The Best Pesto Without Pine Nuts Recipe
- Autumn Bates, CCN, MS, BS, CPT
- 1 hour ago
- 6 min read
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This super easy pesto without pine nuts comes together in just a few minutes. Even without pine nuts, it's packed with flavor, making it the perfect addition to healthy recipes like high protein pasta, salads, dressings and marinades.
What's in this post
Back in 2014, I was lucky to spend a summer studying the Mediterranean Diet in Italy during my Nutrition Degree. My course combined the science of the Mediterranean Diet during the first half of the day with cooking classes incorporating the traditional foods of the region during the second half of the day.
And pesto was definitely one of those classics that was highlighted.
I've always felt lucky to not suffer from any food allergies, but there was one girl in my class who specifically couldn't eat pine nuts. Turns out... there are a lot of traditional Italian recipes that use pine nuts. Because of this, the cooking instructor would always have us prep an additional second meal that had a swap or eliminated pine nuts all together.
It was during that class that I learned you can very easily make a delicious and healthy pesto recipe without pine nuts using the exact same process.
This pesto without pine nuts recipe is dedicated to all my nut-free friends and community members so that you can still enjoy the delicious flavor explosion of traditional pesto.
Recipe Highlights
Extremely flavorful and versatile: You can use pesto to flavor pretty much anything ranging from salad dressings to marinades to sauces.
Family friendly: Kids love pesto!
Nut-free: Perfect for those with nut allergies.
Multitude of health benefits: This pesto recipe uses a variety of nutritious ingredients. Parmesan is rich in vitamin K2, calcium and protein. Garlic is a well known anti-viral and anti-bacterial. Olive oil has been widely studied for reducing inflammation.
Easy to bulk prep: Make a bunch and store the rest in the freezer to use later! Especially during the summer harvest when basil is plentiful.
Key Ingredients
Basil
Pesto is a general term that most of us have adopted to mean basil pesto. However, the word pesto itself actually just means "to pound" or "to crush". This recipe is specifically a basil pesto, but you could make pesto with any herb. Other great options include mint, parsley and cilantro.
It's best to opt for "tender" herbs for a more pleasant eating experience. For example, you probably wouldn't want to "pesto" rosemary because it's much more tough and woody.
Olive Oil
Olive oil is the traditional oil used in pesto, but you could use other oils like avocado oil. It's important to stay away from "vegetable oils" which tend to be much more inflammatory.
Parmesan
Again, this is the traditional cheese used to add some protein, quality fat and rich flavor. It also adds salt to this recipe, so you don't need to add a ton of additional salt to the end product.
Garlic
Garlic is well known for its antiviral and antibacterial perks. I like to use raw and fresh garlic cloves in my pesto to maximize for those health benefits. Just give it a rough chop before throwing it into the food processor to help the blades out a bit.
Substitutions
Instead of basil, try any other tender herb. I personally prefer basil but you can also make a delicious pesto out of mint.
If you can have nuts, add 1/4 cup pine nuts to this recipe. Pine nuts add a different flavor and richness to pesto that can't fully be achieved without it. So if you can tolerate pine nuts and have them on hand, throw them in during the first step! You could also use walnuts, cashews, pistachios or almonds (if you aren't allergic, of course).
If you can have seeds but not nuts, try adding in 1/4 cup toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds. The taste will be a little different but it will still add a nice, nutty richness to the pesto. Plus it'll give you a hit of healthy fats.
Instead of olive oil, try avocado oil. I personally prefer olive oil for the more traditional pesto flavor, but some people like avocado oil more because it has a neutral flavor. It's important to avoid vegetable oils like canola, corn and soy.
Instead of parmesan, try any other dry aged cheese. I love using pecorino romano.
If you're dairy-free, swap the parmesan for nutritional yeast. This is a plant-based, dairy-free alternative. Start with 1/4 cup nutritional yeast instead of parmesan. You can always add more to the end product if you prefer it a little more cheesy.
Equipment Needed
Food processor: You could potentially use a hand immersion blender or a high powered blender, but a food processor will give you the best results. An immersion blender or high powered blender will result in a less consistent texture.
Note: You could go really old school and traditional with a mortar and pestle. But this is a much more laborious process and less convenient.
How To Make Pesto Without Pine Nuts
Making homemade pesto without pine nuts is super simple and just takes a few minutes. But to make the texture creamy and not chunky, you'll want to take the process in two steps.
Add the basil, garlic and parmesan to the food processor: Hold off on adding the olive oil until after you've pulsed the first three ingredients into a finely shredded mixture. This should only take a few seconds.
Drizzle in the olive oil: Then give it another quick pulse just to make sure everything is evenly blended. I like to add the salt at the very end after the olive oil has been mixed in. That way, I can taste the pesto and see if salt is needed at all. Sometimes the cheese is a bit more salty so I don't need to add salt or I don't add as much. You can also feel free to add more salt, according to your taste. But I would make sure to give it a quick taste test before adding salt in at all.
Storing
In the fridge: Fresh pesto is usually good for about 5 days in the fridge. I like to store mine in a glass jar with a little extra olive oil drizzled on top of the pesto. The extra olive oil helps to protect the basil from turning brown from the oxygen in the fridge.
In the freezer: Usually, I store all leftover pesto in the freezer in individual plastic bags. I like to put about 1/4 cup pesto in each bag so that I can thaw the amount needed per recipe. Some people also like to freeze pesto in ice cube trays before then popping them into plastic bags to use later. You can definitely do this (and it's probably more convenient), but I personally never have enough ice cube trays to use this nifty trick, so plastic bags it is!
Other Recipes You May Love
Love this recipe? Let me know in the comments below!
Pesto Without Pine Nuts
Makes about 3/4 cups pesto, 1 tablespoon per serving
Ingredients:
3 cups basil, stems removed
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
Add the basil, parmesan and garlic to the food processor and pulse for 5-10 seconds, or until all ingredients are finely chopped.
Add the olive oil and pulse for a few more seconds, or until olive oil is well mixed.
Taste the pesto and see if salt is needed. If so, start with 1/8 teaspoon of salt and pulse for a few seconds before testing again. From here, add a small pinch of salt at a time according to taste preference if necessary.
Notes:
Depending on your salt preference, you may prefer more or less salt. So make sure to give it a taste before you add in any salt, then slowly add in a little at a time until it's just right for you.
Nutrition Information per 1 tablespoon serving:
1 gram carbs | 1 gram protein | 7 grams fat | 72 calories
FAQ's
What is a substitute for pine nuts in pesto?
Walnuts, cashews, pistachios and almonds can all be used in pesto. You can also sub in sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. Or you can simply leave it out all together!
What is a substitute for parmesan?
Any aged dry cheese. I like pecorino romano. You could also use nutritional yeast for a plant-based swap. See the substitutions section for specific amounts and recommendations.
