Fresh basil pesto nut free is maybe one of the easiest fresh ingredients to make.
However both the type of garlic & basil you use will make a real difference to the taste.
It’s ideal for a quick and easy meal – just add to pasta & maybe other ingredients and it’s ready.
Full recipe & advice below.
3 basil pesto nut free flavour tips
As you can see from above Genovese basil pesto is quick & easy to make.
But if you want to experiment a bit why not try a few different ingredients:
Tip 1 – Change the Basil
Most people will tend to use the basil bought in shops, or grown at home.
Basil is great to grow at home, as it’s very easy to grow and is ready very quickly. But there are lots of different types you can use.
For example:
- Genovese Basil – is the one most often used
- Holy Basil – (sometimes know as hot basil) will be a more peppery
- Lemon Basil – will add a lovely lemon flavour
- Thai Basil – will give it a unique liquorice and anise flavour (I like liquirice but not to everyone’s taste)
- Cinnamon Basil – will give it a very spicy flavour – well worth trying.
All of these are easy to grow – follow the links for details
Tip 2 – Try different Garlic types
Did you know there are over 600 different garlic types? Each with their own distinct texture and flavour.
If you look at some of the different homemade pesto recipes, you might notice the different amount of garlic recommended. Yes, personal taste makes a difference but in addition some garlics are simply much more powerful and you will need less.
For more details have a look at the garlic type information page
Tip 3 – Add a few other herbs
If you are growing more fresh herbs at home then it is well worth experimenting a bit and adding a few other herbs.
For example Coriander or Mint will add a very interesting flavour.
Vegan basil pesto recipe
Equipment
- Food processor or
- Pestle and mortar
- Chef Knife
Ingredients
- 1 cup Fresh basil leaves Genovese basil is the authentic Italian basil – but it's well worth experimenting with other basil types for different flavours
- 2 cloves Garlic If you use shop garlic you might need 2 to 3 cloves. If you use a homegrown garlic (like Purple Stripe) you might only need 0.5 to 1 cloves
- 50 gram Sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp Sea salt
Instructions
- Get all the ingredients ready
- Fry the Sunflower seeds
- Pour ingredients into blender
- Blend and add olive oil
- Pour into container
Video
Notes
Nutrition
How to use vegan basil pesto
Fresh vegan basil pesto is great when added to any type of pasta or on top of bread.
For example even if you only combine it with fusilli and a bit of garlic bread you will have a great meal everyone will love.
But I’ve always used it blended with pasta. Simply cook the pasta, mix it in and your meal is ready.
Making pesto is quick & easy, but the difficulty is that it will only last about 1 week when kept chilled.
How to grow basil at home
Bhai basil is very easy to grow at home.
For step by step advice have a look at ‘how to grow basil indoors’
.
More information
Hopefully the homemade pesto recipe might inspire you to grow your own fresh basil at home.
When you are cooking fresh herbs tend to make a real difference to the results. Herbs are really easy to grow at home and many of them grow really fast.
To grow your own basil
Basil is very easy to grow your own at home in your kitchen, dining room, etc. For the best & fastest results all you will need are seeds, growing system and some growing lights. There is detailed description at how to grow basil indoors
Have you made the recipe?
Would love to hear what you thought of it
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