Lemony Vegan Basil Pesto
I definitely aim to avoid dairy in my diet, which makes pesto a challenging sauce to order. The solution to this problem is my vegan lemony-basil variety that hits all the traditional notes but is made without parmesan. Nutritional yeast lends a similar umami kick and the addition of lemon zest lends a brightness to the sauce. I am a toasted nuts girl all the way so toast my pine nuts but if you don’t have time or want to turn the oven on, you can get away with using the pine nuts raw.
Instructions
Add pine nuts, lemon zest, garlic, salt, nutritional yeast, and olive oil to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
Add basil leaves and continue blending until a paste forms.
Ingredients
4 oz Basil leaves (just the leaves from 4 oz basil)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
⅓ cup toasted pine nuts
½ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 medium clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt