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A heavenly combo of spinach, artichokes, garlic, lemon, and pumpkin seeds. This dairy free, nut free, beautifully green, Spinach Artichoke pesto is a condiment you will reach for again and again.
The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here this last week. Temperatures were well above normal, the sun has been shining, and I’ve got spring fever in a bad way. It’s making me crave all things bright and fresh and green!
This Green Vegetable Juice has been in heavy rotation (even the kids like it!) as have salads of every kind. I made these white bean veggie burgers the other night and this Spinach Artichoke Pesto was the perfect accompaniment. It’s super easy – takes just about 5 minutes – so let’s get that flavor going!
Nut Free
Traditional pestos usually contain pine nuts. I have a weird aversion to pine nuts. I will literally have a constant pine taste in my mouth for weeks after eating them. I’ve discovered that raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are my favorite substitution. They also have a subtly “cheesy” flavor, so they make a great sub for the parmesan cheese that is usually found in pestos as well. The use of pumpkin seeds here makes my pesto allergy friendly – dairy free and nut free!
A Versatile Sauce
This fresh, citrusy, artichoke pesto will liven up a variety of dishes. Mixed with pasta, tossed in a salad, in place of marinara on a pizza, a dip for veggies, spread on crusty bread as an appetizer, or atop a veggie burger. The possibilities are limitless. If you love artichokes, put this dairy free pesto on your must-make list!
More vegan sauce recipes
- Pumpkin Seed Pesto
- Sun Dried Tomato Spread
- Southwest Vegan Ranch Dressing
- Easy Cranberry Sauce
- Easy Peanut Sauce
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you tried it, please use the rating system in the recipe card and leave a comment below with your feedback.
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For even more easy family recipes, be sure to check out my cookbook, The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook!
Spinach Artichoke Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 14 oz can quartered or halved artichoke hearts (drained)
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- juice from 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
Instructions
- Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until a sauce is formed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning if necessary.
Sandy says
Can you replace the pumpkin seeds with Nutritional yeast instead as I don’t use any type of seeds (excepts chia and flax).
Jenn S. says
You could certainly try it. I like pumpkin seeds because they have a somewhat cheesy flavor, so nooch should be a decent sub. It might be creamier in texture than with the seeds, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Let me know how it turns out.
Megan says
I love a nut free pesto option! My daughter has an allergy so I haven’t been able to make pesto, but my husband loved it so I have been looking for an easy alternative. Definitely going to try this!!
Jenn S. says
This will be perfect then. I hope you love it! Thanks, Megan!
Karlyn says
I have to say, I LOVE this recipe! I made it yesterday and plan to make it regularly from now on. It was easy to make and tasted great on my toast this morning. I didn’t have the seeds on hand yesterday, so I used some raw walnuts and that worked well too. Next time I may try pepitos and see how that works. I also love that this recipe doesn’t call for much oil. It’s a healthy recipe and so yummy! Thank you for sharing. I signed up for your news and look forward to more healthy yummies recipes.
Jenn S. says
Thank you, Karlyn! That is so great to hear! I’m planning to make another batch today in fact. We’ve been eating it with whole wheat crackers as a snack and it gets devoured so quickly! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and sign up for the newsletter. I hope you find lots more recipes to love! 🙂