Oil-Free Pesto
Oil-Free Pesto is one of the best sauces for pasta and it’s so easy to make! This oil-free pesto is FULL of flavor yet it is low fat, nut-free, dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, and nutrient dense. Put this plant based sauce all over your pasta or whole grains, tofu, bowls, toast, and more.
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In case you hadn’t noticed yet, I LOVE pasta. I’ve shared my Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff and my Oil-Free Pasta Salad, but I’ve got a lot more recipes to share. Soon I’ll show you my favorite whole food plant based mac and cheese, tofu Alfredo pasta, and more.
So pesto isn’t something that’s traditionally vegan or plant based. It’s loaded with parmesan cheese (which isn’t vegetarian either). It’s also loaded with fat from the olive oil and pine nuts.
This oil-free pesto recipe has TONS of delicious pesto flavor without any animal products, oil, or much fat at all. It’s super healthy without sacrificing a thing.
It’s also incredibly easy to make! You can make this pesto in less than 10 minutes, which means you can make it while your pasta cooks. Then just drain your pasta, mix in the oil-free pesto, and enjoy!
You can use any pasta you like. My favorite pasta to use with this recipe is whole grain linguine. Feel free to use any pasta: short, long, bean or legume based, whole grain, white pasta, gluten-free, whatever you like/need!
This delicious whole food plant based pesto uses only 8 easy-to-find ingredients and I’ve included plenty of ingredient substitutions below so you can customize this recipe to fit your needs below. Get ready to make the best pesto of your life! (I know that’s a big claim, but it’s definitely the best pesto of my life…)
Ingredients
See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list (with amounts) and instructions.
- Aquafaba: This is the liquid that the chickpeas are cooked in. It’s the same liquid in the can. It’s starchy and it has great body like oil but with far less calories and virtually zero grams of fat. Whether you’re using canned chickpeas or you made them yourself, make sure to save that aquafaba as it will help make our oil-free pesto come together. I needed about a half cup of aquafaba for the pesto. If you’re short, try plain unsweetened non-dairy milk to make up the difference.
- Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice: I prefer fresh squeezed lemon juice but I have to be realistic and tell you I don’t always have it. Or sometimes I’m honestly too lazy to squeeze it. I LOVE the Italian Volcano brand of lemon juice (it’s organic and so much better than any other brand I’ve tried), which I often purchase in a 2-pack from Costco.
- White or Yellow Miso Paste + Warm Water to Thin: This is to replace the salt in the recipe, but I also love the little hint of umami flavors. Per Dr. Michael Greger of NutritionFacts.org, the soy in miso has a protective effect so the sodium in miso paste will not affect us negatively. Please feel free to omit or use a pinch of salt if that is what you prefer.
- Fresh Basil: Fresh basil is a must for this recipe!
- Baby Spinach: I love cutting the basil with fresh spinach in this oil-free pesto. You can’t really taste the spinach and it adds tons of extra nutrients.
- Chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans, you’ll need about a can’s worth (or 1 + ¾ cups) of chickpeas. I like to buy chickpeas in a can with non-BPA lining and with no salt added. If you can’t find no-salt added chickpeas, you can also make your own from dried garbanzo beans! In fact, I do typically make my own chickpeas from dried in my Instant Pot. And save that cooking liquid!
- Nutritional Yeast: This gives our oil-free pesto a cheesy flavor (instead of parmesan cheese) but it’s not super cheesy nor is it a super strong flavor in the pesto. Instead, it adds savoriness and depth.
- Fresh Garlic: I love a couple cloves of fresh garlic in this recipe. You may want to pre-mince the garlic if your food processor is not super strong.
Substitutions
- Aquafaba: This is the liquid that gives our pesto body. It’s hard to substitute it. If you don’t have it and you really want to make this pesto (and don’t have time to grab a can of chickpeas from the store), you can blend up a half cup of plain unsweetened non-dairy milk and a few tablespoons of a nut or seed (or a nut or seed butter) to make a thick non-dairy milk substance and that may work. But the aquafaba really does a good job of mimicking the oil in traditional pesto.
- Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice: Bottled works too! You can use white wine vinegar if you don’t have any fresh or bottled lemon juice on hand.
- White or Yellow Miso Paste + Warm Water to Thin: If you’re fine eating salt (or if you eat the potassium chloride salt substitute) you can go ahead and use that. If you are totally avoiding added sodium, you can leave it out. Maybe add an extra tablespoon of lemon juice and/or some dulse flakes!
- Fresh Basil: Pesto isn’t really pesto without fresh basil in my opinion. However I have made pesto with just spinach (or arugula or kale!) and it’s still quite good. If you’re not using fresh basil, double the amount of greens you use and maybe add in a teaspoon or two of dried basil.
- Baby Spinach: I love cutting the basil with fresh spinach in this oil-free pesto. You can’t really taste the spinach and it adds tons of extra nutrients.
