light pink bow lfilled with vibrant vegan pesto

Why you’ll love this creamy vegan pesto sauce

I’ve been asked several times recently “is pesto vegan”? The answer is a simple NO since long-used pesto has parmesan cheese in it. BUMMER I know. I’ve always LOVED pesto and figured it was time to make a vegan version of it!

During the summer, I find myself making from-scratch pesto on a REGULAR basis. THIS HERE is my vegan version that I kept as simple as possible. I like to make it in bog batches and then freeze some in ice cube trays so we can enjoy it year round!

Why this is the go-to vegan pesto:

Tastes like the real thing – vegan parm gets you closer to familiar pesto flavor than nooch alone
Comes together in one processor – no separate toasting or soaking steps required
Freezes in individual portions – always have a batch ready for a fast dinner
Budget flex built in – swap pine nuts for walnuts or cashews if pine nuts are pricey this week

overhead shot of vegan pesto ingredients including fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, and vegan parmesan on a marble counter

Ingredients needed

The simple ingredients for this straightforward vegan pesto recipe are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the pantry staples needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired!

Fresh basil – use it lightly packed; too tightly packed and you’ll end up with more pesto than oil can properly coat. Worth keeping using fresh basil leaves from my garden during the summer but store bought works well too!
Garlic – fresh garlic gets sharp fast, so 2 cloves is the ceiling unless you’re roasting it first
Pine nuts – the old-style choice; walnuts or cashews are a solid, cheaper swap with a slightly different but still good flavor
Olive oil – this is what emulsifies everything into a sauce, not only a garnish, so use a good quality extra virgin olive oil you’d be happy drizzling on its own
Vegan parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast) – this is doing the flavor work nutritional yeast usually does in other vegan pesto recipes; nutritional yeast works as a sub if that’s what you have on hand
Optional – A good squeeze of lemon juice to add acidity and birghtness.

How to Make Vegan Basil Pesto

Only a reminder that you can find the FULL written recipe down in the recipe card, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you:)

chopped basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor before oil is added

Chop the basics. Basil, garlic, and pine nuts go in the food processor first and get pulsed until finely chopped – this gives the oil something to grab onto later.

vegan pesto blended with olive oil, loose and glossy in a food processor

Stream in the oil. With the processor still running, pour the olive oil in slowly. This is the step that turns a pile of chopped herbs into an actual sauce.

finished vegan pesto blended smooth with vegan parmesan mixed in

Add the cheese. Pulse in the vegan parmesan simply until combined – over processing here can make it gummy instead of creamy. Store any leftover pesto in an airtight container.

Recipe Tips

Don’t dump the oil in all at once – streaming it in slowly is what actually emulsifies the sauce instead of leaving it separated
Taste your vegan parm before you commit – brands vary wildly in saltiness, so you may need less or more than the recipe calls for
Pulse, don’t puree, the cheese in – a few short pulses keeps the texture right; over-blending can turn it gummy