This is the best vegan pesto recipe for a classic, authentic-tasting pesto made dairy-free! This basil pesto is blended with pine nuts, vegan parmesan, and olive oil for a delicious pesto that’s perfect on pasta, pizzas, casseroles, and more.

A bowl of vegan pesto with a spoon scooping some up.

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❤️ Why make homemade pesto

Pesto adds flavor to pasta, vegan lasagna, pizza rolls, calzones, gnocchi, vegan omelets, and more. I love to have pesto on hand to add to stir-fries, tofu, creamy vegan pesto sauce, pesto orzo salad, or even dips like pesto hummus.

Store-bought pesto is expensive, and you will always save money when you make it yourself. Plus it freezes well, so it’s easy to make a big batch and always keep some in the freezer.

🧾 Ingredients and substitutions

  • Basil – This is the primary herb in all pesto.  You can also make pesto out of cilantro, parsley, kale, or spinach for alternative flavors and extra nutrition.
  • Garlic – To give it flavor, however, you can omit or reduce it if you don’t like it.
  • Vegan Parmesan – You can use any brand of store-bought vegan parm or simply double the amount of nutritional yeast instead. You can also add an extra 2 tablespoons of vegan parm to the pesto instead of nutritional yeast to make your vegan pesto without nutritional yeast.
  • Nutritional Yeast – nutritional yeast aka Nooch gives vegan pesto a cheesy flavor without adding any dairy. It is a light yellow flaky powder with a cheesy flavor.  Full of vitamins and a great source of B-12 for those who follow a vegan diet.  You can find it at most natural food stores and large grocery stores. You can also swap this out for vegan parmesan cheese.
  • Sea Salt – or kosher salt for flavor.
  • Pine Nuts – pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews, or even hemp seeds will all work well in this pesto, or you can leave them out completely. like in my nut-free vegan pesto recipe.
  • Olive Oil – Use good quality olive oil, like extra virgin olive oil for the most flavorful-tasting pesto.  You can use light olive oil or any other neutral-flavored oil that you would like in its place if you would like. 
  • Lemon Juice – to help the pesto maintain its bright beautiful color.  The acid in the lemon juice will keep it from oxidizing.
  • Red Pepper Flakes – (optional) but if your family likes a little spice to their meals, a dash or two makes it great.

🔪 Helpful tools

  • Food Processor – this is the easiest tool to use to make pesto, but you could also use a blender instead. You will just need to stop and scrape the edges more with a blender.

🥄 How to make

A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.

Step 1 – Wash the fresh basil leaves and pat them dry. Cut off any hard stems and add them to the food processor along with 3 cloves of garlic, vegan parmesan, nutritional yeast, salt, and pine nuts into a food processor.

Fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, nutritional yeast, vegan parm, and salt in a food processor.
Vegan pesto ingredients.
Fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, nutritional yeast, vegan parm, and salt in a food processor chopped up.
Vegan pesto ingredients chopped up.

Step 2 – Blend until garlic and nuts are chopped into small pieces and scrape the edges, then turn the food processor back on and slowly add the olive oil and lemon juice until smooth and creamy.

Vegan pesto blended in a food processor.
After olive oil and lemon juice are added.

Step 3 – Use the pesto on pasta or in your favorite recipes. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

👩🏻‍🍳 Pro Tips

  • Be sure to add lemon juice to your pesto, so that it stays a beautiful green color.
  • Adding the oil to the fresh basil leaves slowly while the food processor is running helps to emulsify the pesto and makes it creamier.

🌟 Recipes that use vegan pesto

🥡 How to store pesto

Refrigerator – Pesto will keep well in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 1 week. Just be sure that it’s airtight. When air touches the basil, it with oxidize and lose its bright beautiful green color.

Freezer – Pesto freezes well and can be easily stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. I like to freeze batches of pesto in ice cube trays and then put the pesto cubes into a sealed freezer bag for quick and easy use. These pesto cubes are the perfect amount for adding to soups and stir-fries.

A bowl of vegan pesto with tomatoes and garlic behind it and basil leaves around it.

🌟 More homemade vegan sauces

📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!

📋 Vegan pesto recipe

A top view of a bowl of vegan pesto with fresh basil, garlic, and tomatoes around it.
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5 from 5 rating

The Best Vegan Pesto

Yield: 8
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 5 minutes
Author: Monica Davis
This is the best vegan pesto recipe for a classic, authentic-tasting pesto made dairy-free!
Print Leave a Review Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 cups basil leaves, packed (substitute as much as 1 cup of spinach for basil)
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1/3 cup vegan parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts , (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt , or to taste
  • 1/2 cup olive oil, (high quality)
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice, (optional to maintain color)

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • Wash the fresh basil leaves and pat them dry. Cut off any hard stems and add them to the food processor along with 3 cloves of garlic, vegan parmesan, nutritional yeast, salt, and pine nuts into a food processor.
  • Blend until garlic and nuts are chopped into small pieces and scrape the edges, then turn the food processor back on and slowly add the olive oil and lemon juice until smooth and creamy.
  • Use the pesto on pasta or in your favorite recipes. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Notes

    • Be sure to add lemon juice to your pesto, so that it stays a beautiful green color.
    • Adding the oil to the fresh basil leaves slowly while the food processor is running helps to emulsify the pesto and makes it creamier.
    • Add a dash of red pepper flakes to the pesto for a little spice if desired.
  •  
Serving: 2tbsp, Calories: 173kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Sodium: 193mg, Potassium: 86mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 0.2g, Vitamin A: 318IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 17mg, Iron: 1mg
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