Dairy Free Basil & Olive Pesto
Traditional pesto leans heavily on parmesan, which makes it a no-go for anyone avoiding dairy ā but this version swaps the cheese for briny green olives and gets every bit of the richness and depth you'd expect. The olives bring a savory, umami punch that fills the flavor gap beautifully, while fresh lemon juice and zest keep things bright and lively. Packed basil leaves, good extra-virgin olive oil, and a couple of garlic cloves round it out into something that tastes genuinely luxurious. The whole thing comes together in a food processor in just a few pulses, so you're not standing over a mortar and pestle for twenty minutes. A slow drizzle of olive oil while the processor runs gives you that silky, emulsified texture that makes pesto so satisfying to eat. Optional parsley adds a little extra herbal complexity if you want to take it one step further. Spoon it over pasta, spread it on toast, or stir it into roasted vegetables ā this one earns a permanent spot in your fridge.
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Learn more āIngredients
6 servings
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- ā cup pitted green olives
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Ā½ tsp lemon zest
- Ā½ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- Ā½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1ā2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the basil leaves, green olives, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 8ā10 times until the mixture is coarsely chopped and the garlic is broken down.
- 2
With the processor running, pour the olive oil in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube, processing until the pesto is smooth with a few flecks of texture remaining ā about 20ā30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, then pulse once or twice more to incorporate.
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