Seasonal Recipes: Nutritious and Simple Basil Pesto

Nutritious and Simple Vegan Basil Pesto

The addition of Nutritional Yeast to this dairy free recipe not only creates the wonderful parmesan tang that great pesto needs, but also gives you a great big vitamin B12 boost.*  If you have never used it, nutritional yeast comes in delicate little yellow flakes, which melt on the tongue and taste like strong cheese.  If added to a soup or sauce, it dissolves instantly, or you can sprinkle on top of complete dishes, as you would parmesan flakes.

Many of my vegan recipes are inspired by the beautiful book: The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples: The Art of Making Your Own Staples [a Cookbook]

Ingredients:

(Be adventurous and swap out basil for other green leaves, such as spinach or wild garlic, try other oils, and different nuts as preferred…)

2 cups basil leaves (packed in tightly)

1/2 cup pine nuts

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Salt and Pepper, season to taste

Equipment:

Chopping board

Sharp knife

Food Processor (or pestle and mortar)

Recipe:

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor, until desired consistency is reached.  We prefer ours a little course, so that the nutty texture of the pine nuts is still present.

Lasts for at least a week in the fridge … but we have never had any around longer to know how long it could last … we love fresh pesto too much in our family 🙂

*Most supermarkets (in the UK at least) now stock nutritional yeast, but you can also buy it from health food shops or from international online stores like Amazon.  I favour the Marigold brand.

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The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples: The Art of Making Your Own Staples [a Cookbook]

Kilner Clip Top Round Jar 0.5 Litre

25 Comments Add yours

  1. I had not considered nutritional yeast in the place of parmesan. Fabulous idea. I love pesto but hadn’t figured out a good cheese replacement. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I was veggie before I went vegan and miss parmesan so much, but in this recipe it tastes just the same … I hope you enjoy 🙂

      Like

  2. This is a great option instead of the Parmesan! I look forward to trying it 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Wonderful – I hope you like it x

      Liked by 1 person

  3. This looks and sounds delightful.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Mmmmmmmm…….

    Liked by 1 person

  5. restlessjo says:

    My husband loves cheese, but not parmesan. Unfortunately he’s allergic to cheese but I might try the nutritional yeast to see how he responds to that. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I hope you enjoy x

      Liked by 1 person

  6. What an interesting substitute. I actually have nutritional yeast flakes in the cupboard which I bought as a B12 supp. and with all our basil seedlings growing like mad, I could try this. Thanks

    Liked by 1 person

    1. No problem, hope you like it 🙂

      Like

  7. I love using nutritional yeast as a sub for cheese but I had never considered using it in pesto! Thanks for sharing!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you 🙂 It’s good on pasta bakes too x

      Liked by 1 person

  8. I have never tried nutritional yeast. I think that I’ll try it but won’t tell my husband!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. A lot of people are messaging to tell me they are going to do a secret swap of yeast flakes for parmesan …. let me know how it goes! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Sounds like a great way to get that B12.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. I cannot wait to try. Thank you for sharing!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you! It’s so easy to make, I hope you enjoy it 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  11. trying replacing half with peas! its great and healthy

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello 🙂 That is a fantastic idea – I will definitely try this! :o)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. im glad to hear it!

        Liked by 1 person

  12. greengirlgangblog says:

    Green girl gang will be making this for dinner this week!! Yum. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Brilliant! I hope you enjoyed it :o) x

      Like

  13. I love pesto and this looks like a great rendition!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you! I hope you enjoy it if you give it a try 🙂

      Like

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