- Chickpeas: White beans (navy beans, Great Northern beans, cannellini beans, butter beans may work, but they are usually softer than chickpeas so may produce a more hummus-like texture whereas the chickpeas have a firmer texture that lends itself better to pesto.
- Nutritional Yeast: If you can’t eat nutritional yeast, try a little extra miso, onion, and garlic. You may need less liquid to blend (because nutritional yeast thickens the mixture), so either add less aquafaba, or more of everything else.
- Fresh Garlic: Use 1-2 teaspoons (to taste) of granulated garlic if you don’t have fresh. Jarred minced garlic will also work.
How to Make Oil-Free Pesto
Watch me make this recipe or follow the step-by-step instructions below.
- Cook the pasta: If you’re serving your oil-free pesto with pasta, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta according to package instructions (I used whole grain linguine pasta). When the pasta is fully cooked to your liking, drain pasta in a colander and return it to the pot (turn off the heat to the stove, though).
- Timing: This usually takes me less than 10 minutes so I tend to add it right after I’ve added the dry pasta to the boiling water. If you’re not sure you’ll be able to manage stirring the pasta every so often and making the pesto, feel free to make the pesto when you’re waiting for the water to come to a boil.
- Thin the miso paste: If using miso paste, sometimes it doesn’t get evenly distributed in the food processor if I just plop it in. What I like to do is use a mini whisk (or a fork) to mix together 1 tablespoon miso paste with 2 tablespoons warm (not hot) water. Whisk until fully dissolved, then proceed with the recipe.
- Add the liquids: Add the half cup of aquafaba, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, and thinned miso paste to the mixing bowl of a food processor fitted with an S-blade (the standard blade).
- Add the greens: Add the 1 + ½ ounces basil leaves (thicker stems removed) and 1-2 cups baby spinach to the food processor and gently smoosh it down if it seems like it’s too much.
- Add remaining ingredients: Place the 1 + ¾ cups chickpeas, ½ cup nutritional yeast, and 2 garlic cloves in the food processor.
- Pulse: Pulse for about 10 seconds until things look mostly combined. Remove the lid and use a spatula to scrape down the sides and push any remaining large chunks of greens into the path of the blades. Pulse again until the mixture looks well blended. I like to leave my oil-free pesto a little chunky, but if you want a fully blended sauce, feel free to blend longer.
- Add to pasta: Carefully scrape the blade clean with a small spatula and add the contents of the food processor bowl to your pot of cooked (and drained) pasta. I like to use tongs to mix the pesto with the pasta. Mix well.
- Serve: Serve your oil-free pesto and pasta immediately. I like to top my bowl with sliced grape or cherry tomatoes sometimes, or a few reserved tiny leaves of basil. Sometimes I add a sprinkle of nutritional yeast and some fresh cracked black pepper as well.
Expert Tips
- Blanch the basil: If you don’t think you’ll eat all of it right away, I recommend blanching the basil. Bring a pot of water to a boil (you can even use the water you plan to use for the pasta) and carefully add the basil leaves. Stir gently and allow to blanch for one minute. Remove basil with a slotted spoon and place it in a bowl full of ice water (this is called shocking it). When the basil has cooled, squeeze the excess liquid out with your hands and add to the food processor. This will keep the pesto green all week in the fridge (the basil will turn brown due to oxidation if you don’t do this, but you don’t need to worry about it if you plan to consume the whole batch the same day).
- Use a blender instead of a food processor: I prefer to use a food processor for this recipe because it allows me to keep the oil-free pesto from getting fully pureed, however you can still accomplish this in a blender. You may have to stop often and scrape down the sides to make sure all the greens get equally chopped. You also have the option of fully blending it into a smooth, cohesive sauce instead of a pesto.
- Make it creamier: If you prefer a creamy, fully blended pesto, use the blender option above and use a plain-flavored unsweetened non-dairy milk such as soy milk instead of the aquafaba to blend the pesto fully.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many ways to enjoy pesto! My favorite way to eat this oil-free pesto is on pasta, but I *really* love pasta, haha. It would also be a great sauce on my oil-free pasta salad or a unique spin on my whole food plant-based potato salad.
You can also eat this low-fat vegan pesto on toast (I love Ezekiel Sprouted Whole Grain bread; I buy the Low Sodium version), crackers like Wasa Light Rye Crispbread or Mary’s Gone Crackers, or as a dip for veggies.
You can also use this pesto as an oil-free salad dressing or a delicious sauce to drizzle on bowls with whole grains, cooked potatoes, roasted veggies, and other goodies.
More Oil-Free Recipes to Try
- Plant Based Burrito Bowl
- Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff
- Healthy Plant Based Broccoli Salad
- Golden Beet Beans and Greens
- Portobello Pizzas
- Kale Salad with Blueberries and Grapes
- Butter Bean Scramble
- Hummus Veggie Sandwich
- Kale Sweet Potato Salad
Oil-Free Pesto
Oil-Free Pesto is one of the best sauces for pasta and it's so easy to make! This oil-free pesto is FULL of flavor yet it is low fat, nut-free, dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, and nutrient dense. Put this plant based sauce all over your pasta or whole grains, tofu, bowls, toast, and more.
