I have a ton of basil and want to make pesto, but am dairy-free for my new baby. Any good recipes or suggestions?

JadeTree
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7 Comments

JadeTree August 28, 2011
Many thanks! The yeast idea is great - I never would have thought of that. Amazingly, I have lots of pine nuts (how?) so I will toast them and add extra. Yes, a lactose-intolerant newborn means no cheese for me, very tough to get used to! But oh, wow, is this baby worth it.
 
boulangere August 28, 2011
I make it in large batches to freeze, and have always done so without the cheese. I add it to the pasta at serving time. Leave it out, and you'll be just fine. Congratulations on your new baby!
 
susan G. August 28, 2011
If you use nutritional yeast for its cheesy taste, get the kind that is yellow, such as Red Star. There's another type, nutritionally comparable, that is 'nutty' and (to my taste) harsher.
And if you want to make popcorn with yeast, get 'cheesy' yeast.
 
Platita August 28, 2011
I love adding nutritional yeast to pesto. It has such a cheesy flavor--sometimes I think its an even better ingredient! I like using walnuts also, a cheaper and oily nut.
 
ATG117 August 28, 2011
You can simply eliminate the cheese as noted above. Perhaps you'd want to add a few extra nuts of whatever kind you are using (or even throw in a second variety) for added texture. If you really wanted, you might experiment with nutritional yeast, which has a slightly nutty to nutty aged cheese taste.
 
BKFoodLibraryKate August 28, 2011
I dated someone who was lactose intolerant and I love pesto ... I just left out the cheese and it really tasted exactly the same!
 
Abijosiah August 28, 2011
I looked it up for you and apparently if you brown half of your pine nuts in a dry pan it adds a flavour that you don't usually find with the inclusion of cheese =)

Found the above advice here - http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/condimentschutneys/r/pesto.htm

and an alternitive recipe here- http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/condimentschutneys/r/pesto.htm

Cant vouch for either although the second does sound interesting

Good luck !
 
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