Welcome back guys. Today I’m sharing the perfect pesto recipe that has now become a weekly go-to in my kitchen. It’s amazing for introducing new flavors into a plant-based diet. That’s honestly how and why this way of eating is so delish to me. I rely a ton on healthy sauces, spices, dips, and marinades to jazz up whole foods. This pesto recipe is dairy-free and vegan since sans dairy. Plus, you know if you’re visiting my site, it’s full of organic goodness. I honestly can’t believe I store bought pesto in a little jar for so long because I simply didn’t stop and think how to recreate this fave food of mine to accommodate my plant based lifestyle. Like, how embarrassing. I now realize it’s so easy to make. What a lazy Susan I am. (<<— kitchen puns anyone? ?)
Ok so seriously you HAVE TO TRY THIS. All you need is a blender of some sort and the ingredients below. It will stay good in a mason jar in the fridge for like at least a week. If you need some mason jars, check out the ones I like on my Amazon store here. Of course, feel free to change up the ingredient amounts in the recipe below. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again- I never measure and cook just by estimating and tasting along the way. Makes it more fun and not so rigorous ya know? Which I why I think it’s annoying when I buy cookbooks and it’s like you have to go to the store just to get 1/2 a teaspoon of some random spices. TOO. MUCH. WORK. No one has time for that.
5-Minute Perfect Vegan Pesto
PREP TIME: 4 minutes
COOK TIME: 1 minute
KITCHEN TOOLS: Blender/Vitamix
INGREDIENTS (ALL ORGANIC)
-
- 2 cups of fresh basil
- 1 handful pumpkin seeds (This is like the key secret ingredient. It gives it some grit and texture and make the pesto super filling! Also, pumpkin seeds are an amazing source of healthy fats.)
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 1 bunch of parsley (Note: For the cilantro and parsley bunches I do not pick off the leaves. I simply rinse the whole bunches and then cut off the stems all together at once. It only takes you like 10 seconds and it’s completely fine to eat the rest of the herbs as is!)
- Lemon Juice to taste (Instead of squeezing lemons I buy the Lakewood Organics brand of 100% fresh lemon juice!)
- Olive oil to taste (Braggs Organic First Cold Pressed is ALWAYS in my house. PS olive oil is super important to buy high quality and first cold pressed if you can or else it’s probably refined and has lost a lot of the nutritional value. But just do what you can here!)
- Celtic sea salt to taste (Pink Himalayan salt works as well.)
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour all ingredients into a blender and blend on low/medium until it meets the consistency you want- usually for about 30 seconds is good. You may have to add more lemon and/or olive oil too. And that’s it! Use on salads as a dressing like my OG Kale Quinoa Salad recipe here, or as a dip for my 20 minute Vegan Pizza recipe here. It’s amazing on some lentil pasta too! Oh and if you haven’t signed up for my newsletter be sure to do so because you’ll get 3 easy plant based recipes just like this sent straight to your inbox.
Do you all prefer these plant based recipe posts OR do you want to see other types of content from me? More stuff about clean makeup and beauty? More holistic health info? Please let me know in the comments! Thank you so much for taking the time to read.
XOXO,
Dani
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