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August 1, 2019

Vegan Spinach Walnut Pesto

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Fresh and flavorful, this dairy-free, oil-free Vegan Spinach Walnut Pesto makes a delicious sauce for pasta or squash. Only 6 ingredients!

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Vegan Spinach Walnut Pesto

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One of my favorite summer foods to eat is spaghetti squash. Last year, a spaghetti squash plant showed up in our garden. It was amazing to have fresh spaghetti squash all summer. We're growing some again this year and I've been eating tons of it.

Most of the time I enjoy my spaghetti squash with just a sprinkle of salt. But I love adding sauces and condiments to spice it up sometimes. And pesto is one of those classic sauces that never gets old or boring.

Traditional pesto recipes have cheese and oil as main ingredients, but as an oil-free vegan, I don't eat either of those ingredients. So, of course, I made my own delicious pesto. It has the taste and texture of traditional pesto but is wayyyy healthier.

This Vegan Spinach Walnut Pesto packs in tons of flavor. It's got amazing greens and one of the healthiest nuts with only 6 ingredients.

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Vegan Spinach Walnut Pesto

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Ingredients

  • Fresh Spinach: this provides most of the bulk for the pesto, a beautiful green color, and some plant-protein!
  • Fresh Basil: the classic pesto ingredient, basil packs in the flavor.
  • Walnuts: often pesto uses pine nuts, and while I have nothing against pine nuts, walnuts are my nuts of choice these days (and they're super good for you).
  • Nutritional Yeast: flakes of yeast that give the pesto a cheesy flavor.
  • Lemon Juice: for that bit of tang.
  • Salt: because everything needs a pinch of salt.

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Vegan Spinach Walnut Pesto

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How to Make Vegan Spinach Walnut Pesto

If you thought 6 ingredients was easy, you'll be even happier to learn that there's virtually no effort required to make this Vegan Spinach Walnut Pesto. Just throw all the ingredients in a food processor and blend! Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple times and within minutes you'll have yourself a delicious pesto sauce for all your pasta or spaghetti squash needs. It doesn't get any easier than that. So enjoy!

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Vegan Spinach Walnut Pesto

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Recipe Prayer

Jesus, thank you for fresh foods that feed us. We are grateful each day for the healthy foods you give us. Amen.

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Tried this recipe?

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Vegan Spinach Walnut Pesto

Fresh and flavorful, this dairy-free, oil-free Vegan Spinach Walnut Pesto makes a delicious sauce for pasta or squash. Only 6 ingredients!

Author:

Elizabeth

Serves:

2

Prep:

10

min

cook:

0

min

total:

10

min

Print It

Ingredients

  • 2 Ounces Fresh Spinach (about 2 cups loosely packed)
  • 1/2 Ounce Fresh Basil (about 1/2 cup loosely packed)
  • 1 Ounce Walnuts (about 1/4 cup)
  • 2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt

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Instructions

  1. Add all the ingredients to a food processor. Process until the mixture is fairly smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides several times. Enjoy!

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Plant-Based Mediterranean Nachos
Sweet and Sour Tofu with Pineapple
Edamame Kale Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Hey - I'm Elizabeth

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At Elizabeth's Table I bring you easy and nutritious, plant-based recipes, explore the relationship between food and faith, and share my unique lifestyle.

