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
I love making homemade healthy vegan pesto. Especially, showing how delicious oil-free pesto can be. Classic pesto recipes are full of oil and dairy (parmesan cheese) and not exactly plant-based.
Most store-bought pesto is full of fat, sodium and preservatives. Traditional pesto is made with basil, garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese. While delicious, I’ve never liked how excessively oily it is. And this version has no basil!
So, this is definitely much different, but I can promise you that this vegan spinach pesto with peas will knock your taste buds off! It’s only 7 ingredients. It is savory, has a rich umami flavor, but isn’t bitter, thanks to some peas to add a touch of sweetness. I promise you the flavor is all very well balanced, not to mention, this spinach pea pesto healthy and much lower in fat than traditional, even vegan, pesto recipes.
Trust me, you will love this oil-free vegan pesto! If you prefer a traditional pesto made with basil, check this one out!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
- Peas: Adding sweet green peas to spinach helps give flavor and a touch of sweetness to this oil-free vegan pesto. It is different, but absolutely delicious.
- Pecans: Instead of pine nuts, like in traditional pesto, I used pecans here for a lovely robust, deep buttery flavor. It goes so well with the sweetness of the peas.
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Nutritional yeast: This replaces that cheesy flavor that parmesan typically provides in traditional pesto.
- Italian seasoning: I use my homemade blend.
- Fresh spinach: We are using spinach instead of basil here, for a twist. It is delicious, trust me!
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN SPINACH PESTO
Step 1: Toast the pecans first. This gives a much deeper flavor to the pesto.
Step 2: Add all of the ingredients to a food processor or high-powered blender, starting with adding the water first. Note, it tends to be more challenging to blend in a blender since there’s little room and liquid. Scrape the sides many times as needed in the beginning. Blend until completely smooth.
WAYS TO SERVE THIS SPINACH PESTO
- Pasta. This oil-free vegan spinach pea pesto is so delicious mixed in with pasta. Top with my lemon vegan parmesan cheese and you have yourself a hearty, filling and healthy plant-based dinner!
- Pizza: As you can see here, I made the most epic and delicious vegan pesto pizza. Let me tell you, this turned out to be one of the most delicious restaurant-worthy recipe creations I’ve made. Both my daughter and I LOVED IT. It is served on my homemade vegan flatbread, which is next-level!
- Dip: This is excellent served just with chips or even veggies. While it is good cold, I think it tastes much more alive and rich in flavor, warmed up!
MORE VEGAN PESTO RECIPES
Vegan Spinach Pesto (Oil-free)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (35g) pecans
- 6 tablespoons (90g) water
- 1 cup (140g) cooked peas (I used frozen)
- 2-3 large cloves of garlic, to taste, since sizes can vary so much
- 2 tablespoons (30g) fresh lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons (14g) of nutritional yeast (I use and recommend the Sari brand-it's unfortified and has better flavor)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 very firmly packed cups (100g) fresh spinach, weigh for accuracy
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Lightly toast the pecans in a small pan over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring often. Watch closely so they don'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'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!
Notes
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This looks awesome! Thank you!! 🙂
Thank you! If you try it, let me know 🙂
So yummy!!! I have a feeling this one is going to become a staple in my repertoire – thank you 🙂
So, I tried this today with my raw zucchini pasta. Loved it! I don’t really cook so raw recipes are my go-to meals.. (Oven doesn’t like me very much. Ha!) Can you make a really easy marinara sauce next time? 😉
Keep posting raw receipts! Love your blog!
Best,
Anna
Thank you so much Anna for the wonderful feedback! I’m so glad you loved the recipe and my blog, means a lot to me, thank you!
I made this tonight to go with pasta, and it was absolutely delicious!
Awesome Zoe! Thank you so much for that feedback and letting me know, I really appreciate it. I’m so glad you loved it!
Let me start this review by saying I HATE PEAS! I have been a pea hater since birth! So tell me how you magically got me to LOVE THIS RECIPE?! This is such a creative idea and the flavor was wonderful. So bright and creamy and delicious! We ate it as a dip with tortilla chips, as a spread on a veggie burger and over quinoa spaghetti. All three ways were delicious. The reason I tried this recipe even though it had peas is because I have loved everything I have ever made of yours so I trusted you wouldn’t steer me wrong! Thank you Brandi!
Awww thank you so very much Diana! When a self-professed pea hater loves my recipe, I do a happy dance and you know it’s good then! Haha! I love this pesto and I’m so glad you love it too!! I love it with chips the most too, thank you so much Diana!
Fantastic! Do you think fresh spinach could be substituted for frozen, for the sake of simplicity?
I once made a larger batch of this pesto, increased the garlic and blended it with some vegetable broth. It makes a great thick soup. Thank you for your recipes.
Hi Hannah! So glad to hear! I would thaw the frozen spinach first, then squeeze out the excess water, otherwise it will make the pesto more runny and bland.
Hi Brandi, Any substitutions for nutritional yeast? What brand of whole wheat tortillas you buy? Thx
The nutritional yeast gives depth of flavor, like parmesan cheese does for traditional pesto. So, if you leave it out, you will need to add some other spices like garlic and onion powder, maybe a little tahini and extra salt. I would just add to taste 🙂
Can you substitute cashews or another nut for the pecans?
You could do walnuts-they are the most similar.
Or seeds for a nut-free version?
You can try that, I have only tested with pecans, so the flavor will change a bit.
Wow this pesto is a revelation!! So delicious and it’s oil free, the whole family loved it. Tried it tonight with sourdough crackers.. Can’t wait to have it on pasta, sourdough and baked potatoes. Thanks Brandi!
Woohoo, I’m so glad to hear this Carla, thank you!
This recipe is wonderful. The flavor is spot on. I used the pesto to make a flatbread pizza on whole wheat lavash bread. The next day I used it as a bagel spread. This one is a keeper!
Thank you so much Brett, that is wonderful to hear how much you loved it!
Wow, wow, wow, wow!!!
I am completely blown away by this pesto. I made this for pizza but I’m going to have to make more because everyone is eating it, even the pea haters in the family!!
Thank you so much, I will be purchasing your book for myself and a friend and I can’t wait.
You are a nourishing food angel!
Thank you so much for creating incredible and healthy recipes .
Yay Vyk, that is so amazing to hear!!
While buying ingredients, I wasn’t thinking and accidentally grabbed snap peas off the shelf instead of peas. But too lazy to go back to the grocery store, I decided to make it anyway using them, and it turned out delicious! Thanks– will definitely be making again 🙂
Oh my goodness. I saw peas in the recipe and thought to myself no wayyyy. But this is such a great pesto recipe. Thank you helping me learn to love vegetables that I didn’t like before going vegan!
I recently found your blog and recipes and have been working my way through them. I made this one last night and it was phenomenal. I just put it on some whole wheat pasta and it elevated the normally bland pasta to a whole new level. I just ordered your cookbook as well. You cook the way I love to eat and I am thrilled that your recipes don’t contain added oil. Thank you for helping me stay on track with simple and delicious recipes that taste like I worked in the kitchen all day. The flavors are so complex and enjoyable. I plan on exclusively using your blog/cookbook for the forseeable future!
I already can tell this is going to be amazing, and I’m wondering if it freezes well? Thanks as always for your amazing recipes!
Hi!! I’ve not tried freezing it. It might get quite watery because of the low fat content.
This is a wonderful recipe. Served it on grilled flatbreads and topped with with some grilled cherry tomatoes. It was delicious.
So excited to try this. And as always, REALLY appreciate you giving weight measurements for everything!! It makes such a difference!
You are so welcome! Thank you Sam! Let me know after you try it!