Main image of Vegan Green Pesto

Vegan Green Pesto

15 min

Spread

Make-ahead

10 ingredients or less
Enjoy this homemade green pesto in a pasta salad, in a sandwich or wrap, or as a dip for crackers and veggies.

Servings

(2 Tbsp per serving)

Total

15 min

Prep

5 min

Cook

10 min

Contains

Treenut symbol

tree nut

Free from

Soy symbol

soy

Peanut symbol

peanut

Sesame symbol

sesame

Gluten symbol

gluten

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (50 g)
    raw walnuts
  • ½ cup (68 g)
    raw pine nuts
  • 1 cup (24 g)
    fresh basil, packed
  • 1 cup (20 g)
    arugula, packed
  • ⅓ cup (12 g)
    nutritional yeast flakes
  • ¼ cup (60 mL)
    olive oil
  • ¼ cup (60 mL)
    water
  • 2
    cloves garlic
  • 1
    lemon, juiced
  • ¼ tsp
    ground black pepper
  • ¼ tsp
    flaked sea salt

Directions

  1. Heat a small pan over medium-high heat, and toast the walnuts and pine nuts until fragrant for 3 - 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Transfer to a food processor.
  2. To the same food processor, add the basil, arugula, nutritional yeast, oil, water, garlic, lemon juice, pepper, and salt. Blend on high speed until smooth.
  3. Spread onto toasted bread or serve with crackers. Enjoy!

Storage

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Let us know what you think

Nutrition info

We believe that focusing on numbers can harm our relationship with food. Instead, our philosophy is to Nourish the Cells & the Soul. If you require specific nutrition information due to a medical condition, please consult with a dietitian or physician. The nutritional information provided is composed with the utmost care. However, we cannot guarantee the correctness of the displayed values, see also our disclaimer.

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Discussion & Rating

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Ilse - Feb. 23, 2023, 3:31 p.m.

Very tasty! My family loved this pesto.

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Silvia Natal - Feb. 19, 2023, 4:21 p.m.

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Silvia Natal - Feb. 19, 2023, 4:21 p.m.

Made this for ThxGiving with some fresh bread on the side ! Excellent and easy to make. Good for couple days in fridge but best fresh

PUL Team - Feb. 19, 2023, 7:09 p.m.

Thanks, Silvia! So happy to hear πŸ™‚

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Francesca - Jan. 23, 2023, 11:51 a.m.

Super easy and delicious! Very satisfying 🀀

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Pat - Aug. 17, 2022, 5:40 p.m.

My first vegan pesto that I love!!

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Maria M - Aug. 12, 2022, 9:19 p.m.

Just made this but I subbed pumpkin seeds instead of pine nuts as well as vinegar for the lemon as that's what I had on hand and it is DELICIOUS! Super easy and simple, will definitely use this recipe again and again :)

PUL Team - Aug. 13, 2022, 7:56 a.m.

Woohoo! We're so glad to hear, Maria πŸ€—

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Cecilia - Aug. 9, 2022, 7:24 p.m.

This was DELICIOUS!!! Thank you so much!

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Rashmi - June 11, 2022, 4:08 p.m.

My family loves this recipe, especially my 1 year old daughter ! πŸ™‚ Thanks for all you do!
We tend to use this on pastas , mostly. I was wondering - can this pesto be frozen? If so, how long would it stay good ?

PUL Team - June 15, 2022, 3:52 a.m.

Aw we're so happy it's being enjoyed, Rashmi, especially by the little one! We haven't tested it out so we can't say with absolute certainty, but vegan pesto tends to freeze well for around 2 months typically. Do let us know if you give it a try πŸ™‚

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Devan - June 10, 2022, 6:49 p.m.

This is my go-to pesto recipe! The proportions are perfect! I use whatever greens and nuts I have on hand and use your amazingly convenient scaling feature to adjust the size of the batch as needed. It always comes out fantastic! I truly appreciate all the work and attention you put into your recipe development, I come back to PUL again and again because your recipes are unfailingly reliable and delicious, and your website is such a pleasure to use! Thanks for all you do!

PUL Team - June 13, 2022, 3:44 p.m.

Oh, Devan, we appreciate the kind words and support so much! Thank YOU for being here and for helping make our PUL community so incredible πŸ’›

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Pardis - June 9, 2022, 9:36 p.m.

Incredible !

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Jigya - May 31, 2022, 6:26 a.m.

