Easy Vegan Spinach And Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Currently, I’m trying to find simple recipes that I can use for a variety of dishes. I used to love pesto for pasta or as a mixture with cheese in my pre-vegan days. So I have been on the lookout for some nice option to make a vegan pesto version. My first try was this vegan spinach and pumpkin seed pesto as these are the ingredients I had at home and with London in lockdown these days I did not want to wait for my next shopping run. I am trying to use as many pantry ingredients as I can and come up with new recipes.

The idea for this recipe came because I wanted to make my own fresh vegan pasta. The combination of pasta and vegan pesto is just delicious and this pesto is actually really quickly prepared.

In the end, I also used the remaining vegan spinach and pumpkin seed pesto as a filler for my vegan empanadas. They turned out great and they are a great meal which can easily be frozen and defrosted when needed. I always like having a few empanadas in the freezer for those days when I don’t feel like cooking or preparing anything.

Vegan Spinach And Pumpkin Seed Pesto

The recipe couldn’t be any easier. All you need is a food processor and it will only take a few minutes to whizz together this pesto.

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, hulled and toasted
• ¼ cup chives, fresh if you have and coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2½ cups baby spinach (packed tightly), fresh
• 1 garlic clove

Instructions

1. Heat a small pan with 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the pumpkin seeds. Heat them for about 4 minutes, until they start to smell slightly nutty and change colour. Stir them often.
2. Now in the food processor, combine the toasted pumpkin seeds, chives, oil, garlic, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, and baby spinach. Pulse until the mixture is well combined. Push it down with a spoon if necessary. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Yes, it really is this simple! What are you going to use this simple pesto recipe with? Share it in the comments below.

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