This Edamame Pesto recipe is vegan, easy to make, and tastes ultra fresh. Made with simple ingredients and soybeans, you’ll love it as a snack with crackers, a sandwich spread or on pasta!
Budget-friendly edamame pesto recipe
We all know pesto to be an herbaceous and cheesy sauce that’s a must with pasta noodles or drizzled over pizza. But the cost of buying pre-made pesto or just a few pine nuts is not cool with me! That’s where my easy and budget-friendly Edamame Pesto recipe comes in handy.
This edamame pesto is a little different from your everyday basil pesto. It’s made with edamame and almonds instead of pine nuts and fresh basil, and is flavored with lemon juice, oil, and simple spices. These variations keep the soybean pesto light, packed with protein, and budget-friendly.
It’s a healthy recipe you can serve as a party snack with crackers, tortilla chips and veggies, mix it into pasta salad or spaghetti, or spread it on sandwiches and cheeseburgers.
What is edamame?
Edamame is immature soybeans grown in a pod. They’re popular in East Asian and Japanese cuisine but can easily be grown in western countries as well (see my Soybean Harvest 2014 for proof!). Soybeans can be blanched and eaten whole with a little salt or removed and mixed into noodle bowls, roasted, or blended into sauces.
Here’s me, the soybean lady, with my harvest.
Soybean pesto ingredients
Whether you’re working with a budget or are looking for the next best protein dip, you can count on this edamame pesto recipe. The ingredients are very simple and the prep is even easier! This is what you need:
- Edamame (fresh or frozen)
- Almonds
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Garlic
- Salt and pepper
How to make edamame pesto
I recommend blending the pesto in a food processor but you can use a blender if that’s all you have at home. It’s the only tool you need to make edamame pesto from scratch:
Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the fresh or frozen edamame and cook until they’re softened.
Add the cooked and drained edamame along with the rest of the ingredients into a food processor.
Pulse a few times until it’s a smooth dip. If the pesto is too thick, you can add some water to help thin it out.
Transfer the finished pesto to a serving dish or store it away for later.
Ways to use edamame pesto
Practically any savory dish pairs well with pesto sauce. Use these ideas for inspiration:
- In pasta: Edamame pesto pasta has extra protein but never skimps on flavor. Stir it onto hot spaghetti or pasta salad to really take the flavor up a notch and make each bite extra filling.
- Stirred into side dishes: Go ahead and stir a dollop of pesto into mashed potatoes, cauliflower mash, or roasted vegetables.
- Dipping sauce: Serve the soybean pesto in a bowl next to crackers, crostini, or chopped vegetables. It’s so popular at parties!
- Spread: This easily spreadable pesto goes well on veggie sandwiches, burgers, vegetable wraps, or as a replacement for traditional pizza sauce.
- Salad dressing: Thin the pesto with a little water and drizzle it on top of a Caesar salad or a rainbow kale salad.
Variations
- Add more flavor – The seasonings in this soybean recipe are light and fresh but there’s lots of room to add more flavor. Feel free to blend basil leaves, parmesan cheese, or extra garlic in with the edamame and other ingredients to give the pesto a boost.
- Leafy greens – Spinach or kale can also be blended into the pesto if you’d like to give it a nutritional boost. Check out my Kale Pesto too!
- Instead of almonds – Substitute them for walnuts, pine nuts, or raw cashews.
- Blanched almonds – To avoid the brown specks in the pesto, use peeled or blanched almonds.
- Nut free pesto – Replace the nuts with sunflower seeds if you have an aversion to nuts.
Storing
To store: Keep the pesto in a sealed container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
To freeze: Transfer the pesto into ice cube trays and cover them with a lid. Freeze until the pesto cubes are solid, then transfer to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 4 months.
More healthy snacks to try
- Baked Apple Chips
- Baked Spinach Chips
- How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds
- Fresh Tomato Salsa
- Homemade Kale Crackers
Pin for later:
Edamame Pesto
PrintIngredients
- 2 cups shelled edamame (can be fresh or frozen)
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pinch pepper
Instructions
- Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil, add shelled edamame (fresh or frozen), and bring to a boil. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until softened. Drain edamame.
- Add cooked edamame, almonds, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper into food processor. Pulse a few times until it forms into a well combined pesto texture. If your food processor is not moving, add 2 tablespoons of water.
- Serve as planned or place in the refrigerator (will last 2-3 days). It also freezes great for long term storage.
Koko says
What a great idea for a pesto! It’s so vibrant and fresh looking, too!
Kelly says
This is such a unique and brilliant idea! I love that you made pesto with edamame – that sounds amazing! We are such big edamame fans and I can’t wait to try this 🙂
Choc Chip Uru says
Never seen a pesto with such unique ingredients, it looks gorgeous 😀
And super healthy too!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Suzanne says
I am a big soybean fan and I love your pesto!!
pam (Sidewalk Shoes) says
I was wondering what you would do with all your soybeans!
Siv/MoonLight @ AWorldInMyOven says
This is so different from the cheese&pine nut pesto we always have… but it sounds so good! I love soy beans and using them in a dip sauce on everything – Im all in! (I’m really curious as to how this is the first thing in your mind when picking soy beans 😉 )
Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps says
Any kind of spin on pesto is a winner in my book. And I agree, pine nut are wayyy to expensive, I love the nutiness almonds add to pestos!
Chris @ Shared Appetite says
What a great idea! I would have never thought of doing a pesto with edamame!!! Yum!
Shashi @ RunninSrilankan says
Pamela – this “Soybean Edamame Pesto” is brilliant! WOW! Thanks for the tip on freezing it – but I don’t forsee there being any to freeze 😉
[email protected]'s Recipes says
mmm..that pesto looks so good, though it looks more like a hummus to me.
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen says
Love the ingredients –> soybeans, almonds and garlic. And, I agree – pine nuts are so expensive!
[email protected] is How I Cook says
Not that I ave soybeans growing! However I love this recipe! Can’t wait to try this!
marcie says
This is so original, Pamela! I love edamame, and I’ve never thought to make a pesto out of it!
[email protected] says
I’m likin’ the idea of freezing this pesto…. a lot. Never would have thought to use soybeans to make pesto either. Good one 🙂
The Squishy Monster says
Great tip for freezing. I’ve made edamame dip before but never pesto…a definite must try!
[email protected] The Gastronomic Bong says
This is Brilliant!! Edamame pesto.. who could have thought about it!! you did!! and I love it.. and you can freeze it! how awesome is that!! 😀
cheri says
Hi Pamela, great idea, I’m still working through my fava beans…this would be a great way to prepare them to enjoy later. In Oregon pine nuts are 40.00 a pound. Ouch!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
I love this recipe, Pamela! What a great idea to use soybeans. I am totally addicted to edamame and pesto, so this combination sounds incredible. Pinning!
Ashley says
What a cool idea!! I would have never thought to use soybeans to make pesto! I love this!