Pesto without Pine Nuts

Name: Pesto without Pine Nuts
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup macadamia nuts (or other suitable nut or seed); 2.5 cups fresh basil leaves; 2 small garlic cloves (adjust amount to preference); 2 tsp apple cider vinegar; pinch salt; pinch black pepper (optional); 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

It's so easy to make this pesto without pine nuts recipe with fragrant herbs, nuts or seeds and some pantry staples! We blend up this basil sauce in just a few minutes to stir through pasta, serve as a dip with raw veggies or use as a flavorful Italian-style spread.

As I wanted this no pine nuts pesto to be suitable for as many people as possible, I've kept it dairy free by not using Parmesan cheese and we swap lemon juice for a touch of optional apple cider vinegar. This way, it's a vegan pesto sauce that should be suitable for low histamine readers too.

pesto without pine nuts in a light brown bowl with a spoon in it next to fresh basil leaves, olive oil and macadamia nuts.

Making this pesto recipe without pine nuts couldn't be more easy and it's so full of flavor! Fragrant fresh basil leaves are combined with creamy macadamia nuts (or use a nut or seed of your choice), and blended with extra virgin olive oil and a touch of apple cider vinegar.

It's a delicious affordable homemade pesto sauce that takes minutes to come together and is perfect for meal prep - simply portion into containers and freeze for another pesto pasta dinner!

Love your no pine nut pesto recipes? Do check out my pistachio pesto and pumpkin seed pesto for more tasty ideas!

Jump to:

❔ Why make pesto without pine nuts?
🌿 Ingredients
📖 Swaps and variations
🔪 How to make pesto without pine nuts
💭 Recipe tips and notes
📋 Frequently asked questions
❄️ Freezing advice
🍽 Recipes with pesto
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

❔ Why make pesto without pine nuts?

There are lots of reasons why a pesto recipe without pine nuts may work better for you. Perhaps you have a food intolerance to pine nuts, and so need to swap them out for a more suitable nut or seed. I always find it quite tricky to find pesto that is suitable for my dietary requirements in stores, so always make my own homemade pesto.

For my low histamine readers, it's a little unclear as to whether pine nuts are a low histamine nut or not as they aren't mentioned on the SIGHI list. This recipe uses macadamia nuts which are scored as 0 on SIGHI and so typically well tolerated.

And let's face it, pine nuts are quite expensive, and other nuts and seeds are more affordable and easier to find too. I've had to search for pine nuts a few times in smaller stores!

Do check out my post on substitutes for pine nuts in pesto for lots of ideas for nuts and seeds to use to make this herb sauce!

🌿 Ingredients

individually labelled olive oil, basil leaves, salt, black pepper, garlic, apple cider vinegar and macadamia nuts, with text, or other suitable nut or seed.

All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.

Some notes on a few of them:

Fresh basil leaves - we want to use fresh unbruised leaves, and lots of them! Tear the leaves from the stems, and just use the leaves for this recipe. Pack them down in your measuring cups so we have a lot of fragrant basil flavor.
Macadamia nuts - there are lots of nuts and seeds that can be used as swaps for pine nuts. I like macadamia nuts as they have a similar creamy taste to pine nuts and give a smooth buttery texture, but toasted blanched almonds, pistachios or pumpkin seeds also work so well.
Olive oil - I suggest to use extra virgin olive oil for its depth of flavor.
Garlic - choose the number of fresh garlic cloves you like!
Apple cider vinegar - to add a little tang. It is optional, so leave out if you prefer.

📖 Swaps and variations

Swap apple cider vinegar for lemon juice. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to the pesto (this likely isn't suitable for my low histamine readers).

Add Parmesan cheese. Classic pesto recipes include grated Parmesan, so you can add a tablespoon or two if you like. Just note that adding this hard cheese would mean that the recipe isn't vegetarian or low histamine.

Add other herbs or leafy greens! As well as basil, you can also use fresh parsley, dill, arugula or kale. Just keep the overall quantity the same.

🔪 How to make pesto without pine nuts

This is very easy pesto recipe without pine nuts, using just a handful of ingredients - most of which are pantry staples. All you need is a food processor, so there's no need for fancy kitchen equipment!

All the instructions are in the recipe card below, but these step by step photos should help guide you.

macadamia nuts dry toasting in a black skillet pan labelled number one.

Step 1: Dry toast macadamia nuts

(Optional step) Add your nuts to a dry skillet (without oil) and toast on a low heat for 4-5 minutes. Give them a stir so they don't catch. They will very slightly brown (image 1).

fresh basil leaves, macadamia nuts and garlic in a food processor labelled number two.

Step 2: Add nuts to a food processor

Tip the macadamia nuts into your food processor and blend to chop the nuts a little. Then add the fresh basil leaves, garlic, apple cider vinegar, salt and black pepper (image 2).

chopped up macadamia nuts, pesto, olive oil, garlic and apple cider vinegar in a food processor labelled number three.

Step 3: Blend!

Run the food processor to blend the nuts and herbs together. The nuts will still be in small pieces at this point and you may need to scrape the sides of the food processor down with a spatula (image 3).

macadamia pesto in a food processor labelled number four.

Step 4: Pour in olive oil

With the food processor running on low speed, slowly pour in the olive oil (image 4). The pesto will become sauce-like in consistency. Taste test, and adjust with more garlic or oil to preference.

💭 Recipe tips and notes

Toasting the macadamia nuts is optional, but brings out their flavor so I recommend it!
Pack the basil leaves down in your measuring cup so you have lots of fresh Italian herb flavor.
Blend to the texture you like. For a more chunky texture stop the food processor a little earlier, or keep blending for a smooth sauce.
If you don't have a food processor, then you can easily make pesto sauce in a pestle and mortar. In fact, some believe that it is far better to do so!
Pesto can brown quite quickly, so it's best to make it just before you are using it in your meals or snacks.

📋 Frequently asked questions

Which nuts and seeds can be used to make pesto without pine nuts?

Macadamia nuts are a good option for no pine nut pesto as they have a similar creamy, buttery taste and texture. You can also use blanched almonds, pistachios or pumpkin seeds to make pesto.

Do you have to toast nuts to make pesto?

It isn't a necessary step, but dry toasting nuts to make pesto really brings out their flavor.

Can you swap basil for other herbs to make pesto?

As well as basil leaves, you can also use a mix of other herbs such as cilantro, parsley, mint or dill to make pesto. Arugula or kale are also leafy greens that can be used.

❄️ Freezing advice

I always make big batches of pesto because it freezes so well and is perfect for an easy dinner with pasta! Simply spoon your pesto into air-tight freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to three months. My low histamine readers may like to read the advice on freezing from SIGHI.

pesto without pine nuts in a light brown bowl next to fresh basil leaves, macadamia nuts and olive oil.

🍽 Recipes with pesto

You may have noticed that pesto recipes are some of my favorite to make! This pesto recipe without pine nuts can be used to cook up my air fryer pesto chicken, ricotta pesto pasta or my chicken pesto risotto, as well as these fun recipes:

I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ and comment if you've tried the recipe!