Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto Without Cheese

Who says pesto needs cheese to sing? This vibrant, fresh basil pesto skips the Parmesan but keeps every bit of the herby, garlicky magic we crave. It blends together in minutes — no cooking, no bitterness, no muddiness, just basil leaves, seeds or nuts (your choice but I'm partial to sunflower seeds), garlic, good olive oil and a pinch of salt. That’s it! Think of this as pesto pared down to its essence. Honestly? You might not miss that cheese at all ...

Fresh & Seasonal, a Summer Classic. Just Five Ingredients and Three Easy-to-Remember Techniques. Dairy Free. Nut Free (if using sunflower seeds, my favorite). Gluten Free. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Low Carb. Naturally Gluten Free. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Great for Meal Prep. Rave Reviews. So Good!

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COMPLIMENTS!

• "... it is so good! ... What a great recipe!" ~ Charlie
• "You're a genius! The fresh pesto, no cheese, is so so delicious!" ~ Jan
• What're you waiting for?!

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Recipe Overview: Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto Without Cheese

• Bright, bold and gloriously green — this Homemade Fresh Basil pesto skips the cheese but keeps all the flavor. It’s herb-packed, garlicky and silky with good olive oil, perfect for anyone avoiding dairy or just craving a lighter twist.

• When to Serve = Bright enough for drizzling over grilled vegetables, bold enough to toss with pasta or even, surprise, cooked rice. Totally spoon-worthy straight from the jar.
• Diet Needs & Choices = Vegan. Gluten Free. Dairy Free. Egg Free. Nut Free with Sunflower Seeds or Pint Nuts.
• Distinctive Ingredients = Basil Leaves + Garlic + Olive Oil
• Short Ingredient List = all the above + salt + toasted walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds or the more traditional pine nuts
• Kitchen Tools = A food processor is a huge help here.
• Hands-On Time = So quick, allow about 10 minutes, start to finish, no extra time needed for flavors to meld or anything.
• Tasting with our Eyes = So pretty, summer pesto!
• Texture = Texture is important here, it's why I use a food processor to process the garlic and salt together by themselves first; the salt gives the blade something to grab onto besides that slippery garlic. And I don't know about you, but I just don't have the patience to hand chop basil into the tiny bits needed for pesto.
• Techniques = But! Stir in the olive oil by hand, this avoids the slight bitterness that can occur when the heat from the food processor's blades hits basil leaves.
• Taste = Basil-y. Garlicky. Olive Oil-y.
• Shop Your Pantry = This is a pantry-friendly and budget-friendly recipe, especially for those of us who grow basil in our gardens. Really! It needs to be cut back by mid June! (If you're thinking about growing fresh herbs, definitely check out my personal how-to. You may Never Buy Fresh Herbs Again!)
• Makes = about 3/4 cup but easily scaled up or down, according to your needs.
• Small Households = This recipe works especially well for those Cooking for One or Two.
• So good! I hope you love it!


• Can't find pretty basil? Try Chimichurri, it's made with fresh parsley.
• Not quite what you're looking for? Check out my other recipes for what I call "Little Extras That Make All the Difference".

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Insider Tips for Perfect Fresh-Basil Pesto

So these are my three simple tips for making basil pesto at home. No surprise, I'm kinda known for challenging the conventional wisdom, in the kitchen and otherwise.

• TO AVOID BITTERNESS To avoid the bitterness that can ruin pesto, I start off the pesto in the food processor but then finish it by hand, just a quick stir, really. Why finish the pesto by hand? Because there's a chemical reaction between good olive oil and the "heat" of the food processor's blades that causes a bitter taste.
• And no, I didn't figure that out myself, America's Test Kitchen did – although I do "dream" about ATK ideas, thanks to falling asleep listening to the weekly podcast. (Modern Life: some times I must listen to the same podcast five or six times to get all the way through!)
• TO AVOID MUDDINESS This one may be more controversial because, yeah, I suppose, pesto isn't really pesto unless it contains some cheese, usually freshly grated Parmesan. But to my taste, cheese muddies basil's quintessential summer freshness and fragrance. Without cheese, the basil in Homemade Basil Pesto stays right out in front, unveiled by dusky dairy. So me? I leave it out. That means that it's also vegan. Pesto that's 100% plant-based is an extra upside.
• TO SAVE SOME MONEY Skip the pine nuts! Yes, pine nuts are traditional in pesto. But three things work against them. First, pine nuts aren't always easy to find. But once you do, you can count on pine nuts being expensive and then, once you bring them home but don't use them right away, they turn rancid way too quickly. So I've learned to substitute less-expensive, shelf-stable nuts (either walnuts or almonds) or my favorite, still less-expensive sunflower seeds. No one will notice, let alone complain!

How To Use Homemade Basil Pesto

• Salmon with Pesto Zucchini Noodles & Warm Tomatoes
• Summer's Tomato Soup
from Kitchen Parade


• Warm Caprese Bites
• Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole with Caprese Tomatoes
from A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables


• And you? What do you make with homemade pesto?

But Maybe You'd Like to Use Up a Big Container of Pesto?

On occasion, I bring home a large container of store-bought pesto from Sam's Club. Honestly? Prepared pesto is pretty good, not as good as fresh, of course, but really good. But it does take some doing to use it up. Here are my two favorite ways.

