Easy Vegan Wild Garlic Pesto

We are all about quick and easy recipes on the blog this month! Simple ingredients that truly are stars in their own right and shine because of their freshness and vibrancy 🤩. Enter this Easy Vegan Wild Garlic Pesto.

Wild Garlic is only available a few short times a year. So if you want to take advantage of this amazing vegetable – do it now! It also totally represents the start of spring for me. Once Wild Garlic season is over, we are entering asparagus (the white variety that is so loved here in Germany), and then all the berries 🫐🍓. I simply love this time of the year for its variety in produce 😍!

And because we are talking “quick and easy” – I am deliberately keeping the photoshoot sparse. If I want to highlight the amazing ingredients and produce – there should not be too much noise and/or distractions going on (I find 😉). I also went with a bit of a darker vibe – so that the green can truly shine 🌱.

Why is this Easy Vegan Wild Garlic Pesto good for you?

Wild Garlic

You know we are fans here of garlic on the blog for its many, many amazing health benefits that I will go into more detail in a second. But what is Wild Garlic and how can it be used? Wild Garlic is the leaves of wild garlic growing bulbs. They are best harvested in the spring time, preferably before there are too many flowers blossoming. Whereas the flowers are also edible, once blossomed they come with the leaves becoming a bit tougher and turning slightly bitter.

You can easily forage wild garlic yourself! You can oftentimes find carpets of wild garlic leaves growing in woods. Simply follow your nose for the distinct, garlicky smell. Look out for pointed leaves, similar to a Lily of the Valley, but when being crushed in your hands you should smell the garlic (big time!!). When eaten raw (such as in this Easy Vegan Garlic Pesto), they pack quite a punch of flavor. When they are added to dishes and slightly cooked, they significantly mellow (but are still equally delicious).

Garlic has some amazing health benefits! Garlic is antibacterial, antiviral, and antibiotic. It also acts as an antioxidant in our bodies. Garlic belongs to the allium family, which it shares, amongst others, with onions, chives, leeks, and scallions. One of the greatest health benefits associated with Garlic is its cardiovascular improving properties. Those are three-fold: Garlic has been shown to decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and atherosclerosis. In addition, Garlic appears to improve the flexibility of blood vessels, along with reducing damage due to excess chronic inflammation.

How can I adjust this Easy Vegan Wild Garlic Pesto to my dietary requirements?

This recipe is gluten-free, vegetarian, and paleo. You could likely swap the cashews for sunflower seeds in order to make a nut-free version.

And there you have it for this week. I hope you enjoy this easy, delicious but yet truly nutritious recipe and welcome the spring vibes in terms of produce as much as I am 🥰. If you are looking for inspiration as to what to eat the pesto with – try my Italian Anti Pasti Salad and use this pesto with it. As always, please let me know how you are liking the recipe. You can leave a comment below, rate the recipe and/or connect with me over on Instagram. Happy Wild Garlic foraging 🤗!

Easy Vegan Wild Garlic Pesto

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Ann Robejsek Course: SidesCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Super easy

Servings

80

gram

Prep time

10

minutes

This Easy Vegan Wild Garlic Pesto is a feast for the senses!! Wild Garlic is the perfect spring food and will simply shine in this yummy dish!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup 1/2 (80 gr.) cashews – see notes for details*

• 50 gr. 50 wild garlic

• 1/3 cup 1/3 (20 gr.) nutritional yeast

• 1/4 cup 1/4 (60 ml.) olive oil

• 1/4 tsp 1/4 salt

• Pepper to taste

• optional: 1 clove garlic – see notes for details*

How to

• Add the cashews to a food processor and process a bit in order to start to break down. Add all the other ingredients after, and blend until smooth. Do a quick taste test whether you want to adjust either salt or pepper. ENJOY! P.S. if you have more Wild Garlic – simply adjust and make more servings. 80 gr. should give you about 3 – 4 portions when adding noodles.

Notes

• * I find that adding additional garlic is too garlicky for me when already using the wild garlic. But you may love garlic even more than me – so feel free to play around with whether to add garlic or not.
• * You could also swap in 1/2 cup of pecans. For a more intense flavor, gently roast the nuts prior.
• If you want to store the pesto, transfer it to a clean glass jar and add a bit of olive oil to the top. That way the pesto will hold longer if stored in the fridge.