Perfect Pesto

Use whichever nuts/seeds and greens you prefer to create the perfect plant-based, oil-free pesto every time. Miso and nutritional yeast replace the parmesan and aquafaba replaces the oil for a vegan pesto that is both healthy and flavorful. Serve with your favorite pasta, use it as a spread for sandwiches or as a dressing for kale salad.

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Perfect Vegan Pesto

Yield: 4

Author: Courtney Crary- Not Like Mama

Prep time: 5 MCook time: 5 MTotal time: 10 M

Use whichever nuts/seeds and greens you prefer to create the perfect plant-based, oil-free pesto every time. Miso and nutritional yeast replace the parmesan and aquafaba replaces the oil for a vegan pesto that is both healthy and flavorful. Serve with your favorite pasta, use it as a spread for sandwiches or as a dressing for kale salad.

Ingredients:

1 cup nuts or seeds (walnuts, pine nuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds all work well)
2-3 large cloves garlic
1 Tbsp miso paste
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
Juice of 1 ½ lemons
½ cup aquafaba
2 cups packed arugula
1 cup packed basil
¼ tsp salt

Instructions:

In a food processor: combine all ingredients except the aquafaba. Process until well combined, then slowly add the aquafaba until it becomes a thick sauce.
If you don’t have a food processor and are using your blender (like me!): place the nuts, garlic, and nutritional yeast in the blender. Pulse until the nuts or seeds become fine granules. Remove and set aside. In the empty blender, add the miso, greens, and lemon juice. Pulse to break down the greens until they are unrecognizable. Now add the nuts/seed back in and pulse to combine. Turn the blender on “medium-low” and slowly add the aquafaba until a sauce forms. You may have to stop the blender to scrape the sides, then blend again.
Serve with literally anything and enjoy!

Calories

266.54

Fat (grams)

18.68

Sat. Fat (grams)

3.00

Carbs (grams)

20.79

Fiber (grams)

4.33

Net carbs

16.47

Sugar (grams)

9.86

Protein (grams)

9.20

Sodium (milligrams)

436.62

Cholesterol (grams)

0.04

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @notlikemama on instagram and hashtag it #notlikemama

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About the recipe:

The growing season is coming to an end, which means it’s time to use up those greens and herbs your garden has been faithfully producing.

Pesto is a quick and flavorful way to use up extra greens. But traditional pesto recipes use lots of olive oil and parmesan cheese (translation: lots of unnecessary fat). My recipe replaces the olive oil with aquafaba (the liquid found in cans of chickpeas). In place of parmesan, I use nutritional yeast for that “nutty” flavor and miso for the umami and salt. By replacing those two things, you eliminate the cholesterol and drastically lower the fat and calorie content of traditional pesto.

RECIPE NOTES:

While pesto is generally made with basil and pine nuts, you can substitute nearly any green leafy veggie (or herb) for basil and virtually any nut or seed for pine nuts. My favorite combinations are rosemary and walnuts, radish greens and almonds, or arugula, basil, and pumpkin seeds.
This recipe is MUCH easier to make in a food processor, though making it in a blender is totally possible with some patience and a lot of scraping.
If using this recipe as a spread, make a thicker sauce by using a bit less aquafaba. For a pasta sauce, use a little more aquafaba. For a salad dressing, use even more.
Unleash your creativity to create your favorite pesto using these general ratios!

Did you make this recipe? Let me know! Tag me on Instagram @notlikemama. I love to see your versions of my recipes!

Happy Cooking!

Courtney