Creamy Zucchini Pesto (Vegan + Oil-Free)

Creamy vegan zucchini pesto and spiralized zucchini noodles is a simple 5 ingredient recipe that’s oil-free and easy to make!

The humble zucchini – it’s inexpensive, accessible, and full of nutrition!

Here, we’ll use it for both a vegan pesto and spiralized zucchini noodles. And I must say it’s absolutely light, refreshing, and delicious!

Why We Love This Recipe!

This zucchini pesto is oil-free, nut-free, and dairy-free, and you won’t miss any of it! Here are a few more reasons we love this pesto and ‘noodles’…

• Fresh and clean eating
• Quick and easy
• Budget-friendly
• Minimal ingredients

This zucchini pesto with noodles is perfect for a light lunch, dinner, or a make-ahead meal. You can easily make everything ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator—either separately or tossed together—until ready to use.

Ingredients You’ll Need

In this recipe, steamed zucchini is blended with basil and tahini creating a thick zucchini pesto sauce that is perfect for spiralaized vegetable noodles or pasta.

Here is everything you will need (with so few ingredients be sure you use the freshest):

• Zucchini
• Basil
• Tahini
• Garlic
• Salt

How To Make Creamy Zucchini Pesto

1. Steam the zucchini. This only takes a few minutes and can be done on the stovetop using a bamboo steamer or double broiler. You can also use a microwave. When using a bamboo steamer or double broiler, once the water is boiling, add the cut zucchini and steam for 3 – 4 minutes. For the microwave, simply cook for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes.
2. Puree ingredients. To make the zucchini pesto, add the zucchini, basil, tahini, garlic, and salt to the food processor or blender and blend until creamy. Taste for flavor, adding more garlic, salt, or tahini as needed.

To Make Raw Zucchini Pesto: To make zucchini pesto fully raw, simply skip steaming it. But do note that steaming zucchini softens it which helps it process easier.

Serving Suggestions

Vegan pesto is great tossed with pasta or spiralized noodles. It can also be used to make pesto pizza or as a sandwich spread. It can even be used for these zucchini wraps or as a dip for fresh veggie sticks.

Have you ever tried zucchini noodles? They are light and surprisingly satisfying. And they go perfectly with this zucchini pesto!

How To Make Spiralized Noodles

You can make zucchini noodles in 2 different ways:

• Spiralizer: To make zucchini noodles using a spiralizer simply cut both ends of the zucchini off, place the ends on the spiralizer, and turn the handle while gently pushing the zucchini along. It’s so easy and cleans up in a cinch!
• Julienne Tool: You can also use a julienne tool to create straight noodles. There are other smaller spiralizers out there, but I haven’t tried any so I can’t make any recommendations on them. If you have a favorite small one, let me know. I’ll give it a try.

What types of vegetables can be spiralized?

There’s a variety of vegetables that can easily be spiralized, such as zucchini, yellow summer squash, butternut squash, beets, carrots, cucumber, and sweet potatoes to name a few.

How To Store Leftovers

• Refrigerator: Store zucchini pesto in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 – 6 days. You can also store zucchini noodles the same way.
• Freezer: To keep longer, store pesto in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator before using.

More Easy Zucchini Recipes!

• Thai Zucchini Noodles with Crispy Tofu
• Raw Vegetable Pasta
• Raw Zucchini Wraps
• Zucchini Pasta + Creamy Avocado-Cucumber Sauce
• See all Zucchini recipes on TSV!

If you try this pesto recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.

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