Easy Vegan Pesto (Oil-free!)
This simple and Easy Vegan Pesto recipe is fresh, oil-free, just 6 ingredients and takes just a few minutes to prepare. Healthy and wholesome with lots of fresh basil and pine nuts!
Ingredients
- 1 dry pint (275g) grape tomatoes
- 2 cups (232g) uncooked whole grain, gluten-free penne pasta
- 2 cups (48g) lightly packed basil leaves
- 1/4 cup (60g) water
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 teaspoon himalayan salt
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/2 a lemon, or as much as you'd like, to taste
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Cut all the tomatoes in half and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are bubbling and slightly wrinkled.
- Cook the pasta according the package directions.
- To make the pesto: blend all the ingredients until you reach the desired consistency. I wanted mine completely smooth. As noted above, I also added lemon juice and nutritional yeast. Add more salt if needed.
- Toss the pesto with the cooked pasta and garnish with extra basil and serve with the roasted tomatoes.
Notes
While the recipe in her book didn't call for it, I added more ingredients for more flavor. I added a little bit of nutritional yeast and lemon juice to mine as well. I like them in my pesto.