Vegan Pistachio Pesto

This homemade pistachio pesto has a brilliant green color and an even brighter flavor! Herbaceous basil leaves and creamy pistachios get an extra kick from sunny lemon juice and fresh garlic. 

When you say “pesto” most people think of basil and pine nuts, but the truth is, you can actually make pesto with ALL KINDS of things! The main components for any pesto are as follows: greens (herbs or leafy), nuts or seeds, acidity (citrus or vinegar), oil, and seasonings. 

I recently discovered that using pistachios in place of pine nuts in classic basil pesto is one delightful ingredient swap! It turns out even more green thanks to those pistachios, and has a lovely buttery flavor, even without the parmesan cheese.

The key to the glossy smooth texture is to add part of the oil at the beginning, and then slowly stream the rest of it in as your homemade pesto whirls around inside the food processor. This gives it time to emulsify, creating a thick and decadent finished pesto that is perfect for any use. 

Ingredient Notes

• Fresh basil leaves – A classic choice for pesto! You must use fresh herbs for this as dried basil will not produce the same result. Fresh basil leaves can be rather sensitive so if there are a few bruised leaves in your bunch, this pesto is a perfect way to use them. 
• Garlic – Adds a punchy, savory flavor. The lemon juice will mellow the astringency of the raw garlic, so if it tastes a bit sharp at first, don’t worry! It will become delicious as it melds together.  
• Pistachios – I recommend using unsalted pistachios so that you can be in full control of the salt content of your pesto. Grabbing a bag of pre-shelled pistachios is one time saver that is well worth it in my opinion! 
• Fresh lemon juice – Fresh squeezed is best here. When a recipe has very few ingredients like this one, the flavor of each one really matters so take the extra minute to squeeze a fresh lemon for maximum brightness in your pesto. 
• Salt – If your pistachios are already salted, skip the additional salt until you give it a taste. 
• Extra virgin olive oil – The flavor of the oil will be noticeable in this recipe, so make sure you use a decent quality olive oil that you enjoy the taste of. Any oil you would use to make salad dressing will do great here too.