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    Home » Recipes » Italian Cuisine

    Basil Flax Seed Pesto Recipe -  Basil Pesto Pasta Recipe

    Published: Aug 22, 2016 by Radhika . 9 Comments

    554 shares
    Jump to Recipe

    basil flax seed pesto recipe
    Basil Flax Seed Pesto recipe. This vegan basil pesto is so creamy and you will not even miss the parmesan cheese. Use this pesto to top your pasta, pizza and any meat of your choice and this freezes so well too.

    Making pesto out of basil leaves was in my bucket list for a long time now. The reason being, I do not get fresh basil leaves at my place. I had to make do with bottled ones whenever the craving for basil pesto pasta hit me.

    basil flax seeds pesto recipe

    Few days ago, my friend 'J' got me fresh basil leaves and finally I got to do some fresh homemade basil pesto. But using pine nuts and parmesan cheese is so out of question for me. Those tow ingredients being imported are very expensive and I was not going to swipe my card over things that I won’t be using frequently.

    Also I wanted my pesto to be creamy and thick and not coarse in consistency and especially not of that sick green that the bottled ones sport. You can also check out this vegan roasted red bell pepper sauce for pasta.

    basil flax seed pesto sauce recipe

    So, this basil flax seed pesto is without pine nuts and parmesan cheese and guess what you will not miss them at all and I will not be making it any other way from now on provided I get fresh supply once again.

    I reserved some flax seed powder when I made a fresh batch of flax seed butter recently and used it to make this basil pesto. But since I wanted the color to be a lush green, I decided to blanch the almonds which I used instead of pine nuts and it worked beautifully.

    basil flax seed pesto ingredients

    But while you can replace and use almost all of the ingredients, do not cringe on using olive oil. I used Borges Extra virgin olive oil. You can any good quality oil as long as its extra virgin as that’s what takes the pesto to another whole new level.

    Long time back, whenever I used to make coriander pesto, the color used to turn dark quickly and I struggled to understand the reason for it and tried to curb the quicker oxidisation but failed a lot of times.

    basil pesto

    But finally learned the art of keeping pesto a lush green. So follow the step exactly and your pesto will also be a beautiful lush green even after a week of grinding it instead of turning dark green.

    I used all of the juice from the lemon pictured here. The juice will of course depend on the size of the lemon,as it varies from country to country. I’ve used coarse sea salt, so if you are using regular table salt use just ¼ to ½ tsp.

    If you loved this recipe, tap --> Rate or in the recipe card below to give us a 5 star rating!
    If you have tried this recipe & have any more queries, send an email to ticklingpalates@gmail.com

    Basil Flax Seed Pesto Recipe details below:

    Basil Flax Seed Pesto Recipe -  How to make Basil Pesto Pasta

    Basil Flax Seed Pesto without pine nuts and parmesan cheese for basil pesto pasta.
    4 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time : 15 mins
    Cook Time : 15 mins
    Total Time : 30 mins
    Servings : 1 bottle
    Course : Main
    Cuisine : Italian
    Author : Radhika

    Ingredients
      

    • Fresh basil leaves - 2 cups packed
    • Garlic - 2 cloves
    • Almonds - ¼ cup
    • Flax seeds - 2 tbsp
    • Lemon juice - 2 to 3 tbsp
    • Avocado pulp - 2 tbsp
    • Coarse sea salt - 1 tsp
    • Extra Virgin Olive oil - ⅓ cup approx.,
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    Instructions
     

    • Heat ½ cup water in a pan and bring it to a rolling boil. Drop the almonds into the hot water and close with a lid and let it sit for 15 mins.
    • After 15 mins, remove the skin from the blanched almonds and keep aside.
    • Meanwhile, heat a pan and dry roast flax seeds for 1 min until fragrant, take off pan and let it cool. Transfer to a bowl and keep aside.
    • In a mixer jar or a food processor, add blanched almonds, roasted flax seeds, garlic, avocado pulp, sea salt, 2 tablespoon lemon juice, ¼ cup olive oil and grind to a smooth paste.
    • Now add basil leaves and pulse at regular intervals. This will prevent the leaves from darkening and turning the pesto black.
    • Add the remaining olive oil and grind to a smooth paste.
    • Take a taste check at this stage. If the pesto tastes bland, add remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice and more salt to suit your taste buds.
    • Basil flax seed pesto is ready.
    • Transfer to a clean, dry jar and keep it always refrigerated. Use within a week.

    For Basil Pesto Pasta:

    • Cook pasta according to the pack instructions.
    • Drain into a colander and return the pasta to the pan.
    • Add required pesto to pasta and toss well to combine.
    • Serve piping hot or warm.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @ticklingpalates or tag #ticklingpalates!

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    Comments

    1. Kalyani

      September 02, 2017 at 8:10 am

      Hi radhika ! Hope u have been doing good .. I tried this pesto and loved it .. here's a ping back to your blog from mine ! Once again, thanks for a great recipe 🙂

      http://www.sizzlingtastebuds.com/2017/09/vegan-almond-basil-pesto-vegan-and-gf.html

      Reply
      • Radhika

        September 13, 2017 at 3:05 pm

        Thank you so much for trying it and for the shout out Kalyani. Glad you liked it.

        Reply
    2. Samyukta

      November 01, 2016 at 10:57 am

      4 stars
      Hey! The recipe looks fantastic and I can't wait to try it! What can I substitute the avocado with?

      Reply
      • Radhika

        November 01, 2016 at 11:38 am

        Hi Samyukta, There is no replacement for Avocado. Its what makes the pesto so creamy and smooth. But you can totally leave it out, if you don't mind digging into a creamy pesto and okay with a slightly coarse one. Do let me know how it turns out for you.

        Reply
    3. Vegan Recipes

      September 06, 2016 at 2:40 am

      Wow it looks fantastic! 🙂 I love this version, so yummy and healthy, thank you for sharing! 🙂

      Reply
      • Radhika

        September 07, 2016 at 6:48 pm

        Yes it is yummy. Thank you for stopping by.

        Reply
    4. Harsh

      August 22, 2016 at 7:18 pm

      Hi Radhika,
      Love all your Receipes and glad that this is all home made and not using anything artificial, so healthy option for kids.

      Do you suggest i can use normal home grown tulsi leaves for this receipe, will there be any change in taste as I see big leaves in picture. Thankyou

      Reply
      • Radhika

        August 24, 2016 at 12:29 pm

        Before getting hold of basil leaves, I tried that too and won't advice you to do that. Holy Basil aka Tulsi leaves is pungent and tastes totally different from Italian sweet basil. In fact pesto made with tulsi will taste more like medicine.

        Reply
        • Harsh

          August 25, 2016 at 12:45 pm

          Thank you so much, really appreciate taking time to explain! I will try getting basil leaves

          Reply

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