Pantry Pesto With Dried Basil (Vegan!)
When it comes to a flavorful, shelf-stable pesto, you don’t need to look any further than your own pantry. Use 1-2 tablespoon pesto blend per serving of pasta.
Ingredients
- ½ cup dried basil
- ½ cup dried parsley flakes
- ¼ cup whole walnuts (chopped)
- ¼ cup whole almonds (chopped)
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder (or 1-2 cloves garlic)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt (use half as much of another brand)
Instructions
- Combine nuts in the bowl of a mini food processor. Process on low speed, pulsing on and off, until finely chopped.
- Add the rest of the ingredients — basil, parsley, nutritional yeast, and salt — and pulse a few more times until you have a fine powder.
- Transfer to an airtight container and store in a cool, dark place for up to 3 months at room temperature, or up to 6 months in the fridge or freezer.
- To make this without a food processor: Chop the nuts very finely with a knife. Or place them in a bag and run a rolling pin over them to crush them and then chop them until they're as small as you can get them. Stir the remaining ingredients in with the chopped nuts.
- Serving option 1: Toss with cooked pasta, chicken/protein/veggies along with a large glug or two of olive oil, enough to get the dried pesto mixture to stick.
- Serving option 2: Cook pasta according to al dente package directions. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, strain pasta and return to pan over medium heat along with any veggies/chicken/protein. Add a glug of olive oil, a few tablespoons of the pesto blend, and half of the reserved pasta liquid. Add ½ cup grated parmesan cheese and stir until the pesto uniformly coats the pasta in a sauce. Add additional pasta water if needed to thin out the sauce.
RECIPE NOTES
- If starting with whole nuts, toast them before processing to get a more intense flavor. To toast, place whole nuts on a sheet tray in the oven at 350F for 5-10 mins, stirring every 2-3 minutes.