The best vegan pesto you can buy in the UK (top 9)
Pesto is a product which can immediately add lots of flavour to a dish. Add a touch of pesto to plain pasta and you've immediately got a meal packed with lots of flavour, or add a spoonful to your sandwich to take it to the next level. It should be the perfect product for vegans, who are always looking for products like this to spice up their meals. But vegans are often shocked to find that most pesto out there isn't actually vegan. Traditionally, pesto is made using Parmesan cheese, which means that most pesto you find on supermarket shelves is not suitable for vegans.
However, we're lucky here in the UK to have quite a few vegan pesto options which can be bought both online and in some supermarkets. We wanted to round up the best vegan pesto that we've bought and tried, let's get into it:
Suma organic pesto
We've featured the Suma brand a few times on our website, most recently in our natural shampoo guide. But the brand also produces a number of excellent food products, including 3 varieties of vegan pesto. All varieties are made with 100% organic ingredients, and of course, they're totally free from cheese or any other dairy products. We tried both the Pesto Siciliana and Pesto Rosso from the range, both of which tasted lovely. Learn more and buy it here -
Sacla vegan basil pesto
Sacla is one of the biggest pesto brands in the UK, but the standard range of pesto from Sacla contains cheese. However, not many people realise that Sacla also makes a vegan version of their popular basil pesto, which is very delicious and tastes very similar to the standard pesto from the brand. As well as being dairy free, it's also gluten free and wheat free. Just like the standard pesto from Sacla, the vegan pesto is made with cashew nuts and has a lovely richness to it. Learn more and buy it here -
OMV! Red pepper pesto
Asda has a seriously underrated vegan range under the OMV! brand, which includes some brilliant products (such as lovely vegan chicken) and definitely makes Asda one of the best supermarkets for vegan food. This vegan pesto from the OMV! range is a great example of how good the range is - made with lovely sweet red peppers, it has a full bodied flavour and works perfectly with pasta. Learn more and buy it here - groceries.asda.com
Tesco free from green pesto
Tesco is another supermarket with an excellent range of own brand vegan products, and we think this green pesto from the Tesco Free From range is excellent. Made with basil and tofu (which gives it a bit of firmness), this pesto tastes wonderful and you'd struggle to tell that it's vegan. Tesco also produces a Free From red pesto which we haven't tried, but many people seem to think it is even better. Learn more and buy it here - tesco.com
Mr Organic Aubergine & Sundried Tomato pesto
We had to include Mr Organic in this purely for the amazing flavours of vegan pesto you can buy from this brand - the aubergine pesto is amazing. Made using all organic and natural ingredients, and without any added sugar, this pesto is very simply made but also very delicious. Other interesting flavours of pesto from Mr Organic include Basil & Chilli and Tomato & Olive, definitely making this brand one of the best in the UK to buy vegan pesto from. Learn more and explore the full range here - mr-organic.com
La conserve della Nonna green pesto
Made in Italy to a traditional recipe minus the cheese, we'd describe the pesto from La conserve della Nonna as a proper pesto. To make up for the lack of cheese in the recipe, the team adds more pine kernels to the recipe to give this vegan pesto a pleasant creaminess. The pesto is made in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, and the team only uses perfectly ripe, seasonal, and high quality ingredients to make it. You'll have to pay a bit more for this vegan pesto compared to other brands in this list, but we think it's worth it. Learn more and buy it here - ocado.com
Bonsan organic green pesto
Made with entirely organic and vegan ingredients as well as a good glug of extra virgin olive oil, this pesto from Bonsan is very tasty. It's made with 55% basil and has a very strong basil taste, so if that's what you like (we certainly do) then this pesto is for you. Learn more and buy it here - amazon.co.uk
Biona organic green pesto
We've included the Biona brand so many times across our website now that you're probably sick of hearing about them - most recently they popped up in our sugar free mints guide. But we have to say that the green pesto from this brand is up there with the best thing they've ever produced. Made using 100% organic and vegan ingredients, it has a rich flavour and is very moreish. Learn more and buy it here - amazon.co.uk
Shore sea kitchen pesto
We wanted to include a bit of a curveball as our last option for vegan pesto, but although this sounds a little weird, stick with us. This vegan pesto from Shore is made using seaweed and vegan cheese, 2 ingredients which none of the other options in this list contain. It sounds weird but we have to say, it really works - the seaweed adds a saltiness, and the cheese adds a creaminess. We only tried the Red Pepper pesto from this brand (pictured) but it was delicious and we look forward to trying others. Learn more and buy it here - shoreseaweed.com
Hopefully, this guide helps you to find a great-tasting vegan pesto to use alongside pasta or however you choose. Let us know if you've tried any of these or if there are any others out there that you think we should try! If you';re looking for something else to serve with pasta, check out our guide to the best pasta sauce in a jar you can buy.
Finn H
Finn is the editor of You Well and has been writing about travel, health, and more for over 10 years.