Arugula Pesto Recipe is Dairy Free Made With Walnuts and Is Healthy

This arugula pesto recipe is a favourite of mine; it is dairy-free and uses walnuts instead of the wonderful pine nuts with are so expensive. Usually, cheese is an ingredient when making a  pesto recipe but there is no cheese in this and it still has a cheesy flavour thanks to the Nutritional Yeast I use.

Arugula Pesto Recipe Ingredients:

Arugula

With its aromatic, peppery flavour, Arugula adds a wonderful dimension to this arugula pesto, in a salad, and to your sex life too. It is also known by other names such as salad rocket, garden rocket, roquette, rucola, rugula, or colewort. The scientific name of arugula is Eruca sativa.

Walnuts

My mom loved to cook with walnuts because they add flavour to any dessert. Now I know that walnuts are also highly nutritious, so much so that I consider them a superfood. They are high in omega 3 fatty acids, are a good source of protein, and are rich in minerals.  Walnuts provide a great replacement for the traditional and expensive pine nuts in this arugula pesto recipe.

Lemon

Lemons’ health benefits are immense.  To begin they are acidic to the taste but are alkaline-forming in the body. In fact, they are one of the most alkaline-forming superfoods; this makes them great for balancing highly acidic conditions in the body. Also, they are full of many health benefits that add to this arugula pesto.

Himalayan Salt

Himalayan Salt is actually good for you! 100% NATURAL PINK & CERTIFIED: Sherpa Pink Himalayan Salt is Kosher Certified, Non-GMO, and does not contain any MSG, Soy, Gluten, Dairy, or anti-caking agents.

Nutritional Yeast Flakes

Nutritional Yeast Flakes add a tangy, cheesy taste to my food which is good since I don’t eat cheese.  I add this to sauces and to this arugula pesto as a replacement for Parmesan cheese. Nutritional yeast flakes are an inactive form of yeast and are a good source of protein (contain 18 amino acids and nine are essential ones that your body cannot produce).  Also, are a great source of B vitamins and the minerals iron, selenium, and zinc. Not to be confused with baker’s yeast, which is still active and can grow inside your stomach, depriving you of nutrients, or with brewer’s yeast, which is inactive but bitter.

Organic nutritional yeast is not fortified, so it does not have the same B vitamins and bright yellow color as conventional yeast flakes. Any fortified yeast cannot be organic certified.  Try this very good variety of nutritional yeast: Druids Grove Organic Nutritional Yeast Flakes Kosher Certified 

Olive Oil

Olive oil was referred to as “Liquid Gold” by the famous Greek poet Homer.  If you are what you eat, what would happen if you consumed “Liquid Gold” daily?  Extra-virgin olive oil (cold-pressed) is the best fat to use as a salad dressing.  Do not use for cooking.  It has a low smoke point and heat makes it susceptible to oxidative damage.  Olive oil has so many health benefits I include some every day when I eat my salad or in this arugula pesto recipe. Make sure you are using real olive oil.

Have you heard of the olive oil fraud?
Find out Which Olive Oil to Buy

Time to make this delicious Arugula Pesto Recipe.

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Arugula Pesto

This arugula pesto is a favourite of mine and it is great to be able to use walnuts instead of the wonderful pine nuts with are so expensive. Usually, cheese is an ingredient when making a  pesto recipe but there is no cheese in this and it still has a cheesy flavour thanks to the Nutritional Yeast I use.

Course Sauce

Cuisine gluten-free, Italian, vegan, vegetarian

Keyword arugula, lemon, nutritional yeast, olive oil, pesto, Vegan, walnut

Author Diana Herrington

Ingredients

• 2 cups arugula
• 2/3 cup + 1 Tbsp walnuts
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Instructions

• Blend all the above ingredients in a blender except for the nutritional yeast and 1 Tbsp walnuts until smooth and creamy.
• Scoop into a bowl and mix in yeast and 1 Tbsp walnuts.
• Use as a dip or pour on top of steamed vegetables or raw zucchini noodles.

Notes

Find out more about the healthy ingredients that I use for this recipe: arugula, walnuts, lemon juice, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Himalayan Salt, nutritional yeast

Note:  Arugula has many health and detox benefits. Because of this I often use it in my weight loss and detox classes.

I hope you enjoyed this delicious arugula pesto recipe!

Here Are More Tasty Pesto Recipes to Try:

 Delicious Vegan Pesto – I love this vegan pesto without the cheese; it tastes like the real thing only better to me! Toss with pasta or serve with bread or crackers for an appetizer.

 Chickweed Pesto – This chickweed pesto is vegan, is easy to make and tastes great! What is particularly great about this is that it is made with free weeds. 🙂

 Vegan Hemp Heart Pesto is Nut Free and Delicious – This hemp heart pesto is vegan, nut-free and raw. It makes lunch or dinner extra delicious. Most pestos have cheese in them which doesn’t work for those of us who eat dairy-free.  I always make my pestos without the cheese. For some, it is best not to eat lots of nuts and this hemp heart pesto is perfect as the hemp hearts add the flavour and texture without the nuts.

Zucchini Pesto – This zucchini pesto is lighter than the regular pesto as it has less oil and adds a refreshing zest of zucchini to your pasta.  I prefer not to use cheese and the nutritional yeast gives this zucchini pesto a delicious flavour.

 Arugula Pesto Recipe – This arugula pesto is a favourite of mine and it is great to be able to use walnuts instead of the wonderful pine nuts with are so expensive. Usually, cheese is an ingredient when making a  pesto recipe but there is no cheese in this and it still has a cheesy flavour thanks to the Nutritional Yeast used.

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