Loved this recipe! I had an abundance of arugula growing in my garden, and I do not enjoy it raw very much because of the strong peppery taste. This recipe was a great way to use it up- delicious on toast and I cannot wait to toss it with some pasta. Pine nuts are a bit expensive where I live, so I replaced those with almonds.

PUL Team - May 31, 2022, 10:44 p.m.

Ooo super cool to hear about the arugula and so glad it's being enjoyed, Jigya, thank you! In case you're interested and haven't already seen we have a few other recipes which include arugula here: https://www.pickuplimes.com/r… πŸ™‚

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Ana-Marija - April 10, 2022, 3 p.m.

I need instructions on how NOT to eat all of it in one go πŸ˜‚

PUL Team - April 11, 2022, 1:03 a.m.

Hehe very relatable, Ana-Marija! We'll add it when we figure it out 😜

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Jo - Jan. 8, 2022, 6:49 p.m.

What would be a good alternative to the nutritional yeast? I'm on a maintenance diet because of my IBD and yeast is one of the products I can't have/should avoid when possible.

PUL Team - Jan. 10, 2022, 1:58 a.m.

Hi there, Jo! The nutritional yeast adds a creaminess to the pesto so you could try adding finely ground cashews in its place, or omit it for a less creamy sauce. We hope you enjoy it if you're able to give the recipe a try 😊

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Shayla - Jan. 5, 2022, 6:43 p.m.

I was just wondering what you could use instead of walnuts and pine nuts? I have someone in my family allergic to walnuts and pine nuts are fairly expensive here in Canada.

PUL Team - Jan. 6, 2022, 5:27 a.m.

Hey Shayla, thanks for the question! An alternative nut or seed would work. For example, almonds could be used in place of both the pine nuts and walnuts, although pecans, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds are other options if a mix of nuts (or seeds) is desired 😊

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Prina - Dec. 19, 2021, 12:43 a.m.

Can someone let me know how long this pesto lasts in the fridge?

PUL Team - Dec. 21, 2021, 3:17 a.m.

Hi there, Prina, we find that this pesto stays fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. We hope this helps for now πŸ™‚

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Aleksandra - Nov. 8, 2021, 1:31 p.m.

Love it! πŸ’•

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Sena - Oct. 4, 2021, 11:03 p.m.

Do you think I could skip the nutritional yeast? Would it mess up the taste?

Also, FYI some of the ads that pop up for me feature burnt legs etc. - not appetizing when I'm looking into recipes :( Maybe you can switch it up?

PUL Team - Oct. 6, 2021, 3:04 a.m.

Hey Sena, I'm so sorry to hear that the displayed ads are in bad taste. Could you provide some more information about the country you're in and what the ad is about precisely, then we can track it down and stop it from being displayed. You can send the information to [email protected]. Thank you so much for helping us keep our site a clean and pleasant place to be - it's so appreciated! As for the nutritional yeast, you can leave it out if you'd like - we just added it becuase it gives the pesto a bit of a cheesy taste, but I'm sure it'd still be delicious if excluded 😊

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Louise MagnussonπŸ‡ΈπŸ‡ͺ - Oct. 4, 2021, 4:42 p.m.

Pleasant and very creamy pesto! I’ve never liked basil, so I replaced it with an equal amount of arugula. It still tasted like pesto due to the buttery nuts and lemon. I’m amazed that the nutritional yeast almost resembles the flavour of Parmesan.
I’ve only spread this pesto on crackers so far, but I’m excited to try it in warm meals

PUL Team - Oct. 4, 2021, 6:42 p.m.

Love the substitution for arugula, Louise! Nutritional yeast indeed continues to surprise as well πŸ˜ƒ Let us know if you find any good pairings with the pesto 😊

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laetitia - Sept. 20, 2021, 5:33 p.m.

very easy and tasty!

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Ellen - Sept. 12, 2021, 6:43 p.m.

Very good pesto recipe. Since I eat whole food plant based without oils I skip the olive oil but it’s still delicious!

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Vivian H. - Aug. 23, 2021, 6:55 p.m.

Wow this is so good! I made this today and invented some new yoga moves to get every drop scraped out of my blender. πŸ˜ƒ

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Louise Moore - Aug. 12, 2021, 8:58 p.m.

I have just discovered you and your blog!! Cant wait to dive into this pesto Making it tonight! where do you get all those amazing dishes and jars??

PUL Team - Aug. 12, 2021, 10:44 p.m.

