Make your own vegan avocado pesto sauce at home with only a few simple ingredients.  This healthy, dairy-free, keto, Whole30 and vegan pesto recipe is a great way to use up any extra basil or ripe avocados you happen to have!  

Gluten-free avocado pesto in a glass jar with a wooden spoon on the side.

Basil Season = Vegan Pesto Recipe Time!

Summertime means lots of extra summer produce… and tons and tons of basil!

Basil thrives on sunlight and flourishes all throughout the summer.

Basil will begin to flower in September, marking the end of its season.  So now is the perfect time to whip up this vegan pesto recipe.

A hand holding a sliced lemon with other ingredients for avocado pesto.

Dairy-Free Avocado Pesto Sauce!

One of my all-time favorite things to make when we have too much basil in the house is pesto.

But to be honest, my hubby and I do not do too well with dairy, so I had to get a little creative.

When I first made this avocado pesto recipe Cohl turned to me and asked, “How much cheese is in this?” (Asking as if it MUST be loaded with dairy since it tasted SO good!)

“It’s actually a dairy-free and vegan pesto recipe!”  To that response he quickly devoured the remainder of the container.

So what replaces the Parmesan cheese in this vegan pesto recipe?… avocado!  And it does a remarkable job!

Hand holding a glass jar of vegan pesto.

How to Make Vegan Avocado Pesto Sauce:

Making this avocado pesto recipe is actually super easy and only requires a few simple ingredients:

  • Basil: an absolute must and the bulk of the flavor in this recipe.
  • Avocado: make sure you use a ripened avocado.
    • If your avocado is not quite ripe, place it in a bag with a cut apple and let it sit overnight.  Within 24-48 hours your avocado should be ready to rock and roll!
  • Lemon juice: this helps preserve the bright green of the pesto and gives it an extra bit of freshness.
  • Pine nuts: these can get a bit pricey, so feel free to substitute for walnuts or almonds.
  • Olive oil: definitely encourage you to get a good grade of olive oil to give this vegan pesto recipe the best flavor.

You can either use a high-speed blender such as a Vitamix or a large food processor to process your ingredients.

Ingredients for Vegan Avocado Pesto Recipe in a blender.

How Long Will Avocado Pesto Last?

Trying to figure out how long avocado pesto will keep in the refrigerator led to a bit of a science experiment.

To be honest, it lasted a lot longer than I thought!

Your vegan avocado pesto recipe will last for up to 3-4 days if you do the following:

  • Put avocado pesto in a small glass tupperware container.
  • *Super important step: Place a piece of saran wrap directly on top of the pesto ensuring that no air is touching the pesto.
  • Refrigerate vegan pesto between uses and make sure the saran wrap goes back on top of it.  The longer it sits out, the more brown the pesto will turn!

While you can get your avocado pesto to last up to 4 days, it is definitely best when enjoyed during the first 24 hours!

Gluten-free vegan pesto recipe in a glass jar with avocados and lemons on the side.

How Can You Enjoy this Vegan Pesto Recipe?

The options are endless!  Here are a few of my favorite ways to devour this avocado pesto sauce:

  • Serve it with pasta or zucchini noodles and add some cherry tomatoes.
  • Mix it with quinoa and serve with raw bell peppers and spinach.
  • Make a deconstructed Caprese salad by tossing mozzarella balls and cherry tomatoes in the avocado pesto sauce.

Tap stars to rate!

4.25 from 12 votes

Vegan Avocado Pesto Recipe

Make your own vegan avocado pesto sauce at home with only a few simple ingredients.  This healthy, dairy-free, keto, Whole30 and vegan pesto recipe is a great way to use up any extra basil or ripe avocados you happen to have!  
Gluten-free vegan pesto recipe in a glass jar with avocados and lemons on the side.
Yield 8 servings
Prep 5 minutes
Total 5 minutes
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Ingredients 

  • 1 cup basil packed
  • 1 large avocado peeled and quartered
  • ¼ cup pine nuts
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 ½ Tbsp. lemon juice
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. pepper
  • ½ cup olive oil or avocado oil

Instructions 

  • In a food processor or high-speed blender combine basil, avocado, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pulse 3-4 times.
  • Turn blender to a Medium-Low speed and slowly drizzle in olive oil until pesto is to your desired texture. (Pulse if you want your pesto to have a little more texture!)
  • Serve avocado pesto with zucchini noodles, pasta, or in a Caprese salad and enjoy!
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review letting us know how it was!

Tap stars to rate!

4.25 from 12 votes

Video

Notes

Serving size is 2 tablespoons.
Your vegan avocado pesto recipe will last for up to 3-4 days if you refrigerate it between uses and seal it tightly with plastic wrap.

Nutrition

Calories: 190kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 121mg, Potassium: 155mg, Fiber: 1g, Vitamin A: 195IU, Vitamin C: 4.4mg, Calcium: 10mg, Iron: 0.5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Made this recipe?Leave a comment below!

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