Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fresh basil (loosely packed)
1/3 cup olive oil (or other high-quality and flavorful oil)
1 cup pine nuts (other nuts, such as almonds or walnuts may be substituted)
5 cloves garlic
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a food processor until nuts are ground. Pesto should still have texture and not be completely smooth.
Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Add to pizza, pasta or other dishes and enjoy!
Tips
One variation is to add 1/2 cup rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes.
For a lower fat version replace half the oil with almond milk.
Without the cheese, you need all the flavor you can get for a good vegan pesto recipe. For the best flavor, skip the flax oil or grapeseed oil or whatever you sometimes experiment with and stick with a high-quality olive oil. Other high-flavor oils you might experiment with are walnut or avocado but note that these will change the flavor of your vegan pesto.
