My homemade nut free pesto sauce is a recipe you will want to save so you can make it on repeat. It goes well with pasta and many of your other dishes, and it tastes phenomenal. All you need are six simple ingredients: basil, sunflower seeds, garlic, lemon, oil, and Parmesan cheese. What will you drizzle it on?
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
The Quick Bite: This is a quick and easy pesto recipe made without nuts. It freezes nicely in an ice cube tray, so make a big batch.
Loved the idea of sunflower seeds instead, I even had a bag handy I’ve been trying to get rid of. Freezing some for future use. Tastes fantastic!”
shannon G., pinterest comment
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Sunflower Seeds – Be sure to use unsalted raw sunflower seeds! The hero of this no-nut pesto recipe is the sunflower seeds. They add the typical pesto “texture” and nuttiness this pesto recipe needs without pine nuts. It is so easy to make a delicious pesto without pine nuts!!
- Basil – Use fresh basil. Basil is one of the most versatile herbs to use, and it is delicious in recipes.
- Garlic – I find this recipe tastes better when you use fresh garlic cloves instead of jarred minced garlic. Do not use garlic powder in this recipe.
- Oil – Use extra virgin olive oil.
- Lemon Juice – This recipe can use fresh or jarred lemon juice.
- Parmesan Cheese – You can use any brand; use grated Parmesan and not shredded.
Substitutions:
- As I mentioned above, you can substitute VioLife Dairy-Free Parmesan in place of Parmesan cheese if you are dairy-free.
- I prefer extra-virgin olive oil, but you can use regular olive oil if that is what you have on hand.
How to Make a Nut Free Pesto (Step-By-Step)
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This is a simple one-step recipe! Add the fresh basil, sunflower seeds, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and parmesan to a food processor and blend until the seeds and basil are creamy and the mixture is sauce-like. That is it. It is super easy!
If you love using fresh herbs as I do, you will want to check out this article on How to Use Fresh Herbs in Your Cooking. I can’t say enough about using fresh herbs; they greatly affect freshness and flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes, pesto can go bad. This homemade pesto recipe will last around 1 week in the fridge. You shouldn’t leave the pesto on the counter, as it will spoil quickly.
If you notice the pesto has begun to turn brown, it’s time to discard it. At that point, it won’t taste good, either, so you won’t even want to eat it.
Yes, you can freeze pesto without pine nuts. Put it in freezer-safe bags or an airtight container, or freeze it in ice cubes. If you go the ice cube route, you can pop them out of the container and place them in freezer bags. Then grab what you need.
Set it on the counter for a few minutes to defrost it. Then, use it as you normally would. In the freezer, it will last around 6 months.
If you run into too thick of pesto, you can easily fix this issue by adding a little olive oil. I recommend starting with 1 teaspoon at a time, then adjusting as needed until you reach the desired consistency. Add more basil or sunflower seeds if it’s too thin.
Ways To Use This Basil Pesto Sauce:
- Top this Grilled Halibut Steak with pesto.
- Use this pesto in my Gluten Free Pizza Rolls recipe.
- My homemade Gluten Free Ravioli is perfect with pesto.
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Homemade Nut-Free Pesto Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds
- 3 tablespoons grated parmesan
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Add 2 cups fresh basil leaves, 1/3 cup sunflower seeds, 3 tablespoons grated parmesan, 2 garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and sea salt to taste to a food processor and blend until mostly smooth.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- I highly recommend using a food processor to grind up this pesto.
- This pesto will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer. (Tip: Freeze it in an ice cube tray so you have single-serve portions anytime you need it.)
- If you are vegan or dairy-free, you can make this pesto without pine nuts using VioLife Vegan Parmesan Cheese. It is the best vegan parmesan cheese I have found, and it tastes wonderful in this recipe.
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SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This post was updated from an older August 2019 post with more information and photos.
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
Hi,
I’m thinking of making this. Is sounds delicious! I have 2 questions: Should the sunflower seeds be raw or roasted? When measuring the basil, is it packed into the cups or lightly filled?
Thanks!
Hi Jo, the sunflower seeds I used were raw. I did a medium pack into the grinder. I hope this helps.
This is very good however next time I will use a bit less lemon or perhaps fresh squeezed as the bottled lemon juice seems a little overpowering.
I am glad you liked it. Definitely use less lemon if you like it less lemony :-).