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Lettuce Veg Out

Vegan Recipes and Nutrition

  • Vegan Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Snack
    • Appetizer
    • Gluten Free
  • Vegan Nutrition
    • Essential Nutrients
    • Food Groups
    • Vegan Health
    • Vegan Nutrition Articles
  • Videos
  • About
    • About Lettuce Veg Out
    • Meet Nicole
    • Dietitians vs. Nutritionists
  • Contact
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Vegan Walnut Pesto with Basil, Spinach and Nutritional Yeast

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This delicious vegan walnut pesto is made with basil, spinach and nutritional yeast for a classic flavor! Pesto sauce is extremely versatile and a fantastic way to spruce up meals. Using simple plant based ingredients, this pesto is easy and quick to whip together.

This recipe tastes exactly how I remember non-vegan pesto to taste; and I used to eat a lot of pesto pasta during the early years of my undergraduate degree. It’s just such a simple meal!

Skill: Easy | Time: 15 min | Servings: 4

Vegan walnut pesto with spinach, basil and hemp seeds

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Use Walnuts in Vegan Pesto

A truly classic pesto recipe would use pine nuts but I’ve decided to use walnuts instead.

Pine nuts tend to be quite pricey and may be difficult to find. Walnuts, on the other hand, are a bit less expensive, commonly found and a nut I often have on hand.

Walnuts are packed with nutrition and flavor so they are a great addition to this pesto sauce, or a plant-based diet in general. We’re not missing out on anything by making this simple substitution from a classic pesto recipe.

Spinach in Vegan Basil Pesto

By using spinach in this vegan pesto, we’re bulking up the sauce while adding some tasty nutrition. To make a large amount of pesto, without spending a fortune on basil, bulking up the sauce with spinach has always been my go-to technique.

I also like rounding out the flavor of the basil with the spinach. We’re already using 2 cups of basil which provides all the herby flavor needed! Plus, there’s no harm in adding the nutrition boost that spinach provides.

Vegan basil pesto recipe with walnuts and hemp seed

Dairy Free Pesto: Using Nutritional Yeast in Pesto

A predominant flavor of traditional pesto is Parmesan cheese. To make a vegan or plant based pesto, we need to substitute that ingredient, while still creating a flavorful sauce!

The simple solution is to use nutritional yeast to flavor the pesto. Nutritional yeast is a staple in my vegan kitchen because it is truly unique in its flavor. It brings a cheesy, nutty and somewhat salty flavor to anything including pesto!

Along with the walnuts and hemp seeds, nutritional yeast allows for the perfect vegan pesto flavor.

Dairy free pesto recipe with nutritional yeast in a glass jar

How to Serve Vegan Walnut Pesto

There are countless ways to serve your vegan walnut pesto. In university, I simply cooked pasta and tossed it with pesto and a drained can of chickpeas. add in some chopped fresh tomato and you have a super quick meal that’s unbelievably tasty.

I’ve also shared an elevated pesto pasta recipe, with caramelized onions, chickpeas and broccoli; if you want to take your pesto to the next level.

Some other ways to use pesto are:

  • As the base sauce for a vegan pesto pizza
  • In a calzone (or to dip calzones into)
  • On toast, topped with bruschetta
  • In a wrap or sandwich
  • Tossed onto some roasted veggies
Vegan walnut pesto recipe on pasta with jar of pesto in background

I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you make it, please rate and comment below so others benefit from your experience.

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5 from 1 vote

Classic Vegan Pesto with Walnuts and Hemp Seeds

This classic vegan pesto recipe uses walnuts and hemp seeds for a delicious and nutritious twist on a traditional pesto recipe. Full of flavor, healthy fats and leafy greens, you can't go wrong with this sauce!
Course Sauce
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Vegan Pesto Sauce
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 Servings (of about 1/4 C)
Calories 229kcal

Equipment

  • Food processor

Ingredients

  • 2 C fresh basil leaves (packed)
  • 1 C spinach (packed)
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed (or finely minced)
  • ¼ C walnuts
  • 2 tbsp hemp seeds
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp salt plus more to taste if needed
  • ¼ C extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  • Place all ingredients, except for the olive oil, into a food processor.
  • Pulse a few times to combine ingredients.
  • Turn the processor on low and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the mixture is at the desired consistency.

Notes

Accuracy of nutrition information cannot be guaranteed (certain ingredients may not have all nutrients listed in the database); amounts may vary (and will vary depending on brands of ingredients used); all nutrition fact values rounded to the nearest whole number.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving (about 1/4 of recipe) | Calories: 229kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Sodium: 157mg | Potassium: 335mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1825IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 2mg

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Filed Under: Vegan and Gluten Free Recipes, Vegan Recipes Tagged With: Citrus, Leafy greens, Mediterranean-inspired, Nutritional yeast, Nuts and seeds, Spinach

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christine

    September 28, 2020 at 10:42 pm

    Best pesto I have ever had and the first pesto my husband ever liked. Made it exactly like the recipe said but with a bit more salt. Yummy!!!

    Reply
    • Nicole Stevens

      September 29, 2020 at 7:34 am

      Hi Christine! So happy you and your husband enjoyed 🙂

      Reply

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Nicole Stevens, Registered Dietitian and Owner of Lettuce Veg Out

Welcome to Lettuce Veg Out, a vegan recipe and nutrition website created by Nicole Stevens, MSc, RD. As a vegan Registered Dietitian, I empower vegans to live a balanced life and gain confidence in the kitchen. Read More

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