This dairy-free roasted garlic walnut pesto uses garlic roasted on the grill and fresh homegrown basil.
Summer is the best time to make one of my favorite fresh basil recipes—roasted garlic walnut pesto. I love the simple classic flavors of this pesto. The roasted garlic is wonderful with toasted walnuts, extra virgin olive oil, and lots of fresh basil from the garden. This is a perfect dairy-free summer basil pesto sauce.
Pesto is one of those versatile sauces that's good on everything. Try it on grilled chicken or burgers. Use it as a dip for raw vegetables or a sauce for roasted vegetables. Add a little vinegar to it and make a salad dressing. And of course, you can always toss it with spiralizer zucchini noodles for pasta pesto. The possibilities are endless.
This pesto is quick and easy to put together. The ingredients are traditional, but I substitute a little lemon juice and extra salt for the cheese, making this pesto dairy-free. Everything goes in the food processor and in just a few minutes you have a paleo roasted garlic walnut pesto. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
More easy dairy free recipes
Roasted Garlic Walnut Pesto
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup organic raw walnuts
- 1 head roasted garlic
- 1 large bunch fresh basil about 2 cups, stems removed
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup organic extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Toast walnuts in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool to room temperature.
- Squeeze roasted garlic cloves into food processor and add toasted walnuts and a good pinch of sea salt. Pulse until mixture resembles large crumbs.
- Add basil and lemon juice. With processor running, stream in olive oil. Scrape down sides and process until combined. Add additional sea salt to taste.
Jarome
I love pesto! This is a great recipe. Thanks. XOXO
Lisa
Thanks! I love pesto too. 🙂
Alissa @ Connoisseurus Veg
I think I just figured out what to do with this year's basil crop, which is getting overdue for harvesting. Oh, and I love roasted garlic. This sounds like the perfect combo. Thanks for this recipe!
Lisa
Basil and roasted garlic are two of my favorites! Staring at my overdue for harvesting basil plants inspired this recipe. 🙂 Thanks for your comment!
Brenna
how long will this stay good for in the refrigerator? Can i make and freeze?
Lisa
Brenna, we tend to eat this pretty quickly, so I've never had it in the fridge more than a few days. I haven't tried freezing it either, if you try it let me know how it turns out!
Jennifer
seems high calorie, hmm maybe 1300. Might be a bit much if it tastes as good as it looks, and I'd probably eat the lot on zucchini noodles LOL
Rodney
Awesome recipe, it takes a little bit of time to make, but it is super tasty...I left the garlic a little bit less roasted and it gave it a little bit of extra kick.
Lisa
Thanks, Rodney! Glad you liked it!
madison
Great! I love pesto. This is great for pasta, pizza. Lusciously perfect!