Nut Free Pesto

A delicious sauce made with fresh basil and garlic, typically pesto involves nuts, but not this one! Nut Free pesto is made with sunflower seeds to make it allergy friendly, but still delicious.

Course Side Dish, vegan

Cuisine American

Keyword nut free pesto

Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Servings Servings

Calories 177kcal

Author Alysen Heil

Equipment

Food processor

Ingredients

1 tbsp Minced Garlic
1 cup Fresh Basil tightly packed
¼ cup Olive Oil or more as needed
2 tbsp Lemon Juice freshly squeezed
¼ cup Sunflower Seeds
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Place the minced garlic and a cup of tightly packed fresh basil leaves into a food processor.
Add in oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Then add sunflower seeds to the mixture in the food processor. Pulse until well combined, but not completely smooth.
Add salt and pepper to taste, then adjust to desired consistency by adding more oil.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Video

Notes

You can substitute fresh spinach instead of the basil. If you use spinach it needs to be fresh and not frozen.
You can omit the sunflower seeds or substitute with pepitas.
If you add in too much oil and your pesto is too thin, you can thicken by adding more fresh basil or fresh spinach.

Nutrition