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Easy Vegan Pesto (Oil-free!)

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This simple and Easy Vegan Pesto recipe is fresh, oil-free, just 6 ingredients and takes just a few minutes to prepare. Healthy and wholesome with lots of fresh basil and pine nuts!

EASY VEGAN PESTO

I have always loved pesto. I love it even more with it is a healthy pesto, as well as being extremely simple and easy to make with only a few ingredients. This easy vegan pesto is oil-free, unlike traditional pesto, which has crazy amounts of oil.

This recipe comes from Emily Von Euw and her cookbook, The Rawsome Vegan Cookbook. As Emily describes it, “A balance of Raw and Lightly-cooked, Gluten-free, Plant-based Meal for Healthy Living”.

Emily’s blog, This Rawsome Vegan Life, is extremely successful and even though she is known for raw food, I love that this book has a ton of cooked recipes. I do not follow a raw diet, so this fits more into my daily lifestyle and eating. Emily is also known for her simplicity, which you all know I love and focus on as well with my own recipes.

Her book contains over 80 recipes, all accompanied with a beautiful photo, and very easy meals. They are all heavily focused on the simplicity and beauty of veggies. The meals are light, not heavy, so they won’t weigh you down. There are a ton of completely raw recipes and also a lot of lightly-cooked recipes. If you check out Emily on Instagram, you can get a pretty good idea of the type of food you would see in her cookbook! Light, fresh, easy and simple.

I was immediately drawn to this oil-free vegan pesto that I’m sharing with you today because I loved how easy it was and I LOVE basil. Oh, and I LOVE pasta and wanted something more on the filling side. This has a strong flavor from all of the fresh basil and bold flavor of pine nuts.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED

  • Fresh basil
  • Pine nuts
  • Garlic
  • Pasta: I used gluten-free penne, but use whatever you like.
  • Grape tomatoes
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Lemon juice

HOW TO MAKE VEGAN PESTO OIL FREE

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Cut all the tomatoes in half and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are bubbling and slightly wrinkled.

Step 2: Cook pasta according to the package directions.

Step 3: To make the pesto: blend all the ingredients until you reach the desired consistency. I wanted mine completely smooth. As noted above, I also added lemon juice and nutritional yeast. Add more salt if needed

Step 4: Toss pasta with the pesto and serve with the roasted tomatoes.

MORE VEGAN OIL FREE SAUCES

Emily is allowing me to share this beautiful recipe for her cookbook with you all today! You can purchase a copy of her cookbook here!

white plate of basil pesto with roasted cherry tomatoes

Easy Vegan Pesto (Oil-free!)

Brandi Doming
This simple and Easy Vegan Pesto recipe is fresh, oil-free, just 6 ingredients and takes just a few minutes to prepare. Healthy and wholesome with lots of fresh basil and pine nuts!
4.91 from 11 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American, Gluten-free, Vegan

Ingredients

  • 1 dry pint (275g) grape tomatoes
  • 2 cups (232g) uncooked whole grain, gluten-free penne pasta
  • 2 cups (48g) lightly packed basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup (60g) water
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/4 teaspoon himalayan salt
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 a lemon, or as much as you'd like, to taste
  • I use this scale.

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Cut all the tomatoes in half and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are bubbling and slightly wrinkled.
  • Cook the pasta according the package directions.
  • To make the pesto: blend all the ingredients until you reach the desired consistency. I wanted mine completely smooth. As noted above, I also added lemon juice and nutritional yeast. Add more salt if needed.
  • Toss the pesto with the cooked pasta and garnish with extra basil and serve with the roasted tomatoes.

Notes

While the recipe in her book didn't call for it, I added more ingredients for more flavor. I added a little bit of nutritional yeast and lemon juice to mine as well. I like them in my pesto.
Keyword easy vegan pesto, oil free vegan pesto, simple vegan pesto, vegan pesto no oil, vegan pesto recipe

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Comments

  2. @sarahspy

    I’ve been looking for a recipe like this where I wouldn’t miss the Parmesan cheese found in regular pesto. Thanks!
    Would also love to enter the giveaway 🙂

    Reply

  7. Sara

    I love a raw strawberry cheesecake that a local restaurant makes. I would love to make it, but I am not that skilled in the kitchen. That’s why I am so thankful for others who can experiment and create recipes – excited to check out this new cookbook! By the way, the ingredients are raw cashews, pecans, dates, strawberry, agave, lemon, coconut oil, salt, and vanilla…if you want to give it a whirl. 😉 We tried your Creole Okra Corn Soup last night, and my husband said, “This is pretty good,” which means “Please make this again!”

