingredients.
One of my favorite herbs is definitely basil -it’s so sweet and fresh and bright! Plus, when basil is in season, you know it’s finally summer. One of the best things to make with fresh basil is of course PESTO! It’s like a mini vacation to Italy right in your own kitchen. 🙂
While we love pesto at home, one of my siblings has a nut allergy and another can’t handle dairy. Since pesto usually has pine nuts and parmesan, store-bought pesto isn’t the best option. But it’s actually super easy to make your own pesto without the nuts and cheese that still tastes good! With fewer ingredients, the basil and garlic really get to shine in this version. Even if you don’t deal with these allergies, give this recipe a try and see what you think! You might be surprised.
What is traditional pesto made of?
Pesto is a sauce made of basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, salt, and a hard cheese like parmesan. You can add it to pasta, sandwiches, pizza, caprese salad, soup, or just serve it with your favorite sourdough bread!
This recipe replaces the parmesan with nutritional yeast and omits the pine nuts so that you can enjoy pesto even if you’re allergic to nuts or dairy. Although it’s not exactly the same as traditional pesto, you won’t feel like you’re missing out once you’ve tried this allergy-friendly pesto!
How long does homemade pesto last?
Homemade pesto lasts for about 1 week when stored in an air-tight container in the fridge. If you want, you can also freeze pesto for 3-4 months. De-thaw the pesto overnight in the fridge before using it.
What does pesto pair well with?
Traditionally, pesto is used with pasta or sometimes as a topping to soups. However, pesto should definitely not be limited to this – it can add such a fresh and aromatic flavor to all sorts of dishes! Here are a few suggestions:
- Sandwiches – Swap out mayo in your favorite sandwiches for homemade pesto.
- Pizza – Drizzle a some pesto on top of a Margherita pizza, there’s nothing like mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil!
- Eggs – Pesto is a great way to dress up omelets, frittatas, or quiches.
- Salads – This would taste amazing with a caprese salad.
- Sourdough – Try making savory sourdough bread by folding pesto into the dough before baking for an extra yummy loaf. This would work well with overnight bread or even as a savory babka.
- Appetizers – Serve with slices of sourdough focaccia or baguette for dipping or drizzle it on top of tomato bruschetta.
Tips for making Nut-free pesto
- If you don’t have a lot of basil on hand, that’s ok! You can substitute up to half of the basil in this recipe (1/2 cup) with arugula or spinach.
- Nutritional yeast is great for keeping this recipe dairy-free, but if you prefer, you can use parmesan cheese instead.
- If you want, you can also add in 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds instead of the pine nuts.
- Oil separation will likely occur when you store the pesto. This is totally fine, just stir the pesto before you use it to incorporate the oil again.
Tools you will need
To make this pesto, you’ll need measuring cups, a knife, a spatula, and a blender.
Ingredients you will need
One of the great things about pesto is that you really only need 5 ingredients! Super simple and yet so yummy! 🙂
- 1 cup basil – If you don’t have quite a cup of basil, you can also add in a bit of arugula or spinach to make 1 cup of greens.
- 1-2 cloves of garlic – Feel free to add more or less to your preference!
- 1/4 cup olive oil – You can also use avocado oil if you want, but olive oil will give the pesto a more traditional flavor.
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast – Nutritional yeast is great for adding a cheesy flavor while keeping the pesto dairy-free!
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon – Adds a little acidity to balance out the nutritional yeast.
- Salt and pepper to taste
How to make Nut-free Pesto
Peel the garlic cloves and add them to the blender along with the basil, olive oil, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Blend on medium speed for about 30 seconds until the pesto sauce forms. You can use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender if you need to make sure all the ingredients get incorporated.
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
That’s it – so easy!
Looking for more summer recipes?
If so, make sure to head over to the Kitchen Counter! Here are a few ideas you might enjoy:
- Zucchini Bites
- Hearts of Palm Salad
- Carrot Hummus Dip with Sourdough Crackers
- Chicken Pesto Galette
- Tomato Bruschetta
If you make these this recipe and enjoy it, let me know in the comments section below! You can also tag me on instagram @oldfashionedinspiration with a picture of your creation.
Nut-Free Pesto
Nut-free pesto makes a delicious summery addition to your favorite meals!
Ingredients
- 1 cup basil
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel the garlic and place it in a blender along with the basil, olive oil, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
- Blend for 30 seconds or so until all the ingredients are incorporated.
Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 124Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 0mgSodium 78mgCarbohydrates 8gFiber 2gSugar 5gProtein 3g
YaYa says
Hannah Bell,
My basil (green and purple) is thriving so this might be the year!!! My
B & B guests loved a little pool of pesto with baby roasters on top along with their eggs!Love you!
Hannah says
That sounds so good! Love ya too!