Creamy Pesto Sauce (Dairy-Free) – Minimalist Baker Recipes

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Wooden spoon full of creamy dairy-free pesto resting on a jar full of the pesto sauce recipe

We’re throwing a pesto party, and you’re invited! With all the herby, savory goodness of traditional basil pesto, this CREAMY dairy-free pesto SAUCE is endlessly versatile and almost too easy. It comes together in just 5 minutes with 7 simple ingredients!

This sauce is delicious on everything from pasta to veggies and beyond. Let’s get pesto-ing! 

Nutritional yeast, cashews, water, olive oil, lemons, garlic, fresh basil, and sea salt

How to Make Creamy Pesto Sauce, Dairy-Free!

This creamy pesto sauce is a twist on our Easy Vegan Pesto. It has similar ingredients, including basil, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and salt. The difference is that it heads in a creamy, cheesy, saucy direction with cashews and extra water, nutritional yeast, and salt.

Pouring water into a blender over cashews, garlic, fresh basil, and nutritional yeast

To make it, simply blend everything in a powerful blender (so the cashews break down fully), and it’s ready to serve!

Spoonful of creamy pesto sauce resting on top of a jar with more sauce in it

We hope you LOVE this dairy-free pesto sauce! It’s:

Creamy
Savory
Bright
Herby
Quick & easy
& SO versatile!

Enjoy it on pasta or drizzle over chicken, fish, veggies, or bowls (recipe coming soon)!

More Herby Dairy-Free Sauces

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!

Drizzling a dairy-free creamy pesto sauce over a bowl of cooked pasta

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 8 (1/4-cup servings)

Course Sauce

Cuisine Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Italian-Inspired, Vegan

Freezer Friendly No

Does it keep? 2-3 Days

Prevent your screen from going dark

  • 2/3 cup raw cashews*
  • 2 cups (loosely packed) fresh basil leaves
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil (for richness // if oil-free, add more water)
  • 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 small clove garlic, peeled
  • 1/2-2/3 cup water
*A NutriBullet or similar small, powerful blender will also work well. We didn’t find it necessary to soak the cashews for this recipe, but if you don’t have a powerful blender, soaking will help (though it may not be enough to achieve a completely creamy sauce).
*Recipe as written makes ~2 cups.
*Adapted from our Creamy Vegan Pesto Pasta (30 Minutes!).
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with the lesser amount of lemon juice.

Serving: 1 (1/4-cup) serving Calories: 116 Carbohydrates: 4.6 g Protein: 3.3 g Fat: 10 g Saturated Fat: 1.6 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.4 g Monounsaturated Fat: 6.3 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 295 mg Potassium: 141 mg Fiber: 1 g Sugar: 0.8 g Vitamin A: 70 IU Vitamin C: 3 mg Calcium: 21 mg Iron: 1.1 mg

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