Most pesto sauces are made with oil and parmesan cheese. But they are not essential, like basil is. In this recipe, the oil is replaced by walnuts, aquafaba, and nutritional yeast.
Pesto
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh basil
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup aquafaba
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Toast the walnuts until golden. I use a toaster oven but you can also do this in a skillet.
- Put all the ingredients in a food processor and process until mostly smooth.
Notes
I like to make a big batch, apportion the pesto into a mini-muffin pan, and freeze. Then I put the all portions together into a ziploc bag. It’s easy to take out one at a time, to add to soup or pasta.
If you keep a portion of pesto in the refrigerator, a squirt of lemon juice on the top will keep it bright green.
Spinach isn’t necessary and can be replaced by more basil. The ratio of spinach to basil should be no more than 2:3 or the pesto will lose its flavor.