Dairy Free & Nut Free Pesto (Allergy Friendly Recipe)
One of my favorite herbs is basil. It is the most grown in our herb garden and when we’ve got lots one of my favorite things to make is Pesto. Not only regular pesto that contains nuts and dairy, but also an allergy friendly recipe. Such as this Dairy Free & Nut Free Pesto recipe.
What is Pesto?
Italian in origin, pesto is a sauce consisting of basil, garlic, hard cheese, pine nuts, and salt blended together with olive oil.
This traditional version of pesto (minus the cheese), was actually one of my earlier recipes on the website. And the flavors are super delish. You can find that recipe here.
Dairy Free & Nut Free Pesto
Don’t get me wrong, I love the traditional flavors of pesto. The combination of basil, olive oil, garlic, cheese and nuts, creates a sauce that adds so much flavor to our dishes. Like my Pesto Stuffed Chicken.
But wth the increase of allergies among children and adults, creating an allergy friendly recipe became a great addition to the blog.
With a little research, I was able to create the allergy friendly recipe that is not only delicious but healthy and allergy safe.
How to make Dairy Free & Nut Free Pesto
For this recipe, you need the traditional ingredients such as basil, olive and garlic. But what makes this version allergy friendly is the swapping of nuts for sunflower seeds.
Sunflower seeds make a great swap for nuts in this recipe. With the addition of lemon juice, this recipe has all the flavors of traditional pesto without the allergies.
Storing and Freezing Dairy Free & Nut Free Pesto
One of the great things with pesto is that it stores well. It won’t last too long in the fridge especially if you are using it regularly. But it freezes well.
To freeze, you can use ice trays, freeze pesto, then pop out and store in a ziplock bag. Or you can freeze in individual containers and take one out as needed.
To use, simply defrost in the freezer and use. It works yummy in our pesto chicken meatballs.
If you’re looking for a great, healthy way to use up you extra basil, this is it! Gather your ingredients and let’s start blending.
Love always,
Dairy Free & Nut Free Pesto
Enjoy all the flavors of pesto in this Gluten Free, Dairy Free & Nut Free recipe. All the flavors of traditional pesto without the allergens!
Ingredients
- 4 cups packed, fresh basil leaves
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups olive oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In the jar of a blender the basil leaves, garlic cloves lemon juice and sunflower seeds.
- Blend on low while gradually pouring the olive oil, until a smooth but chunky sauce.
- Finally season with salt and pepper to taste, then use or add to a jar and store later.
Notes
Store for later:
To store the pesto for later, add to individual containers and freeze. 
Cheese:
Want to add more cheezy flavour, add 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, or for dairy free add a teaspoon of nutritional yeast.
1 Comments
Katia
April 24, 2021 at 1:38 pm
Pesto is one of my favorite go-tos I’ll be trying this