I don’t grow basil myself, but considering the amounts I have been gifted in the past month by plentiful gardeners, I can only imagine many of you are facing the same issue of too much basil. There actually is never too much basil, but instead- too much pesto. The other day I was experimenting with making some type of dip/spread with pesto in it to continue abusing my new food processor, and my eye fell on a block of tofu in the fridge. The rest is history.. literally.. since I’ve remade it already and it’s once again disappeared from the fridge. On sandwiches, as a dip with veggies, or even dolloped on top of a grain salad, this dip commanded my attention and I hope you try it out!
The base of my tofu dip/spread was a vegan walnut pesto (vegan because there’s no parm and instead nutritional yeast). You can use any variation of pesto you’d like, but this one was particularly tasty and different in a good way!
Vegan Walnut Pesto (makes 1/2 cup)
- 1 c packed fresh basil
- 1/4 c walnuts
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- Sea salt and pepper to your liking
Process all of the above ingredients together in a blender or food processor. It has an oily consistency but worked perfectly for this recipe.
Tofu Pesto Spread (makes a small cup of spread)
- 6 oz tofu (half a block)
- 2 heaping tbsp pesto
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/8 tsp salt
- dash of garlic powder and dried basil
- Optional: 1 tbsp or so of water/almond milk
This recipe is easily doubled- but I started with half a block of broken up tofu in the food processor (blender or immersion blenders will work here really well too!). Add the pesto, lemon juice, salt, seasonings, and extra liquid if you are using a firmer tofu. Process everything together until creamy.
Dip all kinds of veggies and pita chips in here, spread it on your favorite sandwich combo, or toss with pasta for a cold pesto salad. I love that this creamy dip feels indulgent while delivering you plenty of protein for snack staying power!
Marisa
carlyjg says
Okay, you are seriously so cool. Who thinks of things like this? I love it. Feed this to me.
uprootfromoregon says
Thanks for the love!
Becky @ Olives n Wine says
I never would have thought too add tofu to pesto! This sounds perfect for veggies or pita bread or naan or just eating plain with a spoon 😉
uprootfromoregon says
I made a chocolate peanut butter pie you would enjoy with tofu too.. you would never know!! It’s an awesome creamy base.
Lauren @ Peaks and Passports says
Yum! I just made a big batch of kale and basil pesto last night and this sounds like a fun way to use some of it. Yay for protein. Thanks for sharing!
uprootfromoregon says
That sounds like some delicious pesto! Enjoy it!
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