Sunflower seed pesto is a delicious, 6-ingredient, frugal homemade pesto without pine nuts you can make in just 5 minutes! Perfect for pasta, sandwiches, wraps, pizza, and more!
As delicious and versatile as it is, traditional pesto is packed with expensive pine nuts and dairy-based parmesan. These ingredients are less than ideal for those who are plant-based on a budget. Luckily, you can make several ingredient swaps for a frugal pesto without pine nuts OR dairy-based cheese. We’ve already shared walnut pesto, arugula pesto, and parsley-arugula vegan pesto recipes. Now it’s the turn of this inexpensive vegan basil sunflower seed pesto that tastes just as good as regular pesto but is far easier on your bank balance!
Sunflower seeds are not only inexpensive (sometimes up to 75% discount of the cost of pine nuts!), especially when bought in bulk in Mediterranean/Asian stores), but they also boast plenty of fiber, heart-healthy fats, and several vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, folate, manganese, copper, etc.
More so, they make a wonderfully smooth and creamy pesto we absolutely love! When combined with fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, lemon, and nutritional yeast, this pesto really captures the essence of summer!
Best of all, this nut-free pesto takes just minutes to prepare in a food processor and is fairly diet-friendly (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, low-carb, whole30, etc.). You can even reduce waste as it’s also meal-prep and freezer-friendly (for up to 6 months!). Not that we often have leftovers of this versatile dip/sauce/drizzle/spread!
You can also help to reduce food waste by adding ‘alternative’ greens to the sunflower seed pesto, including well-washed carrot top greens, beet greens, etc.
And that’s it. The nut-free basil pesto is ready to enjoy; keep reading for all our favorite serving recommendations!
Not only is sunflower pesto super versatile (as you’re about to find out if you keep reading), but it’s also fantastic for preparing in large batches and storing in the freezer!
Once prepared, you can store the fresh pesto with sunflower seeds in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. Alternatively, you can freeze it for between 4-6 months!
To freeze it, we like to spoon it into 1-2 tablespoon portions in an ice-cube tray, freeze until solid, and then transfer them to an airtight container. Then, when needed, allow the pesto cube/s to thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes. Alternatively, you could add them directly to certain dishes (i.e., into a sauce on the stovetop).
Note that basil pesto can darken because of oxidization; this is normal. If you want to keep it as vibrant as possible, keep the pesto stored in the ice cube tray (when freezing) or your jar/container of choice (in the fridge) with a thin layer of olive oil over it.
Pesto is one of our favorite versatile condiments for the sheer volume of options you have to use it up (and avoid food waste!). Here are just our top 12 ways to use pesto!
If your tummy is sensitive to raw nuts/seeds, feel free to soak them first. This activates them and makes them more easily digestible.
To soak the sunflower seeds, add them to a large bowl with plenty of water and leave to soak overnight. Then drain, rinse, and spread the seeds across a large baking sheet to allow them to dry (or use an oven on the lowest temperature) to dry out the seeds again before using them in this recipe for pesto with sunflower seeds.
Technically, yes. However, you then can’t easily control the sodium levels in this pesto with sunflower seeds, which means it may be overly salty.
The easiest way to adapt the amount of olive oil is when using a food processor with a chute. Slowly drizzle the olive oil in, bit by bit, until the pesto reaches your desired consistency.
Feel free to taste the pesto with sunflower seeds before adding any sugar. However, we’ve found that it adds depth to the pesto that you can’t necessarily tell is there, but it definitely makes a difference.
Photos by Alfonso Revilla
Janet says
Love the small batch. Mine came out tasty with basil & oregano from my garden and spinach to fill out the cup.
Andrea White says
Yum! Bet it turned out so fresh and delicious!
Jay says
Love pesto & trying it with different nuts or seeds so I’m definitely excited to see how this one tastes
Andrea White says
This is a delicious one!