Dairy-Free Basil Pesto

A fresh, vibrant basil pesto made without dairy, rounded with parsley, nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon and olive oil. Thick, glossy and spoonable — perfect with bread, pasta, roasted vegetables or an antipasto board.

A bowl of pesto on the table changes the feel of everything around it. Made without parmesan, this version leans on good olive oil, toasted nuts, lemon, parsley and nutritional yeast for a savoury, rounded flavour that still feels rich and full. Spoon it into a wide bowl, finish it with a little extra olive oil and bring it to the table with warm bread and whatever else you have going.

Prep: 10 min · Yield: 1 Cup · Cuisine: Mediterranean · Category: Condiment

Ingredients

Dairy-Free Basil Pesto

• 2 packed cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 large stalk parsley, leaves and tender stem
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, cashews, almonds or walnuts
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1½ tbsp nutritional yeast
• ½ tsp sea salt, plus extra to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to finish

Method

1. Add the nuts, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper to a food processor. Pulse until roughly broken down.
2. Add the basil and parsley. Pulse again until finely chopped.
3. Slowly add the olive oil while pulsing, stopping when the pesto is thick, glossy and spoonable.
4. Taste and adjust with extra salt, pepper or lemon if needed.
5. Spoon into a bowl and finish with a little extra olive oil before serving.

Serving Suggestion

Serve with crusty bread or toasted slices alongside Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Platter, or spoon through pasta and serve with Dry Brined Roast Chicken Breast. Beautiful as part of an antipasto board with Savoury Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, olives and olive oil.

Notes

For a dip-style pesto, keep the texture slightly thicker than you would for pasta — stop blending while it still has a little body.

If the pesto becomes too loose, add a few more nuts and pulse again.

If it tastes too sharp, a little more olive oil will soften it.

If it needs more savoury depth, add another small pinch of nutritional yeast and taste again.

Store in a sealed jar in the fridge with a thin layer of olive oil over the top to keep it fresh. Use within five days.

The Grace Table Tip

Spoon into a wide bowl and finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil just before serving. The oil pools beautifully at the edges and makes it look far more generous than the effort required.