oil free pesto

If you&#039;re looking for an oil-free vegan pesto that doesn&#039;t skimp on flavor and richness, then I have a solution for you. This classic pesto recipe substitutes nutritional yeast for the parmesan and aquafaba for the oil. Bump up the nutrition with spinach and the brightness with lemon juice, and you have an absolutely decadent vegan pesto.

Quick Oil-Free Vegan Pesto

basil ((see notes for frozen))

spinach

pine nuts

garlic

nutritional yeast

aquafaba

lemon juice

cracked pepper

salt

Heat a skillet on medium. Lightly roast pine nuts until golden brown (or buy pre-roasted pine nuts and skip this step). Set aside to cool 1 to 2 minutes.

Place the basil, spinach, and pine nuts in the food processor and blend to combine.

Add the nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon juice, and black pepper to the food processor. Blend again.

Open the top of the food processor and slowly add the aquafaba with the food processor running. (Or skip this step and add aquafaba in previous step.)

Serve immediately over pasta or roasted vegetables. OR store in an air-tight container up to 5 days in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.

How to make the most delicious healthy Vegan Spinach Pesto that is dairy-free, oil-free, gluten-free and made with wholesome ingredients like fresh spinach, peas, roasted pecans and Italian seasoning for extra flavor! Goes great as a side dip for veggies or mixed into pasta or as a pizza base!

Vegan Spinach Pesto (Oil-free)

(35 grams) pecans

(90 grams) water

(140 grams) cooked peas (I used frozen)

(30 grams) fresh lemon juice lemon

Italian seasoning

sea salt

scale.

Lightly toast the pecans in a small pan over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring often. Watch closely so they don&#039;t burn! Once they start smelling fragrant and looking toasty, they are done. You have to be very careful or they can go from fragrant to burnt, quickly.

Add the frozen peas (straight from the bag) to the microwave or stove to warm up. I did 1 minute in the microwave. You don&#039;t want to add them frozen or it will be difficult to process.

Add all of the ingredients, except the spinach, starting with the water first, into a food processor. I tested with both a wide blender and a food processor and found the food processor works much better because of the space being wider.

Pulse until thick and creamy, scraping the sides down often many times in the beginning, as needed, getting it roughly smooth.

Add the spinach and process until very smooth and creamy, as pictured. I like mine really smooth. Taste and add any additional salt/spices, if desired. Should be smooth, delicious, tart, savory and a touch of sweetness from the peas!

Serve with homemade tortilla chips, veggies, over pasta or as a base for pizza to make a pesto pizza!

Smoky, flavorful roasted eggplant, zucchini, and peppers are combined with pasta, chickpeas, and a basil-infused vinaigrette in this easy one-pot meal.Use any balsamic vinaigrette or Italian dressing that you like; even if if comes from a bottle it will be instantly transformed by the addition of fresh basil and roasted garlic.

Warm Pasta Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Pesto Vinaigrette

eggplant (or 1/2 large, cut into 3/4 inch cubes)

zucchini

red onion (coarsely chopped)

bell pepper (sliced)

mushrooms (quartered)

grape tomatoes

spiral pasta (whole wheat

chickpeas

kalamata olives (optional, pitted and sliced)

basil leaves (lightly packed)

walnuts (optional)

nutritional yeast (optional)

Fat-Free Balsamic-Raisin Vinaigrette (or other fat-free vinaigrette)

Salt and black pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 425F. Arrange eggplant and zucchini on a non-stick baking sheet in a single layer and sprinkle the chopped onion over them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put the head of garlic in a corner of the baking sheet, and place in the oven. Stir after 15 minutes and add the bell pepper, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Cook until mushrooms have softened and tomatoes are beginning to collapse, about 10 more minutes. Remove from oven, reserve the head of garlic, and place the other vegetables in a very large serving bowl. (If your oven is small, see the Notes below.)

While the vegetables are cooking, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and add pasta to vegetables, along with chickpeas and olives, if desired.

Make the dressing: Place the basil in a food processor. Squeeze out 4-6 cloves of roasted garlic (or however many you like) and add it to the food processor, along with walnuts and nutritional yeast, if you’re using them. Pulse 6-8 times to chop the walnuts. Add the vinaigrette and process until smooth.

Add dressing to pasta and vegetables, stir well, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

I really enjoyed this, but my family was not so keen.  My kids wouldn't eat anymore after the first bite.  I'm looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  It was so great to use my fresh garden produce, basil, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers.  I don't even like eggplant, but I braved it and thought it was delicious!  I agree with a previous reviewer that the dressing was a tad too sweet.  I would also add a little less raisins next time.

I made it tonight. It was really good.I saw the post on Facebook for this recipe this morning. OH, it's like you looked in my fridge and knew. I told my daughter last  night, I have two zucchini's, half an eggplant, a basket of baby bellas and 1/2 a basket of grape tomatoes that were all at least 2 weeks old. I don't want to throw them away.  The pesto dressing was a little sweet, so  I wonder what I can do about that next time.Less raisins? But again, It was really good, will definitely make again. I didn't add the chickpeas, but did add the kalamata olives.

This was amazing!!!  I made it last night and couldn't get enough.  Had it today for lunch as well.  It was just as good cold!

Made this tonight and was delicious.  My boys ate it up. I loved it warm, but had a few bits of the leftovers from the fridge and is very tasty cold as well.  They asked if they can have the leftovers in their lunch boxes tomorrow.

This is one of those dishes that improve overnight as the sauce has time to develop its flavor.

Asparagus Pesto Pasta Salad

asparagus

pine nuts ((lightly toasted))

basil leaves

whole wheat or gluten-free spiral pasta

tomatoes (diced (optional))

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add the asparagus spears. Cook until just tender, about 4 minutes. Without emptying the water from the pot, lift out the asparagus spears and place them in a colander. Rinse with cool water.

Bring the water back to a boil. Add salt, if needed, and add pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water, and drain and rinse the pasta with cool water. Put into a serving bowl.

Place the asparagus on a cutting board. Trim off the top 3 inches of the asparagus spears, and put the tips into the bowl with the pasta. Cut the bottoms into several pieces, and set aside to use in the pesto sauce.

Use a food processor to make the pesto: With the processor running, drop in the garlic cloves and allow them to chop. Add 2 tablespoons of the pine nuts, and pulse to chop. Add the lemon juice, basil, salt, nutritional yeast, and the asparagus pieces (not the tips!) along with 3-6 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water. (Start with 3 tbsp. water and add more as needed.) Puree until smooth.

Toss the pasta, asparagus tips, and tomatoes (if using) with the pesto, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the remaining pine nuts. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Made this last night.  VERY dangerous--kept going back for more,  had some this morning before breakfast, craving some right now, can't wait until dinnertime.  :)

Think to minimize calories (because clearly I'll keep bingeing on it), I'll add more veggies (upping asparagus and tomatoes, wondering if red peppers and kale or spinach might be good additions?) and decrease the pasta next time.  Might also make a good sandwich spread with grilled veggies, if you decrease the water.

Thank you SO MUCH for this wonderful website.  I'm a reformed carnivore doing the Engine 2 challenge  right now, and hoping to at least continue the vegan portion of the diet going forward--your website has helped me stick to it, and will continue to.  Thank you!!!!!

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Top 4 oil free pesto recipes from across the web

The most viewed oil free pesto recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Quick Oil-Free Vegan Pesto

Vegan Spinach Pesto (Oil-free)

Warm Pasta Salad with Roasted Veget...

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The most viewed oil free pesto recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine