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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
  • About
    • About Lettuce Veg Out
    • Meet Nicole: A Vegan Dietitian
    • The Difference between a Dietitian vs Nutritionist
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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 flavour! 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!

Vegan walnut pesto with spinach, basil and hemp seeds

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Vegan Walnut 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 flavour 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.

Vegan walnut pesto ingredients

Spinach in Vegan Basil Pesto

By using spinach in this vegan pesto, we’re bulking up the sauce while adding some tasty nutrition.

I typically use pesto as a pizza sauce, to dip calzones into, or simply on pasta. Either way, I love to load up on the pesto sauce.

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 flavour of the basil with the spinach. We’re already using 2 cups of basil which provides all the herby flavour needed!

Plus, there’s no harm in adding the nutrition boost that spinach provides.

Vegan basil pesto recipe with walnuts and hemp seed in a glass jar

Dairy Free Pesto: Using Nutritional Yeast in Pesto

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

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

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

Dairy free pesto recipe with nutritional yeast

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 calzone’s into)
    • On toast, topped with bruschetta
    • In a wrap or sandwich
    • Tossed onto some roasted veggies

I’d love to hear how you use this walnut and spinach pesto in the comments below!

Vegan walnut pesto recipe on pasta with jar of pesto in background

Hope you enjoy this recipe and be sure to tag me @lettucevegout on social media if you make this and share it. I love to see your creations!

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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 healthy twist on a traditional pesto recipe. Full of flavour, 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 1 Cup of pesto
Calories 915kcal

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: 1Cup of Pesto | Calories: 915kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 85g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 28g | Monounsaturated Fat: 43g | Sodium: 628mg | Potassium: 1338mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 7298IU | Vitamin C: 44mg | Calcium: 254mg | Iron: 7mg

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This is an updated post: Original post date June 2017

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

Previous Post: « Vegan Pesto Pizza Recipe with Balsamic Mushrooms
Next Post: Vegan Broccoli Potato Soup Recipe | Creamy and Cheesy »

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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About Lettuce Veg Out

Vegan registered dietitian Nicole Stevens MScFN

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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