The title of this post refers to the compliment I received from friends who are not vegan, when I served up our homemade vegan basil pesto for dinner recently. I was chuffed, and my Man of Many Talents thought it was time I shared my secret recipe. So here it is!
Vegan Basil Pesto
For 4-6 servings:
- 3 cups/45 g fresh basil leaves (homegrown is best! 😉 )
- 90 g pine nuts (they are expensive, but splash out on the best quality you can find)
- 15 g cashews
- 4 level tbsps nutritious yeast (essential for texture and the slight ‘cheesy’ flavour)
- 2-3 cloves of garlic (fresh if possible)
- 3 sun-dried tomatoes (the sort that come in a jar, marinated in oil), roughly chopped
- 1 – 2 tbsps of the sun-dried tomato oil
- 100 ml of mild olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients in a mixer until chunky. If the mixture is too thick you can either add a drop more oil or – if it is being eaten the same day – a splash of water to thin it slightly.
Serve over hot pasta and let all that sunshiny flavour tickle your tastebuds! Very good with a tomato salad and a cold drink. 🙂
Do you love basil too? What sorts do you grow and what do you use it for?
I love pesto and I think we will have to add a bit of sun-dried tomatoes to add a twist….sounds and looks yummy!
Hi Donna! The tomatoes do add a lovely flavour. I much prefer this version to the original with grated hard cheese. 🙂
I’ve been meaning to make pesto with my booming basil plant~ thanks for the little nudge I needed!
You’re welcome! Ours never gets a chance to flower as we eat it non-stop all summer! 😉 Sadly this last batch used up the last of our plants, as the nights are getting cold and the days too short for more growth. 😦
Sounds great!
Thank you Eliza!
Oh boy but this looks great, Cathy! Thank you for sharing it. I can remember when pine nuts weren’t so expensive, so it sometimes “hurts” to make the purchase! LOL! But I do love a good pesto. This really appeals to me and the addition of the cashews must really give this a creamy texture. Yum!
🙂 Recently we have been able to get cheaper pine nuts – from China! However, they have a strange aftertaste and the flavour is quite different. They are also short and round rather than long and thin… a different sort I presume. The texture of this pesto is perfect, but then I am biased! 😉
Sounds scrummy!
Thanks Laurie! 🙂
YUM as always Cathy.
Hope you are doing well.
Thanks Eunice! 🙂
I like basil with boring tomatoes and mozzarella cheese 😉
Not boring at all… we make a vegan version by marinating soft tofu, and it just wouldn’t be the same without the basil. Yum! 🙂 Have a lovely weekend Simone!
And you! By the way I’ve heard today that basil should be very good in a vegetable soup.
Yes, that looks delicious. I grew basil this year for the first time in ages, but it didn’t thrive so I had only a few leaves to use.
Ours did extremely well this summer and we could have a big pot of pesto every week! 😀 I have found it loves sun and warmth, but not being rained on and not too much humidity. It’s a rather fussy plant in fact!
My basil growing skills are mediocre, the leaves get eaten! But there is usually enough to snip a few leaves for dinner. For pesto I buy a bunch at the farmers market. I haven’t tried making vegan pesto, but i know that nutritional yeast adds a nice boost of flavor. A must try recipe!
Yes, ours got eaten too and this was the last lot for this summer I’m afraid! I am not quite sure what was eating it as I couldn’t find any caterpillars. Maybe earwigs? Have a great weekend Deb!
Looks great. I’ve just discovered yeast flakes for adding a cheesy/nutty flavour to things (and the B vits of course). I’ll definitely try this
Nutritious yeast was a revelation for us and we often sprinkle it over pasta dishes these days. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe Allison!
Cathy, that sounds very good and will taste better. I love the pesto and my basil plant. Greetings from Margarita.
Thanks Margarita. Have a lovely weekend!
I do love Basil, although I have not had much luck growing it. Tried the purple one in the greenhouse this year, plagued with white fly and then the slugs ate it!
Oh no! I didn’t know slugs like it too! I grow mine in pots on a covered balcony, out of reach of most pests and nice and warm and sheltered, but something nibbled mine this year too. No sign of caterpillars so I am not sure if it was perhaps the earwigs…
Oh my goodness that looks yummy! I love pesto! I also have basil in the garden. I will give this a try. Thank you, Cathy.
We have had pesto once a week all summer with our homegrown… it tastes so much better than what we can buy in the shops! 🙂
Cathy, how wonderful! We’ve had a couple of caprese salads with ours this week, now that I finally have ripe, red tomatoes. Oh my goodness, they are good.
This recipe definitely takes pesto to the next level…can’t wait to try it. My favorite basil to grow is African Blue. It has a rough texture and lacks the licorice overtones of others.
I think I have grown that one too Ricki, with lovely blue flowers? I have also grown a cinnamon flavoured one called ‘Christmas’, but it is only good in small doses! 🙂
I love basil and pesto and will give this a try, thanks! I’ve taken to growing mostly Gorbatschow, a splendid variety, very sturdy and strong and easy to overwinter as cuttings. Apart from this one I just adore cinnamon basil.
I must look out for that one then Annette. I usually grow the ‘Genoveser’ which has nice big leaves for pesto. I have grown the cinnamon one in the past too, but found I prefer the plain one for pesto.