Pork Free Vegan Walnut Pesto
Bright, herby, and deeply savory, this walnut pesto is the kind of sauce that makes you want to put it on absolutely everything. Toasting the walnuts first is the move — just a few minutes in a dry skillet coaxes out a rich, nutty depth that elevates the whole batch. Nutritional yeast steps in for parmesan, delivering that umami punch and subtle cheesiness without any dairy involved. Fresh basil, lemon juice, and good olive oil round it all out into something that tastes far more complex than the ingredient list suggests. Streaming the oil in slowly while the food processor runs is what gives you that luscious, spoonable consistency rather than a greasy or broken sauce. It comes together in minutes and works beautifully tossed with pasta, spread on toast, or dolloped over roasted vegetables.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- ½ cup walnuts
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- 1
Add the walnuts to a small dry skillet over medium heat and toast, stirring frequently, until fragrant and lightly golden, about 3–4 minutes. Watch closely, as they can brown quickly. Transfer to a plate and let cool for 2 minutes.
- 2
Combine the toasted walnuts, basil, nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper in a food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until the mixture is coarsely chopped and roughly uniform.
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