Raw Vegan Arugula Walnut Pesto
This vegan pesto recipe is so fabulous it will have your mouth-watering! It was even approved by an authentic Italian (my husband) who was born and raised in an Italian town near Genoa where pesto originates from. In fact, while living there pesto was one of my favorite things to make. First, because it is so easy yet so delicious and second, because I love basil. In this recipe though I created vegan version and spiced it up with a few different ingredients, and it was so good I was licking my spoon clean. Even though there is no Parmigiano or Pecorino cheese it still is so cheesy thanks to the Nutritional Yeast used.
Nutritional yeast is a great substitute to you use when you want that cheesy nutty flavor so for this pesto it is perfect! All you need is a tablespoon or two and it can add such a richness to any dish. There are no are no added sugars or preservatives and is high in B vitamins, protein, folic acid and selenium and is gluten-free. It is a great addition for any diet but particularly vegans since it is particularly high in B12.
This can be used as a sauce for pasta, a dip for cut up vegetables or even as a spread in veggie wraps instead of hummus or guacamole.
Recipe:
1 cup packed arugula
1/4 cup basil (about 15 medium to large basil leaves)
1/2 cup packed spinach
1/3 cup walnuts
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
3 Tbsp high-quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil*
(optional) 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
NOTE: *If you need more olive oil add 1 tablespoon at a time for desired texture or you can substitute water as well but it may won’t be as creamy.
Blend all the above ingredients in a food processor until smooth and creamy. pour into a small bowl as a dip or pour on top of raw zucchini noodles and mix in well.
This is so delish I can’t wait for you to try it! Do you have any pesto variations that you love? If so, please share!
Posted in Recipes and tagged with dairy-free, healing fibromyalgia with raw food, raw food recipe, vegan pesto
6 Comments
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Hi, I’m Christine, thanks for stopping by! As a fibromyalgia thriver (symptom-free for over 10 years now thanks to diet and lifestyle changes), it is my passion to share the healing power of food.
As an RN and Holistic Nutrition Practitioner, it is my desire to empower you to take charge of your life.
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Oh. Yum. Seriously amazing. I made the huge mistake of having the recipe in one room while making the pesto and playing with my 2-year old in the other room… sot there were a few mistakes made (i.e. too much salt!) but it is still completely DELISH! Can’t wait to finish this batch off so I can make some more. And I’ll try to focus more. Thanks!
I am so thrilled that you loved it! It’s is definately one of my faves too, it’s quick, easy and yum. Thanks so much for sharing Sarah! xoxo
I have made this recipe several times and it seems to taste better each time.
I’m so glad to see you’re really enjoying it. Thanks for sharing!
This sounds great but I cant have all that oil, is there any sub or do you think it will be good to omit the oil?
Hi Sonya, yes if you’d like to omit the oil there are a few options. 1)You can use maybe 1/2 avocado or less, if you don’t want the fat, you’ll probably need to also use a little bit of water with that depending on the consistency you’re looking for. 2)You can also just use a little water in place of the oil or 3)to add a little more flavor you can add instead the soak water from dried tomatoes which gives a little bit more flavor and some added saltiness to it. Soak water is simply the water used to soak oil-free sun-dried tomatoes in. These options of course do change the recipe slightly so it won’t be the same but it should still be quite good! I’d love to hear how it comes out for you!