This Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto is bright and flavorful! With lots of flavor and a fun green color, garlic scapes make the perfect pesto in just 10 minutes!
Of all the green things in the world, pesto just might be my favorite. It's garlicky, lemony, salty, and a little sweet. Not to mention, it goes on just about everything.
In this recipe, we omit the cheese altogether and focus more on the salt and brightness from the lemon. The garlic scapes give a great earthy flavor, without all of the bite from raw garlic cloves!
Now, what is a garlic scape?
A garlic scape is the green stem and flower bud that grows out of a bulb of garlic. If you've ever left garlic in your pantry for too long, you may be familiar with the beginnings of garlic scapes! They are typically harvested in late spring or early summer.
Vegan garlic scape pesto goes so well with some Salty Stecca Bread, on Fresh Vegan Pasta, or as a Pesto Salad Dressing!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Unique ingredients - Everyone has had classic pesto before. Surprise your friends and family with this fun, but familiar twist!
- Use with Everything - Add garlic scape pesto to pasta, on toast, use it as a dip for veggies or fries, and even make it into a sandwich spread! I also love using it on tofu.
- Make in 5 minutes - All you have to do is blend up a few simple ingredients–it takes no time!
What You Need For This Recipe
Ingredients and Substitutions:
- Garlic Scapes - You'll have the most luck finding garlic scapes in the months of April-June and you'll most likely find them at a farmers market. If you can't find any, I recommend making ⅓ cup of chopped garlic and chopped scallions to replace it.
- Fresh Basil - Buy it fresh, don't use the dried basil.
- Pine Nuts - You could also use raw cashews or another soft nut.
- Garlic Clove - You shouldn't need more than 1 clove if you're using garlic scapes
- Lemon Juice & Zest - If you're short on lemons and only have refrigerated lemon juice, that's fine too!
- Olive Oil - Good quality olive oil! For extra flavor, use garlic flavor!
Tools:
- Food Processor or Blender (I highly recommend a food processor for this recipe!)
- Knife
- Cutting Board
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: Prepare Ingredients
Begin by roughly chopping your basil, peeling your garlic, and chopping your garlic scapes.
Also, juice and zest your lemon! If you'd like to toast the pine nuts, do so now.
Step 2: Pulse Ingredients
Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until mostly smooth. If you like a smoother, runnier pesto, add a bit more olive oil. If you like it a bit more chunky, leave it be.
You may need to scrape down the sides and blend multiple times.
Taste and add more salt if needed.
Step 3: Finishing Touches
Add the finished pesto to a bowl and garnish with an extra drizzle of olive oil (optional).
Expert Tips:
- I highly recommend using a food processor. A blender will work in a pinch, but not as well. If you have a mortar and pestle, that actually works surprisingly well for pesto too. It takes much longer and requires more work but it is good! If using a mortar & pestle, mash the pine nuts first, then garlic, then basil, then salt. Then add everything else. Make sure to use coarse salt to help grind up the basil.
- If you love greens, feel free to throw some in here! Arugula and spinach are great additions to basic pesto, as well as kale!
- For more umami flavor to emulate the parmesan, add a small scoop of miso paste!
Recipe FAQs
Vegan garlic scape pesto with last about a week in the fridge. I recommend storing it in an airtight container.
Garlic scapes look like a cross between a very long, curly green bean, and a thin, curly green onion. You're most likely to find them in early summer or late spring wherever you get fresh, local produce!
If you can't find any garlic scapes, I recommend ⅓ cup of both chopped garlic and chopped scallions to replace it.
Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto
Equipment
- Food processor
- Knife
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon Lemon Zest
- ½ cup Fresh Basil
- ⅓ cup Pine Nuts
- 1 clove Garlic
- ⅓ cup Garlic Scapes
- ¼ cup Lemon Juice Juice of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- Begin by roughly chopping your basil, peeling your garlic, and chopping your garlic scapes.
- Juice and zest your lemon. If you'd like to toast the pine nuts, do so now.
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until mostly smooth.
- If you like a smoother, runnier pesto, add a bit more olive oil. If you like it a bit more chunky, leave it be.
- You may need to scrape down the sides and blend multiple times.
- Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Add the finished pesto to a bowl and garnish with an extra drizzle of olive oil (optional).
Notes
- I highly recommend using a food processor. A blender will work in a pinch, but not as well. If you have a mortar and pestle, that actually works surprisingly well for pesto too. It takes much longer and requires more work but it is good! If using a mortar & pestle, mash the pine nuts first, then garlic, then basil, then salt. Then add everything else. Make sure to use coarse salt to help grind up the basil.
- If you love greens, feel free to throw some in here! Arugula and spinach are great additions to basic pesto, as well as kale!
- For more umami flavor to emulate the parmesan, add a small scoop of miso paste!
Anonymous says
Yum.
Heather says
This is really delicious! I made about double the amount because I had picked a lot of garlic scapes and basil and arugula! I guess all the lemon keeps it fresh, but 3 days later it’s still bright green. This is great on everything. Chickpea pasta, sandwiches, salads. thank you!