Hazelnut Free Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto
Pesto lovers, this one is worth getting excited about. Garlic scapes — the curly green tops harvested from hardneck garlic before they flower — bring a mellow, grassy garlic flavor that's a little softer than a raw clove but way more interesting than garlic powder. Combined with fresh basil, toasted pine nuts, nutritional yeast, and a bright hit of lemon juice and zest, this blender sauce comes together into something deeply savory and completely plant-based. The nutritional yeast does the heavy lifting that parmesan usually handles, adding that umami depth without any dairy. Many store-bought pestos rely on hazelnuts or mixed nut blends that can be hard to track, so making it yourself with pine nuts means you know exactly what's in the jar. Toasting the pine nuts first is a small step that pays off big — it draws out their natural richness and gives the finished pesto a warm, nutty backbone. Toss it with pasta, spread it on flatbread, or swirl it into soup; this is the kind of versatile sauce that earns a permanent spot in your fridge.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- 6 oz garlic scapes (about 10–12 scapes), roughly chopped
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
- 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 3–4 minutes. Watch closely, as they can brown quickly. Transfer immediately to a plate to cool.
- 2
Add the garlic scapes, basil, toasted pine nuts, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and black pepper to a food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until the mixture is coarsely chopped and uniform.
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