Home-made Pesto
Making your own pesto is simple and it tastes divine. It’s also a lot cheaper than shop-brought vegan brands. You can use any green leaf – not just basil and also different nuts or seeds. Traditionally we use basil and pinenuts (see recipe). Other varieties include Kale and Walnut, Rocket, Spinach and Mixed Seeds or Spinach, Parsley and Sunflower Seed.
Vegan parmesan? Not to be confused with vegetarian parmesan! VBites ‘Hard Italian-style cheese’ or Violife’s Prosociano are both block dairy-free, vegan alternatives. Alternatively, use a vegan ground parmesan cheese in a tub – or nutritional yeast flakes. We’ve even got a super quick recipe for you to make your own crumbled vegan parmesan! Click or right-click here
Share your creations with us by using #veganrecipeclub and tagging @veganrecipeclub
Total time
10 minutes
Cuisine
Italian
Meal
- sides-light-meals-and-salads
- vegetable-side-dishes
Servings
4-6
Ingredients
- 50g/2oz fresh basil leaves
- 25g/1oz pine kernels OR raw cashews (unroasted)
- 1 garlic clove
- black pepper
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp Parmesan or vegan ‘parmesan’ or nutritional yeast flakes – see above for product details or home-made options
- A little water if the pesto is still too dry – add a splash at a time
Instructions
1. Put all ingredients together in a food processor and blend until the pesto becomes as smooth as you like.
2. Taste it, then add in more oil or seasoning if you wish.
3. Stir though warm pasta.
4. Make other varieties by adding different ingredients; sun-dried tomatoes, olives, nuts, different herbs.
Keywords
Did you know that Vegan Recipe Club is run by a charity?
We create vital resources to help educate everyone – vegan veterans, novices and the v-curious alike – about vegan food, health and nutrition; as well as the plight of farmed animals and the devastating environmental impact of farming.
Through this work we have helped thousands of people discover veganism; but we want to reach millions more! We rely entirely on donations as we don’t get any government funding. If you already support us, thank you from the bottom of our hearts, you are really making a difference! Please share our details with your friends and loved ones too, as every donation enables us to keep fighting for change.
Related recipes
Flourless Mince Pie Brownies
Fancy some mince pie brownies? They are gooey, moist, fruity and richly chocolatey and totally addictive (be warned)… These lovely and super festive brownies are so good you’d never believe…
Baked Biscoff Cheesecake
This cheesecake is the ultimate indulgence! You’ll only need a small bite so there’ll be lots to go around – perfect for a big Christmas dinner 🙂
Mexican Halloween Hot Chocolate Cakes
This deliciously spooky halloween recipe is courtesy of Viva!’s very own Dr Justine Butler! Have a look at her blog for lots of other amazing recipes and inspiration 🙂
‘Tuna’ & Sweetcorn Sandwich
This is a great vegan, fishless alternative to this traditional sandwich. Perfect for lunchboxes or use the filling for jacket potatoes, toasties, pasta bake, puff pastry tart.
Pizza Dough, Smoked Ajo Blanco & Basil
This has become something of a signature dish of sorts. It really came about because of my personal loathing of sourdough as the accepted bread course at restaurants. I wanted…
Frangipane Tart
This is one of my favourite dessert recipes: light, crisp pastry with a frangipane topping over a delicate layer of jam. Everyone who tries it loves it, so I hope…