Looking for a super-easy allergen friendly pesto recipe? This easy four-ingredient nut-free pesto is keto, low-carb, primal and vegetarian!
Ready for some allergen-friendly pesto?!
I’m always trying to find new and exciting ways to get more herbs and spices into my meals. I love fresh herbs so much, but yet seem to not include them in my recipes as often as I should.
Basil is definitely one of my all-time favorite herbs, I used to grow it 24/7 when we lived in a house. It was such an easy plant to grow and I found myself using it all the time.
Now that I have transitioned to living in an RV and traveling full-time, gardening has been much more of a challenge. In fact, I have zero plants at the moment.
Maybe some day that will change, but I imagine spilled and broken pots while traveling would be a terrible mess to clean up.
So for now, I’ll just have to be more intentional about buying herbs from grocery stores and farm markets.
Let’s go green!
The best thing about this recipe (aside from the delicious taste), is how incredibly easy it is to make. PLUS, you need no fancy ingredients that require spending lots of money or going to a specialty grocery store (I’m talking about you, pine nuts, you elusive bugger).
You’ll simply add basil, Parmesan cheese, olive oil and lemon juice to a blender or food processor and pulse until the desired texture is achieved.
If you’re looking for extra flavor, you can certainly add in a clove or two of fresh garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. See, uber simple!
Can I make it dairy-free, vegan, paleo, Whole30, etc?
You could try replacing the Parmesan cheese with nutritional yeast for a similar cheesy flavor. I have not tried this personally, as I have a mold allergy and avoid yeast, but I’ve heard it works great from others!
What is the best olive oil to use?
I generally buy my olive oil in dark glass bottles, to prevent it from going rancid. Occasionally, I will buy olive oil in dark plastic bottles, but do prefer to reduce my plastic as much as possible. Dark glass bottles generally are the best quality olive oils.
What are some good ways to use it?
So many options! It’s so great on pasta (gluten-free of course) and excellent as a meat marinade. You could even use it in your eggs at breakfast, as a pizza sauce replacement, mixed into veggies, or you could bake it into bread.
If you give this four-ingredient nut-free pesto a try, please let me know what you think in the comments below. Also be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest so you don’t miss a recipe!
You may also love these other pesto recipes:
Easy Four-Ingredient Nut-Free Pesto (Keto, Primal)
Ingredients
- 1 cup tightly-packed fresh basil
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a blender and pulse until combined. If necessary, add more olive oil if it is not blending well.
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days in an air-tight container. Can be frozen for longer storage, but does not look as green and vibrant after thawing.
4 comments
Delicious! I made this recipe specifically because it was nut free and because I have lots of basil in my garden right now. It’s so good. I did add a small clove of garlic. I tired to make it in my Blendtec and it didn’t work very well, so I switched to the Magic Bullet and that did the trick. I ate it on top of fresh tomatoes and naan bread. Definitely will be making it again. Thank you for sharing it.
Sounds delightful Tanya, thank you for the review!
I made grilled Chicken Margarita with pesto and marinated Cherry Tomatoes on top. It’s was a winner. One of my favorite easy recipes.
That sounds delicious, Jan! I love the combination with marinated cherry tomatoes, sounds incredible!