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor or a blender may be used
- 1 Small spatula for scraping out the food processor
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Aquafaba, chickpea liquid from the can or leftover from boiling them if you made them from dried, if you don’t have enough, use plain unsweetened non-dairy milk or water for the rest
- 3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice, fresh squeezed preferred but bottled is fine
- 1 Tablespoon White or Yellow Miso Paste, + 2 Tablespoons Warm Water, see Notes section below for substitutions
- 1 + ½ Ounces Fresh Basil Leaves, thicker stems discarded
- 1-2 Cups Baby Spinach, packed cups, feel free to just use more basil instead or use another green like baby kale
- 1 + ¾ Cups No-Salt-Added Chickpeas, 15-ounce can, drained (but save the liquid!)
- ½ Cup Nutritional Yeast, see Notes section below for substitutions
- 2 Garlic Cloves, peeled, or use 1 teaspoon granulated garlic or jarred minced garlic, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: If you're serving your oil-free pesto with pasta, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta according to package instructions (I used whole grain linguine pasta). When the pasta is fully cooked to your liking, drain pasta in a colander and return it to the pot (turn off the heat to the stove, though).
- Timing: This usually takes me less than 10 minutes so I tend to add it right after I've added the dry pasta to the boiling water. If you're not sure you'll be able to manage stirring the pasta every so often and making the pesto, feel free to make the pesto when you're waiting for the water to come to a boil.
- Thin the miso paste: If using miso paste, sometimes it doesn't get evenly distributed in the food processor if I just plop it in. What I like to do is use a mini whisk (or a fork) to mix together 1 tablespoon miso paste with 2 tablespoons warm (not hot) water. Whisk until fully dissolved, then proceed with the recipe.
- Add the liquids: Add the half cup of aquafaba, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, and thinned miso paste to the mixing bowl of a food processor fitted with an S-blade (the standard blade).
- Add the greens: Add the 1 + ½ ounces basil leaves (thicker stems removed) and 1-2 cups baby spinach to the food processor and gently smoosh it down if it seems like it's too much.
- Add remaining ingredients: Place the 1 + ¾ cups chickpeas, ½ cup nutritional yeast, and 2 garlic cloves in the food processor.
- Pulse: Pulse for about 10 seconds until things look mostly combined. Remove the lid and use a spatula to scrape down the sides and push any remaining large chunks of greens into the path of the blades. Pulse again until the mixture looks well blended. I like to leave my oil-free pesto a little chunky, but if you want a fully blended sauce, feel free to blend longer.
- Add to pasta: Carefully scrape the blade clean with a small spatula and add the contents of the food processor bowl to your pot of cooked (and drained) pasta. I like to use tongs to mix the pesto with the pasta. Mix well.
- Serve: Serve your oil-free pesto and pasta immediately. I like to top my bowl with sliced grape or cherry tomatoes sometimes, or a few reserved tiny leaves of basil. Sometimes I add a sprinkle of nutritional yeast and some fresh cracked black pepper as well.
Video
Notes
- Nutrition Information Notes: The nutrition information does not include the pasta calculated in the equation because there are so many different types of pasta you could use. So if you need accurate calorie information, please plug in the pasta you use and these ingredients into your favorite calorie tracker. I recommend Cronometer.
- Blanch the basil: If you don’t think you’ll eat all of it right away, I recommend blanching the basil. Bring a pot of water to a boil (you can even use the water you plan to use for the pasta) and carefully add the basil leaves. Stir gently and allow to blanch for one minute. Remove basil with a slotted spoon and place it in a bowl full of ice water (this is called shocking it). When the basil has cooled, squeeze the excess liquid out with your hands and add to the food processor. This will keep the pesto green all week in the fridge (the basil will turn brown due to oxidation if you don’t do this, but you don’t need to worry about it if you plan to consume the whole batch the same day).
- White or Yellow Miso Paste: This is to replace the salt in the recipe, but I also love the little hint of umami flavors. Per Dr. Michael Greger of NutritionFacts.org, the soy in miso has a protective effect so the sodium in miso paste will not affect us negatively. Please feel free to omit or use a pinch of salt if that is what you prefer.
- Chickpeas: White beans (navy beans, Great Northern beans, cannellini beans, butter beans may work, but they are usually softer than chickpeas so may produce a more hummus-like texture whereas the chickpeas have a firmer texture that lends itself better to pesto.
- Nutritional Yeast: If you can’t eat nutritional yeast, try a little extra miso, onion, and garlic. You may need less liquid to blend (because nutritional yeast thickens the mixture), so either add less aquafaba, or more of everything else.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25 recipeCalories: 189.1kcalCarbohydrates: 27.1gProtein: 14.7gFat: 3.1gSodium: 234.7mgPotassium: 786.1mgFiber: 9.9gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 98.4IUVitamin C: 8.4mgCalcium: 103.6mgIron: 9.7mg
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