walnut pesto
No pine nuts? No problem. This walnut pesto is just as creamy and flavourful with ground walnuts, fresh basil, olive oil, salt, pepper, zesty lemon and nutritional yeast.
Traditional pesto is made with pine nuts, fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.
However, I’ve made a few alterations to keep it plant-based, and brightened it up with an additional squeeze of lemon. Lifting the richness of the walnuts, whilst adding a lovely tang to keep it fresh and flavourful.
You can enjoy this recipe with or without nutritional yeast, depending on your preference. However I highly recommend it if you enjoy a classic cheesy pesto.
Because this recipe (like all of my recipes) is dairy-free, it is much lighter on the tummy than traditional pesto and contains a great source of omega-3, biotin, manganese, molybdenum, vitamin E and B6. Keeping your head, heart and hair, healthy and happy, not to mention it’s ready in minutes.
Whether you’re plant-based, vegan, dairy-free or not, I think you’re going to love this recipe!
Walnut Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Walnuts Halves
- 1 Pack of Fresh Basil
- 2 Fresh Garlic Cloves
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 1/3 Cup (80ml) Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Add the walnuts and fresh garlic into a food processor and blitz on high for approximately 10 seconds.
- Add basil (including the stalks), seasoning, and nutritional yeast to the processor and blitz again until a paste begins to form.
- Once well combined, turn the processor to the lowest speed and slowly begin to pour in the lemon juice, then olive oil through the feed tube.
- Transfer into an air-tight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3-days, I recommend adding extra oil to the top of the container to help preserve your pesto.
Notes:
Calories
348.46Fat (grams)
35.17Sat. Fat (grams)
4.12Carbs (grams)
6.89Fiber (grams)
3.00Net carbs
3.88Sugar (grams)
1.00Protein (grams)
6.09Sodium (milligrams)
585.45Cholesterol (grams)
0.08