• Easy Pesto Pasta Salad, a side dish
• Pesto Pasta Primavera, a Quick Supper

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HOMEMADE BASIL PESTO WITHOUT CHEESE

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 10 minutes
Makes about 3/4 cup

JUST FIVE INGREDIENTS
• 1 tablespoon fresh garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (assumes Morton's kosher salt)
• 2 cups packed (60g) sweet basil
• 1/4 cup (30g) toasted walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds or the more traditional pine nuts (see ALANNA's TIPS)
• 1/2 cup good olive oil

START WITH FOOD PROCESSOR

In a food processor, pulse the garlic and salt until the garlic is finely minced, scraping the bowl's side a time or two if needed.

Add the basil and pine nuts, pulse until both are in tiny still-distinguishable bits but not mushy.

BUT FINISH BY HAND

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the olive oil.

WHEN TO SERVE Can be made a day or two ahead of time but is really best when completely fresh. Once refrigerated, the oil and cheese will thicken so be sure to return the pesto to room temperature before using.

ALANNA's TIPS Our herb pots overflow with basil choices, chocolate, lemon, Thai, etc. But for pesto, I stick with tradition and use only what is often called "sweet basil". It has the sweetest most basil-y flavor and its leaves are more tender. It's not too late to put in a few herbs, see Never Buy Fresh Herbs Again. Put the pots in a sunny spot, they'll thrive through the first frost. No pine nuts? No problem! Use walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, even sunflower seeds, they're easier to find and much less expensive. So while pine nuts are traditional, honestly, I rarely use them and instead use sunflower seeds virtually all the time. No one will know, let alone complain! Pesto and pasta are a familiar pair but I recommend trying pesto and cooked rice. Ooo la la!

FOR MORE INFO If you "skipped straight to the recipe," please scroll back to the top of this page for ingredient information, ingredient substitutions, tips and more. Confused about salt, these days? No wonder, it is confusing. Check my FAQs for an explanation. If you print this recipe, you'll want to check the recipe online for even more tips and extra information about ingredient substitutions, best results and more. See https://www.kitchenparade.com/2015/07/homemade-basil-pesto.html .

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Tablespoon: 97 Calories; 10g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 50mg Sodium; 1g Carb; 0g Fiber; 0g Sugar; 0g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 3 & PointsPlus 3 & SmartPoints 3 & Freestyle 3 & Freestyle 3 & myWW green 3 & blue 3 & purple 3 & future WW points.

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Seasonal Cooking: This Same Week, Across the Years

KITCHEN PARADE
Asian Chicken Salad Peach, Cherry & Blueberry Fruit Sauce or Fruit Soup Fruity Gazpacho Herbed Ricotta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes Pita Crisps Homemade Frozen Yogurt with Homemade Blackberry Sauce Zucchini Bread with Carrot & Candied Ginger (< this week's reader favorite) Homemade Peach Syrup with Fresh Peaches Baked Chicken with Fresh Peaches Peach-Pie Pudding Zucchini Spiral "Noodle" Salad (< Pinterest loves this!) Homemade Basil Pesto Blueberry Cheesecake Pie
~ more Recent Recipes ~

A VEGGIE VENTURE
No-Cook Tabbouleh (< a summer staple in my kitchen) Eggplant Sandwiches with Cilantro Hummus Summer Orzo with Radicchio Chipotle Chickpea Salad (< reader favorite!) Avocado Salad with Hearts of Palm Homemade Creamed Corn King Hill Farms Simple & Sublime Beets (< for beet lovers) Amaranth Greens Grilled Eggplant with Balsamic Honey Syrup Romano Beans in Butter-Braised Garlic (< watch for romano beans at the farmers market) Seared Radicchio Weight Watchers Italian Zero Points Soup Tomato & Onion Salad Stacked Ratatouille (< totally versatile!) Sautéed Cucumbers How to Cut Corn Off the Cob: Keeping All Ten Fingers, Capturing Every Delicious Kernel and Every Drop of Sweet Corn "Milk" Corn & Cucumber Salad with Fresh Blueberries Succotash Salad with Green Beans, Lima Beans, Corn & Tomatoes Raw Tomatillo Salad with Blueberries (< lovin' this year's blueberries!) Pretty Ways to Serve Summer's Best Tomatoes Loaded Iceberg Steaks with Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Quick Summer Squash & Tomato Saute Mexican Scrambled Eggs (Huevos Revueltos a la Mexicana) Raw Mexican Street Corn Salad with Cauliflower Rice
~ more Recent Recipes ~

If you like Kitchen Parade's recipes, you'll love A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables with more from-scratch recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, home to the famous Alphabet of Vegetables and vegetables in every course, seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.

This Week, Elsewhere

~ Pickles ~
from Panorama at the St. Louis Art Museum
~ more St. Louis Restaurant Recipes ~
My Weekly Column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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More Little Extras Especially for Summer

• THE RECIPE Homemade Mayonnaise for BLTs Some times, a special seasonal sandwich is worth just a little extra effort.
• ANOTHER TAKE Green Mayonnaise A whole new way to think of mayonnaise. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Chimichurri How to make chimichurri, the Argentinian parsley sauce. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Green Chile Sauce (Salsa Verde) New Mexico-style salsa verde. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Comeback Sauce The Southern staple, so good, you'll "come back" for more. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Famous Mustard Sauce (Carolina BBQ Mustard Sauce) A tiny-bit spicy and a tiny-bit sweet and totally addictive.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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