To know pesto is to love it. Herby and bright, with pine nuts for richness and lemon and garlic for punch, it's a do-it-all sauce that makes as much sense tossed with your favorite pasta shape as it does slicked under a piece of fried chicken. Usually Parmesan plays a starring role as well, adding the cheese's characteristic umami and nuttiness to the equation. It's a delicate balance, with every element playing perfectly against the others. That's how a sauce becomes a classic.
So what happens when you remove one card-say, the cheese-from the perfectly stabilized pesto house you've built? In an instant, things collapse. Suddenly the garlic is all you can taste, or the lemon, once a welcome hit of acidity, overpowers the rest of the mix. It's fine! It's edible. You've just made something else, something that isn't necessarily pesto. Without some umami to root it to the ground, the sauce in your food processor has an identity crisis you can taste.
Of course, there are many reasons why one might want to leave the Parmesan out of their pesto, like lactose intolerance or an empty cheese drawer and abject laziness; if those apply to you, you should not be subject to a lifetime of confused pesto. I'm inclined to experiment in the dairy-free space and have made my fair share of alt-pestos with varying degrees of success, so I took it upon myself to put eight of the most commonly suggested vegan pesto substitutions to the test in a head-to-head competition. Rather than plant-based cheese (a brand face-off for another time), I focused on other ingredients that might provide the same umami, slight funk, and salinity that Parmesan does. Miso, mushrooms, and nutritional yeast, among other things, battled it out in my kitchen for the title of Vegan Pesto MVP.
My conclusion may seem anti-climactic at first, but it should really be inspiring: I think there is no single best vegan pesto, just a bunch of very different vegan pestos that are perfect in their own unique ways. Do I sound like a kindergarten teacher? It's true, I love all my dairy-free pestos equally, and I found myself imaging the ideal applications for each of them based on their slightly different flavors. Depending on how you intend to use your pesto, there is absolutely a correct Parm-free version for you in the list below, like a nori-spiked number for squid ink pasta or sun-dried tomato iteration to slather over protein. As long as you're willing to flip the script a bit-destination first, formula second-you might be able to pull off a bit of magic, swapping one card for another in a house that never falls.
© Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Pearl JonesNo cheese, no problem.
For funk: use nutritional yeast
As a vegan ingredient darling and the prototypical cheese flavor alternative, nutritional yeast is a classic Parmesan substitute when making a dairy-free pesto. In many recipes, you'll find it used as a one-for-one swap for the grated cheese, with everything else in the formula staying the same.
The flavor of nutritional yeast is polarizing: those who love its tangy vibe shake bottles over toast and popcorn with abandon, while others say the funk is a bridge too far. Even if you fall on the latter end of that spectrum, pesto is a great destination for the ingredient, as garlic, basil, and lemon are equally heavy-hitting and provide necessary balance. When I made nooch-based pesto in my head-to-head test, I found it was the cheesiest of all, so for those that crave that particular note in their green sauce, this is the answer.
Best for: Applications where you think you'll miss the cheese most, like pizza or rich risotto.
For umami: add miso
According to cookbook author Amy Chaplin, the secret to the best vegan pesto is something you might already have in your refrigerator. "My family has made so many different pestos without cheese," she says. "I just find that sweet white miso is the best substitute for Parmesan." Miso Master is her brand of choice because of its mild flavor and aerated texture, which keeps the sauce light and creamy. "You get a little sweetness and a ton of umami," she says. "You don't miss the cheese at all-just be sure to wait to add any salt until after you taste it, because miso is quite salty on its own."
As for the rest of her pesto recipe, Chaplin likes to keep it classic; after subbing in the miso for Parmesan, she sticks to the traditional combination of basil, lemon, garlic, and pine nuts. "In vegan pesto specifically, pine nuts give it this unctuous quality," she says. "They're sweet, mild, oily-with the right amount of lemon, it's quite balanced." The only slight adjustment she'd make from the standard ratios is to pull back on the garlic a little bit, which can be overpowering without the cheese. "I want the other subtle flavors to come through, which can get blown out if you really go for it with the garlic."
Best for: Any time you can imagine using pesto. If I had to pick just one all-purpose vegan version to take with me into the future, it would be one made with miso.
