No Oil Vegan Pesto

This No oil vegan pesto is a great alternative to traditional pesto when you are avoiding certain ingredients like oil or dairy. Or if you are just trying to be healthier, traditional pesto is very calorific.

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Lets get down to business

Pesto is one of my all time favourite sauces. Years ago I went to an Italian cookery course for the day, i’ve always loved cooking and have a soft spot for Italian food, who doesn’t!

Among all of the amazing foods learnt to cook that day was the best pesto I had ever tasted up until that point! It was delicious and I have made it several times over the years.

Until you make it from scratch yourself, you won’t realise how unhealthy it actually is. It contains a lot of Parmesan and huge amounts of oil.

When I started to eat differently I decided that I didn’t want to feel like I was ” missing out”. This has a lot to do with mindset and finding “your why” and you can read more about that in a previous post. It also has a lot to do with messing around with recipes and not worrying about the outcome!

So what if the meal you prepared turns into a disaster and no one in the family likes it. Everyone can have beans on toast that night! It isn’t the end of the world and you have learnt something. Pick yourself back up and try something slightly different next time.

This is what I do, and it is how I have found so many recipe alternatives for the traditional versions that I loved. Stop thinking of it as a chore and enjoy the process, who knows what you will come up with.

Ingredients

I know, I know, there are tomatoes in the picture! Why? I here you ask, they definitely are not in the recipe ingredients list! Here’s why: I have never made pesto this way without using cherry tomatoes in the meal along with it. I don’t know what it is about the combination but it is a match made in heaven in my opinion. I just couldn’t leave them out of this post. So no, you do not need tomatoes to make pesto, but I highly recommend that you try them with your pesto when you make it. So there.

Avocado

I can guess what you are thinking and that is that the avocado is going to make your pesto taste like guacamole! Honestly it really doesn’t. It is needed for the creamy texture it creates. Traditional pesto is creamy because of the oil, so think of the avocado as the substitute for the oil.

Avocado is a great healthy source of a monounsaturated fat. Read my post on why to eat a plant based diet here and how to start here.

It is also a great source of many vitamins like K and C, they are loaded with fiber and antioxidants.

Basil

Basil is what makes pesto taste like pesto in the traditional sense. You can make all sorts of pesto type sauces with other greens but traditionally pesto is made with basil. My favourite herb! This goes back to me liking Italian food! What’s not to like?

Basil is a great source of magnesium, calcium and iron. It is has also been shown to help reduce inflammation, which is especially good if like me you have an inflammatory condition.

Pine nuts

The pine nuts are essential in my opinion. They are a main ingredient in traditional pesto but I have seen so many pesto recipes that do not use them. If you want your pesto to taste like pesto, pine nuts are your friend!

They are a seed rather than an actual nut, but they do taste quite nutty when roasted.

These little seeds are good for heart health due to the fact that they contain monounsaturated fats which can help lower cholesterol and lessen the chances of having a heart attack!

They also have 62% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin E which has anti-aging properties. Bonus!

They are packed with iron but are often overlooked as a good iron source for non meat eaters. So plant based eaters will benefit from this greatly.

Garlic

Pesto wouldn’t be the same without garlic. Two cloves are used in this recipe but this can be tweaked of course depending on how much you like it.

The health benefits from garlic are well known and it have been used medicinally for centuries. It is full of vitamins and has been shown to combat sickness.

These clever little cloves can also help to lower blood pressure and improve bone health. How many more reasons do you need to add garlic into your diet.

How to serve

The ways in which to use your pesto are endless.

• Use as a dip

• Add in to dips

• Spread on a sandwich

• Alternative pizza sauce

• Salad dressing

My favourite however is as a pasta sauce. Perfect.