Turmeric Free Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto
Garlic scapes are the curly, bright green shoots that spring up from hardneck garlic bulbs, and they bring a mellow, grassy garlic flavor that makes this pesto genuinely special. Toasting the pine nuts first is a small step that pays off big — it deepens their richness and adds a subtle nuttiness that balances the sharpness of the scapes beautifully. Nutritional yeast steps in for parmesan, giving the sauce that savory, umami depth you'd expect from a classic pesto without any dairy. A hit of fresh lemon juice and zest keeps everything bright and lively, so the finished sauce tastes vibrant rather than heavy. The whole thing comes together in a food processor in minutes, and you can loosen it with a splash of water until it's exactly the consistency you want — thick enough to cling to pasta or thin enough to drizzle over roasted vegetables. Every ingredient here is straightforward and clean, so if you're navigating spice sensitivities or trying to avoid certain anti-inflammatory additives that sneak into store-bought sauces, this one is refreshingly uncomplicated. Make a batch, stash it in the fridge, and watch it disappear faster than you'd expect.
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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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