Try these delicious and healthy pesto recipes that are dairy free, gluten free, and perfect to top your favourite pasta, serve over veggies, or as a dipping sauce!
photo via The Simple Veganista
As I was putting this recipe round up post together I was honestly amazed at how many healthy pesto recipes there are out in the blogosphere and so many that are outside of the box! That’s what makes me so excited to share this post today, if you thought you knew how to make pesto or aren’t sure if you’re really a fan, I guarantee there will be at least a few recipes in this post that will make you re-think pesto altogether. I also just have to say after months of doing these roundup posts how impressed I am with the incredible talent out in the blogosphere. Seriously, there are so many brilliant bloggers making stunning content, and every week I seem to stumble upon a new one. I hope that with these recipe round up posts you too are discovering new blogs to follow and be inspired by!
Pesto is such a flavourful sauce that is made with whole food ingredients and can take any meal (well, many meals) up a notch. Pesto is traditionally made with garlic, pine nuts, salt, basil, and cheese such as parmesan or pecorino but these recipes will show you how it can be easily changed up or made with a twist and totally dairy free. While most of these recipes have pesto with pasta, know that you can add pesto to veggies, pour it over your favourite protein, add it to a salad, or use it as a dip as well. I love it in my Tasty Turkey Pesto Sandwich!
The Healthy Pesto Recipes
The Best Vegan Kale Pesto from Well and Full
This stunning and bright pesto is made with kale, pumpkin seeds, and a touch of red pepper for spice!
Vegan Pesto Swirl Cream Cheese from Full of Plants
This basil pesto is made with cashew nuts and nutritional yeast then swirled with a homemade cashew cream cheese. Dipping perfection!
Light Shrimp Scampi with Kale Pesto from NITK
This tasty kale pesto from the blog archives is loaded with green goodness and full of flavour, perfect for pasta or over your favourite seafood!
Greed Goddess Spinach Pesto from Seven Roses
Oh, so creamy, this delicious pesto packs in spinach, avocado, and almond flakes for a perfect taste and texture.
Avocado Pesto Pasta from From My Bowl
This gorgeously creamy pesto is not only stunning but packed with avocado, parsley, and nutritional yeast which adds that perfect cheesy flavour but keeps it dairy free!
Black Kale Pesto Pasta from Gathering Dreams
This dark and nutritious pesto uses black kale with raw almonds and a nice big clove of garlic!
Roasted Carrots with Tattagon Carrot Top Pesto from The Almond Eater
This brilliant and unique pesto is made with carrot tops and tarragon giving it a lovely flavour and texture, perfect to serve over roasted carrots or any other roasted vegetable!
Simple Creamy Pesto With Noodles from Simple Veganista
This healthy pesto recipe is uniquely made with tahini for creaminess and the addition of fresh zucchini for extra green power.
Parsley Dill Pesto from My Quiet Kitchen
I’m a huge fan of dill so this delicious and healthy pesto recipe is right up my alley, packed with dill, parsley walnuts and pumpkin seeds it’s definitely not your average pesto!
B-12 Boosting Seaweed Pesto from When Sweet Becomes Healthy
This delicious and unique pesto recipe is packed with seaweed which is super rich in B-12 and a load of minerals.
Vegan Kale Pesto Pasta from Lazy Cat Kitchen
Another healthy pesto recipe packed with kale, this delicious option also has the option of using hemp seeds to keep the recipe nut-free!
Olive Arugula Pesto Pasta from The First Mess
This beautiful pesto is packed with spicy arugula and contains olives which give it extra saltiness and healthy fats.
Pappardelle and Pesto with Sundried Tomatoes from Healthy Little Cravings
Did you know, pesto doesn’t have to be green?? This healthy pesto recipe is red from combining sun-dried tomatoes with almonds and garlic. So simple but so tasty!
Avocado Kale Pesto Pasta from Dolly and Oatmeal
Another creamy pesto option with avocado, this recipe also contains nourishing kale along with pine nuts and lots of lemon.
Vegan Roasted Courgette Pesto Pasta from Cupful of Kale
Courgette, also known as zucchini is roasted to perfection then blitzed with spinach, pine nuts, and vegan parmesan to create this amazing and healthy pesto sauce.
See what I mean, there are so many different ways to make and enjoy healthy pesto! I honestly don’t even know which one to make first, they all look so darn delicious! Do you have a favourite way to make a healthy pesto recipe? Is there a different type of leafy green you add or do you switch up the pine nuts to something else? Tell me about it in the comments and be sure to pin the photo below to save this post for later!
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Pesto is such a wonderful sauce! I’ve made one with kale, raw almonds, everything of that sort, but I do want to be daring one day and make one with peanuts! LOL! Not sure how it would turn out but it could be like an Asian-style pesto!
Yeah it would be very interesting with peanuts!!
Hey Christal,
Thanks for the great roundup! You always seem to find recipes with such gorgeous photos! One of my hubby and I’s favorite pestos is actually spinach and chive. Such a yummy flavor! We love putting it inside a chicken breast with some cheese. Mmm!
Ooo That sounds delicious!!