Parsley Walnut Pesto Sauce Recipe

Vegan pesto recipe - perfect on pasta, pizza or sandwiches

Parsley walnut pesto is a winter pesto recipe. In December, I had parsley still thriving in the garden, no basil, and a big pesto craving. Parsley is cheap & plentiful all year round, and this pesto is amazingly delicious and nutritious!

Substitute up to 1/2 cilantro for parsley. Use raw garlic to make it raw or omit the garlic.

Parsley walnut pesto is a great sandwich spread (lovely with hummus), or pasta sauce - thinned with a little oil, water, non-dairy milk or yogurt.

Total prep & cook time: 20 min

10 Servings

Nutrition Data Per Serving, 53 g: 144 calories, 102 calories from fat, 6g carbs, 12g fat, 217mg sodium, 1g sugars, 2g fiber, 5g protein, low Cholesterol, good source Vit. A, C, B6, B12, K, Manganese, Iron, Selenium, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folate. Estimated glycemic load: 2.

Pesto Ingredients:

4 cups parsley leaves, loosely packed (sub 1/4 - 1/2 cilantro if desired)
1 cup walnuts, soaked 4 - 8 hours and rinsed well
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced or crushed garlic OR 1 tsp garlic powder
3 - 4 Tbsp lime juice (from 1 lime)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 cup mellow white miso
Optional: Salt to taste (miso is very salty so go easy)
Fresh ground black or white pepper to taste

Directions:

Process walnuts and parsley in food processor until fine
Optional: If using fresh garlic, stir fry in the oil until soft to mellow the flavor
Add oil & garlic, nutritional yeast, miso, lime juice to food processor and process until smooth
Add salt & pepper to taste
Store in the fridge, covered with a tight fitting lid, for up to a week

Recipe Tips:

This delicious vegan pesto made a perfect pizza sauce recipe - replacing tomato sauce & cheese nicely. Green pizza actually looks good and is super tasty - especially with artichoke hearts and olives. The pesto pizza in the picture was made with cheese, but vegan cheese or crumbled tofu would also work.

Of course we also love parsley walnut pesto with pasta, as shown with rice pasta and sauteed & steamed veggies. I used a tiny bit of the pasta cooking water to thin the thick pesto - nom, nom, nom!

After an long, arduous session making this pesto recipe in my ordinary blender, I realized that wasn't a realistic option. A Vitamix would work, if you happen to have one.

For my second parsley pesto test, I just threw all ingredients, including the nuts, into a food processor and kept processing until I was satisfied with the texture.

It also works to chop all the ingredients fine with a sharp knife, then combine, and have at it with a hand blender. Or use a nut grinder or food mill for the walnuts then add minced parsley and everything else.

I soaked the walnuts overnight in water to soften them and reduce the bitterness. But use them as is if you don't want to take that step.

This recipe is also delicious with half cilantro and half parsley - a little different flavor.

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