Five-Minute Nut Free Pesto

A flavor-packed nut free pesto that’s perfect for pasta, pizza, sandwiches, soups, chicken, fish — you name it! It’s allergy friendly (peanut free, tree nut free, soy free, egg free, gluten free) and can easily be made dairy free and vegan by leaving out the Parmesan cheese! It’s very versatile and addictive. 

Even before my son’s peanut allergy and tree nut allergy diagnosis, I was a big fan of making nut free pesto. Sometimes, it was because the cost of pine nuts (a popular pesto nut) was astronomical. Sometimes, it was because I simply wanted a quick, smooth, no-fuss, garlicky, herby blend, and no nuts were really necessary. That’s this recipe. And now, it’s become the pesto standard in our now nut free home.

Much like with my family’s favorite nut free snowball cookies (a classic Christmas cookie fave), the nuts in this recipe really aren’t missed. (Note: a good nut-free substitution for pine nuts in pesto is sunflower seeds — if you want to try adding that kind of depth to your blend, too. Experimentation is encouraged!)

For us, we like to go the garden-fresh, herb-tastic route the best.

Nut Free Pesto Ingredients

• fresh herbs, like basil and parsley
• olive oil, and lots of it
• garlic
• Parmesan cheese (can easily be omitted if you’re vegan or dairy free)
• sweet vinegar (optional)
• salt and pepper

How to Make Nut Free Pesto

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor (or blender) and….voila! It’s that easy! I love how forgiving pesto recipes are, too. You can easily make adjustments to amounts, substitute ingredients, omit ingredients and you’ll still end up with a seriously tasty, vibrant jar of green goodness. Keep it on hand in your fridge to use for…

Nut Free Pesto Uses

• Stir into soups
• Spread on bread
• Mix in to your fresh veggie side dishes
• Toss over pasta
• Use as your sauce for a pesto pizza
• Flavor your chicken or fish

Allergy-Friendly Nut Free Pesto Notes

This nut free pesto recipe is peanut free, tree nut free, egg free, gluten free, and soy free. It can easily be made dairy free and vegan by omitting the Parmesan cheese (you can try mixing in some nutritional yeast instead).

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

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Five-Minute Nut Free Pesto

Yield: 1 cup

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

A flavor-packed nut free pesto that's perfect for pasta, pizza, soups -- you name it! 

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Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 tablespoon sweet rice vinegar, (optional)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Place the basil, parsley, garlic, Parmesan cheese and half of the olive oil into a food processor. Pulse until the mixture starts to blend together. Then, slowly pour in the rest of the olive oil until the desired consistency is reached.
2. Season with a splash of rice vinegar, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust your seasonings until you're happy with the flavor. Maybe even add some more Parmesan! 

Notes

• Other fun pesto ingredients to add and experiment with are fresh oregano, spinach, pepitas, and sunflower seeds! 
• If you are dairy free or vegan, simply leave out the Parmesan cheese -- it's still delicious!

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  Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor

Nutrition Information

Yield 8 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 136Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 2mgSodium 84mgCarbohydrates 1gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 1g

This nutrition label is a product of an online calculator. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimates.

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