The Ultimate Dairy-Free Pesto

Ok so. Remember how I told you the story of my guacamole recipe? How my best friend and I made it about 100 (okay, more like 300) times before we actually wrote the recipe down? Not before we perfected it, of course. Seriously, if it takes you 300 times to make a good guacamole…I’m sad for all those avocados you had to waste and all that money you spent on them!! The struggle is real for avocado lovers, am I right? Those little delicious buggers can be expensive AF!

Getting sidetracked. Sorry. Dory mind over here.

ALSO DID YOU SEE FINDING DORY IS NOW OUT IN THEATERS?! Must. see.

Ok, really sidetracked now.

Anyway. So that whole recipe experimentation process where we never write down what we make? The same thing happened with this pesto. Well, ok, we wrote the recipe down once. And by that I mean we threw a bunch of stuff in the food processor, didn’t measure anything, but at least we wrote down the ingredients. And we called it “THE ULTIMATE PESTO.” In all caps, of course. And this stuff is AMAZING. I finally wrote the recipe down the last time we made it, and then I proceeded to make it three times in the past two weeks, you know, just to make sure the recipe was up to par for you guys. Or maybe just because I couldn’t get enough of it. Because it’s so dang good!!

So, what is the secret to the ultimate pesto? Toasted pine nuts, my friend. Mind. blown. You won’t even miss the parmesan cheese in this dairy-free pesto, which is crazy. Because how could you not miss cheese? Though if you’re not a lactard (lactose intolerant) like me, you could totally throw some parmesan on top of the pesto. I won’t judge you. In fact, I’ll just be mildly super jealous.

But Dana, you don’t eat gluten. What the heck are you even putting this pesto on? EVERYTHING, my friends. From roasted vegetables, to sweet potatoes, to eggs, to grilled chicken, sweet potato hash, my zucchini, bacon & sweet potato pancakes from last week, burgers….everything. You can even stir it into some spaghetti squash to make paleo pasta with pesto sauce. Or, you know, you do you and eat it on whatever kind of “real” pasta you like. I’m not one to judge, just dishing the delicious over here.

The Ultimate Dairy-Free Pesto

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Dana: Real Food with Dana

Serves: ½ cup, about 4 servings

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup pine nuts
• 1 bunch basil leaves (about 2 packed cups)
• 1 tsp minced garlic (or 2 cloves, roasted)
• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

Directions

1. First, toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over medium low heat, shaking the pan to move them around about every minute. It should take about 5 minutes until they’re lightly toasted, then remove from the heat and allow them to cool for about minute.
2. Prepare the rest of the pesto: combine the basil, garlic lemon juice, salt and pepper in the food processor, and pulse it a couple times.
3. Add in the pine nuts and evoo, pulsing after 2 Tbsp, then all 4, until the desired consistency is reached.
4. Serve! Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a few days, though I doubt you’ll have any.

3.5.3208

What’s your favorite way to use pesto sauce?