This homemade pesto recipe gets a springtime twist with fresh pea shoots and peas! An easy, creamy pesto sauce perfect for pasta, chicken, salmon, and more. Ready in just five minutes with your food processor! Made without nuts. Vegan, Vegetarian.
In a hurry? Click here to jump straight to the recipe!
We’re making this quick pea pesto sauce with green peas and a handful of springtime pea shoots for a bright, fresh pesto that goes well with just about anything.
How to use this pesto
- Make a quick pesto pasta! Toss this green pea pesto with your favorite pasta or add it to our easy, creamy pesto gnocchi recipe.
- Use it as the base for homemade pizza (or on these portobello mushroom pizzas!)
- Make these easy pesto chicken slow cooker sandwiches.
- Spread it on some crostini with your favorite cheese spread, or add it to your next cheese plate!
- Pair it with salmon, shrimp, or other seafood recipes for a bright, summery flavor.
Swaps and Substitutions
If you don’t have (or can’t find) pea shoots, replace them with basil, kale, spinach, or arugula – but the light, delicate flavor of pea shoots really does make this pea pesto stand out!
This is a nut free recipe, but you can absolutely add nuts if you like! This pesto is great with up to ½ cup of walnuts, cashews, almonds, or pine nuts.
How to freeze this pea shoot pesto
Freezing homemade pesto is a breeze, and it will last several months in the freezer! Make a big batch in the spring or summer and enjoy a pop of fresh, bright flavor all year round. Our favorite ways to freeze pesto:
- To freeze individual portions, pour pesto into ice cube trays and freeze. Once solid, pop out the pesto cubes and transfer to an airtight container (we love using a silicone Stasher Bag!)
- To freeze a full batch of pesto, transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
5 Minute Pea Pesto
- Prep Time: 4 mins
- Cook Time: 1 min
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Makes about 1.5 cups 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This easy green pea pesto is ready in just five minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup peas
- 2 cups fresh pea shoots
- 2 small cloves garlic, peeled
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil (you may not need it all)
Instructions
- Place peas, pea shoots, garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon juice into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times until everything is coarsely chopped.
- While the food processor is running, slowly stream in olive oil and blend until everything is incorporated into a smooth pesto (you may not need all of the olive oil). Scrape down the sides of the food processor with a spatula and pulse once more to incorporate.
- Serve immediately or store pesto in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. This pesto also freezes beautifully if you want to keep it longer!
Notes
Frozen peas are fine – just defrost them before you blend them into the pesto!
If you can’t find pea shoots, you can substitute fresh spinach, kale, arugula, or basil leaves.
Feel free to add to this pesto recipe to make it your own. Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, pine nuts, almonds, or walnuts are all tasty additions.
Use this pesto as a sauce for pasta or gnocchi, chicken, fish, you name it! This pesto is also delicious spread on a piece of crostini with a bit of goat cheese.
Keywords: vegan, vegetarian, sauce
Love this, its great
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Rosanna!
This has been a life saver! I’m stuck in quarantine right now and running low on supplies. Most of my veg is gone at this point and I’ve had to get creative with what I have. This pea pesto has revitalized my meals! It is really good on a sandwich with some chicken and prov or on pasta. I had to leave out the pea shoots, but it tastes just fine without them.
★★★★★
Hi. Peas are un cooked? Thanks for the recipe.
You can use raw, frozen, or quickly blanched peas!
Hi Jessie,
I love your 5 Minute Pea Shoot Pesto.
I would also really love to feature it in our website Greenthickies. Would that be okay?
Can I use one of your recipe images for it? I will not be posting the actual recipe, but only one image, title, a small quote and link directly back to the original post.
Will that be okay?
Thanks a lot 🙂
Katherine,
Greenthickies
Hi Katherine, thanks for your interest! Feel free to use a single image as long as you adhere to my site policies.
LOVE this idea!! I’m harvesting tons of peas from the garden right now and never thought to turn them into pesto. Dude, I’m so stoked to try this. I also happen to be pestooooo obsesssdooooo! haha
Yay! ALL OF THE PESTOOOOO!