The beauty of pesto is its versatility. This Italian classic is a simple condiment with endless possibilities in preparation and in serving. I wanted to make a creamier pesto that would work well as a sauce and spread. So I substituted a favorite ingredient for the nuts and part of the oil. The result was a nut-free, seed-free, dairy-free avocado pesto that is rich with healthy fats and positively delicious.
Dairy-Free Avocado Pesto with Serving Ideas and Options
I created this dairy-free avocado pesto for my allergy-friendly pesto polenta pie recipe. But I’ve since used it as a sauce, spread, and even in dips. I’ve included various ingredient options, serving suggestions, and ways to preserve leftover herbs in the sections below.
Dairy-Free Serving Ideas for Avocado Pesto
There are a so many ways you can use dairy-free avocado pesto. Here are just a few key suggestions.
- Pasta – Toss it with regular pasta noodles, gluten-free pasta noodles, or zucchini noodles. Add some steamed or sauteed vegetables, like chopped broccoli, zucchini, or bell peppers. And toss in your favorite protein. We like chicken, white fish, salmon, Italian sausage, or tofu with avocado pesto.
- Pasta Salad – Enjoy the freshness of the herbs in cold pasta. Toss it with short pasta (like farfalle, fusilli, or penne) and your favorite pasta salad ingredients. This dairy-free avocado pesto goes well with cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, black olives, and dairy-free salami, to name a few.
- Pizza – Use it as a pizza sauce. Yes, you can bake it! We typically go cheese-less, but it pairs well with a sprinkle of dairy-free mozzarella, parmesan, or feta. And a pinch of red pepper flakes is a must!
- Sandwiches – Slather it on deli sandwiches, burgers, or in tacos for a fresh twist. It also works well with mayonnaise if you want a saucier condiment. You can even mix it into chicken salad or tofu salad.
- Fish – Cover a piece of fish with the pesto before baking. It tastes delicious on salmon, trout, halibut, and other white fish.
Dairy-Free Avocado Pesto Ingredient Tips & Options
Avocado: Thanks to this ingredient, you don’t need as much oil, and you can skip the pine nuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and other nuts and seeds. They aren’t needed! Avocado provides a rich, creamy texture. But make sure to use a nice ripe avocado that isn’t mushy for the best flavor and consistency.
Herbs: I cut the basil with a little parsley for a more seamless flavor. I find all-basil pesto can taste a bit too grassy. But you can substitute another herb for the parsley. Cilantro is great for Mexican dishes, marjoram or oregano lends Italian flare, mint pairs well with meats and grain salads, arugula adds pepperiness, and Kaffir lime leaves go well with Thai noodles or Vietnamese spring rolls. You could substitute baby spinach leaves or kale for the parsley, but they won’t add to the flavor as nicely, in my opinion.
Oil: Olive oil is the classic oil used in pesto, but you can keep with the green theme and blend in avocado oil. Nut oils (if you are okay with nuts) also go well. In a pinch, a neutral oil like canola oil could be used. But avoid coconut oil. It will cause the pesto to seize up when cold.
Garlic: It adds depth of flavor, but you can omit the garlic if you have FODMAP issues. If you’re a garlic fan, you can add two cloves for a more garlic-forward taste.
Nutritional Yeast: This is the perfect recipe for you to try if you don’t think you like nutritional yeast. Many recipes use it in larger quantities. Here it is just used as a spice to help influence the flavor. Nutritional yeast blends with the salt and lemon to add a pinch of “parmesan” to the recipe.
How to Preserve Leftover Basil and Parsley
If you had to buy your fresh herbs at the store, you probably have quite a lot leftover. You can make a bigger batch of this dairy-free avocado pesto recipe, or simply preserve the extra herbs. I like the following methods.
Preserve Herbs in Water (freezer method)
Chop the herbs and put them into the wells of an ice cube tray. I do 1 tablespoon of chopped herbs per cube, since that is a common recipe amount. Cover the herbs with water and freeze. Pop the cubes out and store in an airtight plastic bag in your freezer. When read to use, defrost and drain the herbs, or use a cube in a cool drink to add some essence.
Preserve Herbs in Oil (freezer method)
After you wash the herbs, thoroughly dry them. For every 1 cup of lightly-packed herbs, you’ll need about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place the herbs and oil in your blender or food processor and pulse to chop the leaves. Then puree until the mixture is smooth. Scrape the puree into an airtight plastic bag, press the air out, seal, and flatten to freeze. You can squeeze out the puree as needed in recipes. Oil doesn’t freeze, so it will stay relatively soft in the freezer.
Dry Your Own Herbs (shelf stable or freezer method)
Create a bundle with several herb stems, and tie them together at the base with a rubber band. Put the herbs in a paper bag with space around them and the stems facing out. Tie the bag closed around the stems with twine, a ribbon, or whatever you’ve got. Poke several holes around the herb bundle. Hang the bag upside down using the tie in a warm dry spot for about 1 week, or until the herbs are dried. You can chop the herbs and use them as dried herbs or freeze them for longer preservation.
Special Diet Notes: Avocado Pesto
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, peanut-free, seed-free, soy-free, added sugar-free, vegan, plant-based, vegetarian, keto friendly, and paleo friendly. Whew!
Dairy-Free Avocado Pesto
Ingredients
Method
- Put the basil, parsley, mashed avocado, oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic, nutritional yeast, and salt in a small blender or food processor. Pulse the ingredients 4 to 5 times to chop the herbs, and then puree until the avocado pesto is emulsified and smooth.
- The pesto is best when served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a couple days. It might oxidize a little, affecting the color, but not the taste.
Nutrition
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