Stunning purple basil pesto: a true crowd-pleaser! This small batch purple pesto recipe is easy & budget-friendly as we substitute pine nuts with walnuts/almonds!

A small white bowl of purple basil pesto, with the purple basil on it as a garnish.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Fresh purple basil: The star ingredient! Feel free to use green basil if that’s more accessible. It will still taste great!
Garlic: Adds a sharp, aromatic kick to the pesto.
Walnuts: We’re skipping the toasted pine nuts and subbing them with walnuts to keep our pesto budget-friendly, especially since your purple basil is likely to be quite pricey already!
- You can also substitute them with almonds.
Extra virgin olive oil: A must in pesto recipes! Feel free to sub with regular olive oil.
Nutritional yeast: For that cheesy vegan flavor. You can also use grated vegan parmesan cheese as a substitute.
Salt: Our flavor enhancer.

Ingredients for purple pesto on a white marble countertop, with labels.

Purple Basil vs Green Basil

Purple basil has a more robust flavor, with a subtle clove-like aroma, while green basil (sweet basil) has a milder and sweeter taste. Purple basil also has a striking purple color, making it a unique choice for garnishes and pesto, while green basil is more widely available and used in everyday cooking.

If you’d like to learn more, from Thai basil to holy basil, check out this Taste of Home article.

Step-by-step Instructions

Process walnuts until they have a fine, crumbly texture (picture below).

Add the purple basil, garlic, olive oil, nutritional yeast, and salt, then blend until smooth. Scrape down the sides and re-process if needed.

Ground walnuts showing fine consistency, with some crumbles. — Ground walnuts

Adding purple basil and the other ingredients — Ground walnuts

For a smoother texture, add extra olive oil and pulse again. Enjoy your small batch purple basil pesto!

Top Tips

Purple basil can be a bit sticky, so if you want to keep things in a small batch, stop and scrape down the sides of the food processor once in a while to make sure everything gets evenly blended.
If you don’t have a small food processor or a small but powerful blender (like a Nutribullet), then double up the recipe. This ensures that there is enough content inside for the food processor to work properly.
Just to manage expectations, your purple basil will not keep its bright purple color in this recipe. If you do want to keep the purple color, you would need to quickly blanch the purple basil first.

A spoonful of purple pesto being held up close to the camera.

Serving Suggestions

Toss it with pasta, drizzle it over grilled veggies, or spread it on toast or sandwiches for a flavorful bite (like in my vegan tea sandwiches). You can also use it as a topping for pizza, a dip for veggies, or mix it into grain bowls for extra flavor.

If you are serving your purple basil pesto to a big group, make either my pesto mayo or pesto aioli. Those are great for serving large groups without breaking the bank!

A bowl of purple basil pesto with a spoon digging in.

Storage and Meal Prep Instructions

Storage and Meal Prep: Store your purple pesto in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

This also makes it perfect for meal prep since you can quickly whip up some pesto pasta (or any other recipes mentioned in the Serving Suggestions above) for your weeknight meals!

Freezing: Transfer the pesto into an ice cube tray, then transfer them into ziploc bags or a freezer-friendly pack. They will last for up to 3 months. To thaw, simply put the pesto cubes in the fridge overnight. They are best when served cooked instead of raw once frozen.

FAQ

Yes, purple basil can be used in the same way as regular basil. However, I would highly recommend using purple basil in recipes that do not need to be cooked (like in this vegan tomato carpaccio) since the purple color will turn into brown colors.

Yes, purple basil is completely edible and safe to consume.

Purple basil can be used in pesto, salads, garnishes, sandwiches, or as a flavorful addition to soups, pasta, and roasted vegetables. For specific recipes, refer to the Serving Suggestions section above.

I don’t find it necessary but if you’d like to, feel free to do so of course!

Close-up of purple basil with a purple basil leaf as a garnish.

Want More Exciting Sauce Recipes?

Then try my black garlic mayonnaise or my balsamic aioli. And if you like spicy stuff, I recommend trying my harissa sauce or my Calabrian chili mayo.