Soy Free Vegan Basil Pesto with Lemon Zest
Bright, herby, and packed with fresh flavor, this plant-based pesto comes together in minutes and tastes like something you'd find at a really good Italian restaurant. Toasted pine nuts add a rich, buttery depth that makes the sauce feel indulgent without any dairy in sight. Nutritional yeast steps in to deliver that savory, cheesy quality you'd normally get from parmesan, and it does the job beautifully. The lemon zest and fresh lemon juice are what really set this version apart — they lift the whole sauce and keep it tasting vibrant rather than heavy. Many store-bought pestos and vegan alternatives sneak in soy-based ingredients or additives, so blending your own from scratch means you know exactly what's going in the bowl. Every ingredient here is naturally free of soy, and the olive oil base keeps the texture silky and rich. Toss it with pasta, spread it on crusty bread, or swirl it into soup — this pesto is endlessly useful and genuinely hard to stop eating.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1–2 tbsp water, as needed
Instructions
- 1
Toast the pine nuts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about 2–3 minutes. Watch closely, as they can brown quickly. Transfer immediately to a plate and let cool for 2 minutes.
- 2
Combine the toasted pine nuts, basil, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper in a food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until the mixture is coarsely chopped and the ingredients are evenly broken down.
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