This vegan basil pesto tastes tastes rich and cheesy, just like the traditional version. You need six ingredients, including garlic, lemon juice and fresh basil, the star of the recipe, to make a jar of this classic Italian pasta sauce.
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One of my most anticipated kitchen rituals every summer is making vegan pesto. This is unequivocally my favorite Italian pasta sauce and I make variations of it year round with mint, carrot tops, fennel fronds and even beet. As delicious as these are, nothing beats the allure of a classic basil pesto.
This is a great sauce to make ahead, perfect for meal-prep, because you can store it in the fridge for a week and freeze it for months. When I have an abundance of basil in the backyard, I make jars of it and keep it in the freezer, to share with friends and to enjoy in winter.
Although basil pesto is used primarily as a pasta sauce, it has so many more uses. You can treat it as a dip, spread it on toast or bruschetta, and add it to salads. I've even mixed it with rice for a quick, delicious meal.
Making basil pesto vegan
A pesto sauce is already nearly vegan, except the parmesan cheese. When I first shared my vegan basil pesto recipe with you in the fledgling days of this blog, in 2008, I veered from a traditional basil pesto recipe only to substitute nutritional yeast for the cheese. The nutritional yeast makes the pesto rich and cheesy and it tastes almost exactly like traditional pesto does. You can also use white miso, which has lots of umami, or vegan parmesan cheese as a substitute for the cheese.
The only other substitution I make, especially when I am making a big batch, is to replace pine nuts, which tend to be more expensive, with walnuts, pecans or cashew nuts.
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Recipe card
Vegan Basil Pesto
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh basil leaves (packed. Use sweet basil, also called Italian basil or Genovese basil.)
- ½ cup nuts (lightly toasted. You can use pine nuts, which are more traditional, cashews, walnuts or pecans. If nut-free, substitute with pumpkin seeds)
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled and chopped)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (or white miso or vegan cashew parmesan--recipe in notes below)
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste (miso is salty, so be sure to check if you need any additional salt in your pesto before adding)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor.
- With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil until you have a coarse but grainy and consistent paste. Add more olive oil if needed to keep the blades moving. Check seasoning and add more ground black pepper and salt if needed.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Frequently asked questions about vegan basil pesto
Pesto is meant to be grainy but you can make it as creamy as you want to. Use a blender instead of a food processor or blend it longer in the food processor until you get the texture you are looking for. You might need to add more olive oil.
Use one recipe of pesto sauce for one pound of pasta. Cook pasta (I use spaghetti most often) to al dente texture. Place pesto sauce in a large bowl and dilute it with half a cup of pasta water. Add drained pasta to the bowl and mix with a pair of tongs until all strands are evenly coated. To make the pasta even more nourishing, I add roasted vegetables, like zucchini, eggplant, broccoli and winter squash, to the bowl. For more protein add a 14-oz can of white beans.
If you can't eat nuts, use lightly toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or hemp seeds instead.
Extra virgin olive oil is a key ingredient in pesto. It mellows the bold flavors of basil, garlic and lemon and creates the sauce that clings to pasta. I won't pretend that basil pesto without oil will taste the same - removing it will greatly alter the flavor. You can reduce some of the oil in the pesto and replace it with water, aquafaba or vegetable stock. Use the pesto made with water immediately or freeze it.
Make pesto up to a week ahead and store it in the fridge in an airtight container.
Freeze pesto for up to four months in a freezer-safe container. Freeze soon after making and thaw completely at room temperature or in the fridge overnight before using.
Recipe first published July 9, 2008. Updated and re-published on July 10, 2025.
Erin
We LOVE this pesto! And it is so quick and easy to make. Thank you!!
Vaishali
Yay!! Happy you made it.
mary pat bolbrock
love this pesto! so easy to make and always delicious!
Vaishali
Awesome, so happy to hear!
Deb Z
Which do you think tastes better? Miso or Yeast?
Vaishali
Nutritional yeast!
Heidi
This is very good. I just made it. I did add some macadamia nuts along with the walnuts. Made zucchini pasta and put this on it. Thank you for the recipe.
Vaishali
So happy you made it, Heidi!
Cheryl
My basil is coming in like gangbusters in the garden, so I am happy to put it to use in your recipe. I love that I can use miso, such a beneficial food, and the walnut sub worked out great as well. I will use this recipe all summer!
Vaishali
Thanks, Cheryl, let me know if you try!
Alex
Quick, easy, and DELICIOUS! Ended up having it for breakfast because I could not wait to eat it!! Thanks for the recipe.
Vaishali
😀 Can't blame you. Pesto for breakfast sounds like a terrific idea! So happy you made it.
Sophia
I am allergic to walnuts and pecans. Is there another affordable nut that could be used in place of the walnuts (and the more costly pine nuts)?
Vaishali
You can use a seed like sunflower or pumpkin. Cashews are fine too.