Zesty lemon basil pesto is a handy healthy condiment for salads, pasta, pizza, dip platters and just about anything, really! Easy to make and full of flavour, you can make this dairy free and vegan.

Everyone needs a nice and easy pesto recipe. It’s such a simple way to add a flavour punch to just about anything; you can scramble it into eggs, coat a fillet of fish before popping it into the oven, spoon it over some lamb chops or stir it through a salad (among many other things!). Making your own is so speedy, plus you can feel great knowing it’s only got wholesome ingredients in there, with no preservatives or other junk.

This recipe makes a beautifully zesty lemon basil pesto. I like to add a bit of parsley in there for more of a herby, punchy flavour, plus parsley is a wonderful cleansing herb for the body. See it in action here with this Tuna Pesto Quinoa Salad!

Lemon basil pesto in a small glass jar with spoon

Lemon Basil Pesto (with a dairy free vegan option)

Zesty lemon basil pesto is a handy healthy condiment for salads, pasta, pizza, dip platters and just about anything, really! Easy to make and full of flavour, you can make this dairy free and vegan. It's also gluten free and grain free.

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Course: Salads and Sides

Cuisine: dairy free, freezer friendly, vegan

Prep Time: 10

Total Time: 10

Servings: small jar, about 300mL

Ingredients

80 grams fresh basil (1 large bunch)
25 grams fresh flat parsley (about 1/4 large bunch)
60 grams pine nuts (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes for dairy-free option*
30 grams parmesan cheese traditional option*

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 C. Spread the pine nuts out over a small baking tray and toast them in the oven for about 5 minutes or until they just start browning. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Give the herbs a quick wash, then remove the tough middle stems from the basil and chop the thick stems off the base of the parsley.
Place the herbs into a food processor together with the juice of the lemon, olive oil and the garlic. Pulse around until it starts to form a smooth paste.
Add in the pine nuts and pulse again until the nuts are broken up as much as you desire. If you are going to add the parmesan or the nutritional yeast, add it in now while you're pulsing in the nuts.
Taste test and season with a little salt. Once you're happy with the flavour, scoop all of the pesto into a clean jar. Store in the fridge.

Notes

*both parmesan and nutritional yeast are optional and the pesto works perfectly well without them; if you don’t want to use either of these items it will still be really delicious!

*if you're not using the pesto right away, pour a little extra olive oil over the top to help it keep for longer in the fridge. It will last about 1-2 weeks in the fridge - I usually divide the batch it two and freeze half in a little container or in ice cube trays.

Have you made this recipe?I love seeing your creations! Take a photo and then tag me @nourish.everyday on Instagram!