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April 28, 2022
Jean Mastin
Elizabeth: Thank you so much for making my meal times wonderful again. I am 86 yrs plus, and was finding eating dull and dreary. Now it is " scrum delicious time to eat". . Blessings de Jean
Hi Jean - Thanks so much for your kind words. I'm so glad you are enjoying my recipes. Please let me know if you ever have recipe requests or if there's anything else I can do to keep your meals delicious!
April 9, 2022
Katie
Can you leave nutritional info for your recipes? Serving size/calories would be so helpful! Trying mushroom lentil stew tonight! and looking forward to crispy chickpea stuffed sweet potatoes very soon. Thanks for creating healthy, attractive recipes!
Hi Katie - so excited to hear that you are trying some of my recipes! I'd love to hear how they go. I haven't posted nutritional information for my recipes because I know it can be difficult for some people with disordered eating to see nutrition facts. I've gotten a lot of requests to add them recently, so I'm working on a solution that can provide information for those who want it but not be triggering for others. In the meantime, if you're curious about the nutrient info about a particular recipe, I recommend using Cronometer. It's a website/app to track and understand nutrient info and I think it does a great job of emphasizing all the nutrients (not just macros). I hope this helps! Please let me know if I can help in any other way.
April 9, 2022
Vickey
U mentioned date sugar on this recipe but it’s not in the instructions. I know u add it but just in case u wanna add to instructions. Love ur recipes! Thank u. I’m thinking of going to vegan a little nervous tho lol
Hi Vickey - thanks so much for catching that! I am updating the post now. So happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. And exciting that you are thinking about going vegan!! If there's anything that I can do to help, please let me know.
March 28, 2022
Sr Maureen Egan
I'd love to try this soup. What are the nutritional values, like how much fat does it contain, carbs, etc.
Hi Sr Maureen - I usually don't post macronutrient information because I know each person has their own goals and I don't want to encourage or discourage anyone's specific goals. But I often use Cronometer as a tool to understand the nutritional profile of my recipes. I plugged the ingredient information for this recipe into Cronometer and got the following nutrient information per serving: 521 calories, 44g fat, 23g carbs, 16g protein. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions and if you try the recipe!
March 26, 2022
Margareta Ahle
This curry is absolutely delicious.
Thank you so much! It's one of my favorites :)
March 23, 2022
Martha maloney
Thank you I have been doing the fruit and oatmeal, etc for years and I love it. I will try the pears. I refrigerate my left over oatmeal and with a touch of milk or fruit juice liquid it’s fine the next day. Just a warning about tofu; it interferes with some medicines especially Thyroid medicine. Thank you for the short prayers, there are lovely.
Hi Martha - thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad you like the prayers! As someone who doesn't take any medications I have no issues with eating tofu and encouraging others to eat it too (it's a great source of protein!). That said, you should always consult with your doctor about possible interactions with medications. I have plenty of recipes without tofu, so hopefully you can find things that work for you!
March 3, 2022
Susan Cunningham
I made this for Ash Wednesday and it was delicious. It was also simple and not much work time once the mushrooms and onions were cut.
Hi Susan - I'm so glad you liked it!
March 1, 2022
Jade
When you say shape into a rectangular loaf, what dimensions? 1/2 thick by 8 inches long or?
My loaf was about 7" long and 4" wide with about 1" of height. Then I sliced it 1/2" thick along the long end to get 12ish biscotti. I will clarify this in the post! Let me know if this makes sense and if you have any other questions.
January 16, 2022
Tracy Henry
Made this tonight. Absolutely delicious Elizabeth. You got this one just right!
Oh yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed it :)
January 16, 2022
L Collins
Hi Could you please confirm two things:1. The amount of salt. Seems like too much. 2. The directions say there is lemon juice in the dressing but it’s not listed under ingredients. ThanksL.
Hi there! Confirming that the two teaspoons of salt in the dressing is correct. I didn't salt the cauliflower when roasting it or the salad after it was done, so this amount of salt was perfect. If you're concerned about it you can decrease the amount of salt in the dressing and then add more at the end if you need it. As for the lemon juice, SO sorry about that! It was a typo in my directions and I've removed it now. Hope this helps :)
December 20, 2021
Martha
This looks lovely! Do you have a recipe for the red pepper hummus also? Thank you!
Hi Martha! I don't have a recipe for red pepper hummus on my site. I suggest taking a traditional hummus recipe and blending in roasted red pepper.
November 22, 2021
Amanda J Lehmann
I tried these and they were delicious! A bit dense but flavorful and the "buckeye" blend of peanut and chocolate was on point! Recommend!
Yay! I'm so glad you liked them! -- Elizabeth
December 6, 2021
Grace
Hi, these look amazing. I was wondering, could I used powdered peanut butter in place of creamy for the recipe? thanks
Hi Grace! There is already some powdered peanut butter in this recipe, so adding more might make the texture more gluey. Also, the real peanut butter adds some fat, which helps create flavor. That said, if you want to use powdered peanut butter, I would suggest mixing it with a high-fat liquid like coconut cream and then measuring out 2/3 cup. Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes :) -- Elizabeth
November 15, 2021
Becky
You mention using vegetable broth in your introduction but it isn’t included in the recipe
Hi Becky - thanks for pointing this out. I have removed mention of vegetable broth from this post. You do not need any vegetable broth. The mushrooms will release natural liquid which will prevent any sticking. -- Elizabeth
September 23, 2021
Tracy Henry
Hi Elizabeth, LOVE you recipes. Please keep them coming. :)I was wondering, can you share what is the vegan chocolate bar you used in this recipe?
August 28, 2021
Henry (Hank) Mader
thank you for the oil free recipe. I'm getting introduced to wild Bolete mushrooms here in Colorado, and everyone sautes Bolete's in butter or olive oil. I'm on a veggie, oil free regimen for heart health reasons. and your recipe suggestion may fill the bill. I can't wait to give it a try.
August 13, 2021
Lindsey Kuhn
This is so fun! Loving your creamy photography :)
August 13, 2021
Lindsey Kuhn
This looks incredible! So yummy and pretty photography
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