Hi there, Louise! A good number of our dishes and jars are from thrift stores - always very unique finds there. Others were purchased from local Dutch shops, such as Dille & Kamille or local potters in neighbouring towns. One of the more common rustic ceramics you might be seeing are those we purchased from NomLiving. We have some similar jars listed in our shop as well: pickuplimes.com/shop/?filter=…. We hope you love the pesto πŸ˜ƒ

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Charlotte - Aug. 12, 2021, 4:13 p.m.

Yummm! This pesto is incredible! I have enjoyed all of your pesto themed recipes to date and you may have just outdone yourselves with this one (although the Vegan Red Pesto is also amazing β€πŸ€”)! This recipe is bursting with flavour and today I enjoyed some in a toasted sandwich with roasted veggies and arugula. Soo good!

PUL Team - Aug. 12, 2021, 4:31 p.m.

Aw we appreciate this so much, Charlotte! Love it on sandwiches 😍

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Dorina - Aug. 11, 2021, 10:56 a.m.

So so delicious! One of the best things I’ve ever made. Added it to gnocchi with some sauted mushrooms, it was a hit!

PUL Team - Aug. 11, 2021, 4:29 p.m.

A huuuge compliment, Dorina, thank you for the review! Love the additions :)

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Morgan - Aug. 9, 2021, 5:02 p.m.

Delicious!!! This is my new go-to recipe for pesto! I did not have pine nuts, so I just doubled the walnuts. We had this tossed with pasta, as a spread for veggie wraps, and on toasted flatbread. Definitely keeping this recipe in regular rotation!

PUL Team - Aug. 10, 2021, 3:08 a.m.

We're so glad you enjoyed the pesto, Morgan! Thanks a bunch for sharing πŸ₯°

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Annie - Aug. 3, 2021, 3:28 p.m.

This was so yummy. My husband and our toddler loved it so much too, it was gone after one dinner!

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Suzi - July 30, 2021, 6:49 p.m.

Absolutely delicious, simple, and great meal prep. I paired mine with some whole wheat sourdough.

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Anke - July 26, 2021, 8:05 p.m.

Really creamy and tasty 😘

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Rachel - July 24, 2021, 11:30 p.m.

Easy and absolutely delicious

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Sm - July 24, 2021, 6:23 p.m.

Love it 😍

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Raksha Bhat - July 24, 2021, 1:30 p.m.

Hands down the BEST pesto everr!!

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Prachi - July 24, 2021, 5:45 a.m.

Your videos and recipes are an absolute source of calm.

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Priyanka - July 24, 2021, 4:52 a.m.

I just had this pesto with some warm fluffy bread and it was heavenly!! Thank you πŸ™ will definitely make again

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Sarah - July 23, 2021, 4:19 p.m.

I love pestos and I really like this one! I prefer using roasted garlic, also in hummus and other dips. That way you have the delicious garlicky taste but it isn't as sharp and you don't "smell" like it πŸ˜… You can roast a few garlic cloves and prepare them for further recipes. Simply preheat the oven to 180 Celcius and put them in there for about 10 minutes. All the Best from Austria πŸ’—

PUL Team - July 25, 2021, 8:38 p.m.

A lovely suggestion, Sarah! We have a recipe for roasted garlic here if you're interested: pickuplimes.com/recipe/roaste… 🀩

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Kim - July 23, 2021, 12:41 a.m.

Would nutritional yeast flakes be suitable as well? I can't seem to find it in a powder form

Jacqui - July 23, 2021, 11:26 a.m.

should be fine as it goes in the blender so will get finer. Its only in flake form where i live as well.

PUL Team - July 25, 2021, 2:20 a.m.

That will work, Kim! Let us know how it goes πŸ˜ƒ

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Brenda - July 23, 2021, 12:02 a.m.

Coincidentally today I made up my mind to make a vegan version of a green pesto for the first time (That's my favorite pesto). Went into the store, bought me some pine nuts. Forgot about the pesto when I came home. Switch my laptop on and there was a notification of you with .... the vegan green pesto. So excited to try this. Thank you

PUL Team - July 25, 2021, 2:18 a.m.

Sounds like it was meant to me! Let us know how it goes, Brenda πŸ˜ƒ

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Ade - July 22, 2021, 7:44 p.m.

Thank youuuuu! I was looking for a quick and delicious dinner, too hot to cook here in Italy! Gonna make it right now 😍 always the best

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