Whatever you are meal planning this week, this Dairy-free Whole30 Pesto *should* be a part of it. Homemade pesto is divine and can really add a “wow” factor to a meal. I call it “liquid gold” and love love it! Homemade pesto is so EASY and tastes 10x better than store-bought, and I will fight you on it! ; )

Why We Love This Dairy-free Whole30 Pesto

We love how allergen-friendly it is! Dairy-free, paleo, keto, vegan, plant-based, egg-free and Whole30 compliant. It takes only 10 minutes to make and is a wonderful simple sauce to level up your meals. Plus, it freezes great!

Like all my recipes, it has some flexibility. Can’t do cashews? Just use an equal amount of more pinenuts. My sister uses 2 cups basil + 1 cup spinach instead of the 3 cups basil to get in more greens. Want a thinner pesto? Add another tablespoon of two of oil.

What We Love it On

I first had homemade pesto in a small local restaurant that put it on their eggs. I was so skeptical about pesto on my eggs. But, it WOW’d me and I have ordered that dish pretty much every time I go to that restaurant. It’s fantastic for an easy punch of flavor. Here’s some ideas how to use it:

• Pesto Bacon Chicken
• Pesto Spinach Eggs with Sweet Potato Hash Browns
• Whole30 Pesto Caulirice
• Smeared on the inside of a Paleo Crepe with chicken and dairy-free mozzarella

Ingredients

Not only is this Dairy-free Whole30 Pesto quick to make, it only uses 5 ingredients! Plus, I include lots of modifications to make this recipe accessible for you. 

• Fresh Basil – This ingredient makes all the difference in flavor between this and store-bought pesto. Yes, it has to be fresh basil, which can be found in the produce section, leaves only. 
• Pinenuts – Traditional pesto uses only pinenuts. However, they are pricey, so I only use a little bit of pinenuts, supplemented with the cheaper cashews. You can use ALL pinenuts (1/4 c + 1/3 c) or ALL cashews (1/4 c + 1/3 c) as needed.
• Fresh minced garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• Pinch of salt