I am lovingly calling this quick recipe Poor Girl’s Pesto, because I think many of us have been in this situation before: you find a recipe for homemade pesto online and see that it calls for pine nuts. You go to the grocery store and wander to the nuts section, passing over the cashews and pistachios and almonds and you finally find the pine nuts only to see that… pine nuts cost $100?? Not literally $100, but close enough. Pine nuts are more expensive than other nuts and they are sold in smaller volume. So, basically a handful of pine nuts cost a Bugatti. But, I’m here to help! This homemade pesto recipe is made with no pine nuts!

Can You Only Use Pine Nuts In Homemade Pesto?

Nope! I’ve been making homemade vegan pesto for years, and I have never used pine nuts. No offense to pine nuts, but while using pine nuts in pesto is authentic, not everyone has money for it. So here’s the secret to my vegan homemade pesto - sub out the pine nuts with a cheaper nut. I make pesto using walnuts instead of pine nuts, and my pesto turns out delicious every time! So don’t splurge on pine nuts if you don’t want to, just use walnuts and it will be great!

Walnuts are a perfect substitute for pine nuts in pesto because walnuts blend up perfectly. They have a similar fat content as pine nuts, so they blend to a creamy consistency. Homemade pesto only needs a few simple ingredients, so every ingredient is important here. But while you can’t really sub out lettuce in place of basil or canola oil for olive oil, walnuts can certainly replace pine nuts in pesto. It’s not necessarily authentic, but it costs a lot less than pine nuts. And - it still tastes delicious!

Homemade Pesto Ingredients

Delicious vegan pesto only needs a few simple ingredients. Because it’s so simple, make sure you use the best quality ingredients that you can find:

Basil
Walnuts
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic
Lemon

And, a little bit of salt and pepper to taste. But, you really can make homemade pesto using only five basic ingredients - it doesn’t get easier than that! Read on to get the exact ingredients and instructions for tasty vegan pesto.

Is This Pesto Recipe Vegan?

Yes! Traditional pesto recipes typically call for Parmesan cheese, but we omit that in this recipe in order to make it vegan.

Do I Need Special Equipment?

You will need a food processor in order to make homemade pesto. Here is the one that I use!

Note: In many pesto recipes, you will blend together the solid ingredients and then slowly drizzle in the olive oil so it all comes together smoothly. My food processor has a closed top so I’m not able to add in the olive oil while blending. That being said, I’ve always just added all ingredients at once and never had issues with the mixture coming together. Plus, doing it all at once just makes it simpler!

Recipe

Prep Time: 5 mins

Active Time: 5 mins

Ingredients

1 c fresh basil leaves, stems removed
1/4 - 1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c walnuts
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until completely smooth and combined. Add more olive oil if needed, and salt and pepper to taste. Add more lemon juice to brighten the flavors, if needed.

Easy Homemade Pesto (Without Pine Nuts)