    Reply

  12. Angie S

    Looking at the photo, I thought for sure there was an avocado in there! I’m looking forward to making this and would L O V E to win! We are new’ish Vegan’s and only have one cookbook so far.

    Reply

  13. Jade

    I literally just checked this out from the library yesterday! So far everything looks delicious and easy to make…I’d love to own it!

    Reply

  16. Linda @ Veganosity

    Thanks for the review, Brandi. I don’t follow a raw diet either so I’m happy to hear that there are some cooked recipes in the book. I’m loving all of the new vegan cookbooks that are being released right now.

    Reply

    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      Yes, that is from her cookbook. That is because in the directions, you add the first 2 cups to the blender and the last cup as garnish at the end, if desired. I only used a small amount as garnish, personally.

      Reply

  22. Abby

    Oh my goodness this recipe looks delicious!!! I can’t imagine what other yummy creations are in the cookbook! Thank you so much Brandi! You are doing such great work with your cooking! I was in a rut with my dairy-free vegetarian diet until I found your blog and your MAGNIFICENT RECIPES! Thank you so much for all the effort you put into this blog!
    My favorite raw snack is definitely my mom’s dehydrated broccoli which we dipped in her homemade tangy tahini sauce! Yummy!

    Reply

    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      Aww Abby that was such a sweet comment, thank you so much!! I’m so happy you love my blog and are enjoying the recipes! Good luck on the giveaway on Emily’s cookbook!

      Reply

  23. Nicole

    Thanks for hosting this giveaway, Brandi! You are still one of my faves! I love raw soups and dips, but a quick, raw dessert is always a winner in my eyes. Thanks again 🙂

    Reply

  29. Sophia

    My favorite raw recipe is probably a dessert I make. It’s basically nuts and/or seeds processed with cacao, coconut oil, and a little sweetener and then rolled into balls.

    Reply

  30. Alice

    Emily has some really fun recipes, especially for the summer time when I don’t want to cook with any heat and make my house hotter! I love her raw brownies and cookies!

    Reply

  31. Jenny

    Like this recipe. I am a pesto lover… I add it to lots of things as I find it refreshing and basil is so aromatic. I’m intrigued about adding lemon juice and will definitely try it!

    Reply

  32. Jenn

    I love pesto so much! And tomatoes and pesto are such a match made in heaven! I also love Emily’s blog and all of her recipes. Such a great book to have!

    Reply

  39. Ellie @ Peanut Butter & Ellie

    Oh my goodness I cannot WAIT for Emily’s new cookbook! Two of my favorite bloggers linking up for a giveaway?! YES PLEASE! This pesto pasta looks to-die-for.
    This is actually a perfect cookbook for me because starting tomorrow some of my friends and I are doing the “Raw Until 4” challenge and we don’t really know what we’re going to eat besides smoothies, salad and raw fruit and vegetables! Emily’s site (and her book) will help us so much! Do you have any meal suggestions/ tips/ advice for us?
    My favorite raw recipe is banana ice cream. It’s so simple but I just can’t get over how delicious it is! And it’s healthy! Yay!!
    Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with us and for doing the giveaway! xx

    Reply

  41. Natalie | Feasting on Fruit

    I love Emily’s recipes and books, she is the queen of simplicity and I could just look at the photos for forever. Plus she uses lots of bananas and dates in her desserts, so of course I’m a fan lol! This Penne Pesto sounds fabulous, your photos look really delicious! I love your review and I’m really excited about this giveaway!

    Reply

  45. Eva

    5 stars
    Thanks for the idea of using water instead of olive oil. Also I use raw cashews because of the cost of pine nuts and it comes out delish. BTW I and my non vegan bf enjoy your recipes. Thank you!!

    Reply