For depth: use roasted mushrooms
Yes, really: mushrooms. When roasted, a mushroom's flavor concentrates into something complex and savory-all the umami of Parmesan without the cheesiness or salt. Cooked mushrooms also blend well into sauces, adding heft and body to the finished product without graininess or any unwanted texture. I found shoomy pesto to be comforting and rich, with an earthy hum rumbling at the base; because the mushroom flavor wasn't strong enough to fight for center stage, the other punchy notes like garlic and lemon came to the forefront of every bite.
Best for: Playing off other spring vegetables-like in this light minestrone or asparagus-studded pasta-where mushrooms would make sense as part of the team.
For texture: use sun-dried tomatoes
After seeing jarred sun-dried tomato pesto alongside classic just-basil pesto in my local grocery store, I knew it was worth a shot. With sun-dried tomatoes subbed in for the Parmesan-a not-very-analogous swap, but a flavorful one-you create a meaty sauce with a rustic texture and red-flecked color. In lieu of salty creaminess, you get an undeniable savory flavor and a touch of sweetness as well. Opt for tomatoes packed in oil rather than the dry versions for added richness.
Best for: Hearty dishes like meatballs and fully loaded toasts would play well with this pesto's body and sweetness.
For heat: use chiles
For her vegan column for The Guardian, food writer and cookbook author Meera Sodha developed a recipe for pesto that highlights a taste sensation not usually found in the sauce: spice. Sodha ditches the pine nuts in favor of pistachios (keeping things green) and adds a few finely chopped fresh bird's eye chiles. The nutty, spicy, herby result would be a great spread or dip.
Best for: Dolloped onto soup that could use a bit of heat, spooned onto a too-simple undone salad, or tossed with an assortment of veggies for a side.
For creaminess: use soaked cashews
If you're into pestos that are extra-creamy, either because they include lots of cheese or are stirred into yogurt or another dairy product, this is your best vegan-ifying move. Swap your pine nuts out for raw cashews that you soak in water overnight and then drain before adding. Essentially, you're helping the nuts turn into cashew cream; blend the nuts first, then add the remaining pesto ingredients. You'll end up with a light and airy pesto that's richer than the rest-but you'll have to up the salt and lemon to keep it from tasting too mild.
Best for: Pasta, pasta, pasta. The creaminess really shines when coating an al dente noodle.
For salinity: use nori
Crispy nori sheets hit some of the same salty, umami-heavy notes that Parmesan does, with a deeply oceanic bent. I loved this pesto because it really picked a lane and stuck to it; I'd call it well-angled rather than well-rounded, but they can't all be do-it-all sauces. In particular, I'd reach for nori sheets when planning to use my pesto with squid ink pasta or sautéed shrimp-any moment where I want to play up the sea notes with the unmistakable flavor of seaweed. Just be sure to either crumble your sheets into small bits before adding to the food processor so ensure you don't end up with big seaweed pieces throughout your sauce, or soak the sheets in your lemon juice to help it along in the blending process.
Best for: Fish and shellfish dishes where you want to play up oceanic flavors, or as a vegetable topping with some real personality.
For something completely different: blow up the recipe
If you're already removing a foundational ingredient to make your pesto vegan, why stop there? In his entirely vegan book Vegetable Kingdom, chef Bryant Terry makes a pesto using collard greens and peanuts-a heartier vegetable in place of tender basil and sweet-but-vegetal peanuts in lieu of creamy pine nuts. The sauce is complex and hearty, which helps it easily stand up against the tender roasted zucchini he pairs it with. Instead of tossing, Terry recommends serving this stiffer spread in dollops on the plate, so people can stab and drag the vegetables as they eat.
If you think of pesto as a framework, not a rule, you can feel free to take those same sorts of liberties in creating your own dairy-free sauce at home. Something green, something nutty, lemon, garlic, and salt are the main parameters, but even those can be tweaked as you see fit. A drizzle of soy sauce? Blanched broccoli as the base? A scoop of tahini in the mix instead? The world is your oyster-which you can top with a tiny dab of vegan pesto.
Best for: Anything you can dream up, but any herb sauce is perfect alongside grilled kebabs, or spread onto a sandwich.