our favorite lemony pesto (with a dairy-free variation)

Pesto is one of our favorite condiments to have on hand. We love using it for our classic greenest pesto pasta, but also find ourselves drizzling it on hardboiled eggs, chicken, fish and veggies, tossing with white beans or tofu, or swirling into soup or salad dressing for an extra herby flavor boost. We go heavy on the lemon here, but feel free to use less if you prefer.

Our boys love pesto too, and we often alternate between the two variations to offer them a mix of flavors and nutrients. Note that these recipes includes pine nuts, which is an allergen, so you’ll want to make sure to account for the proper introduction if serving to babies. We also recommend skipping the added salt for babies less than 1 year old.

Also, freezing pesto in 1.25” silicon molds is the ultimate life hack -just freeze in cubes and store in labelled stasher bags or plastic bags!

Our favorite lemony pesto (contains dairy)
Yields ~2 cups

Ingredients
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves (no stems)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
juice of 1/2 lemon (~2 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste

Directions

1. Combine basil, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice and sea salt in a food processor and pulse until finely minced and combined.

2. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the oil until thoroughly mixed in.

3. Add the cheese and process briefly. Taste, adding more salt and/or lemon juice to taste.

Our favorite lemony pesto (dairy-free)
Yields ~2 cups

Ingredients
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves (no stems)
3 tablespoons pine nuts
2 large garlic cloves
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (depending on how much you like lemon!)
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste

Directions

1. Combine basil, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and sea salt in a food processor and pulse until finely minced and combined.

2. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the oil until thoroughly mixed in. Taste, adding more salt and/or lemon juice to taste.

3. Tip: if using the dairy-free pesto on pasta, we recommend adding a few extra shakes of nutritional yeast directly to the pesto pasta for a “cheesy” boost.