Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Food/recipes

For related content, visit our food content hub.

Vegetarian pesto

26 replies

hugoagogo · 08/09/2016 16:13

So much pesto is made with parmesan Sad the only veggie ones I can find are over £2 and as I don't use it very often and usually end up throwing about 3/4 jar away I would like to find a cheaper option.
Googling is not helping...
Maybe you can freeze it?

OP posts:
RiverTam · 08/09/2016 16:15

Sacla do a veggie one. If you keep it topped up with olive oil it should last a pretty long time in the fridge.

You can make your own but I don't actually think it's cost effective - just tastier!

Amalfimamma · 08/09/2016 16:16

You could make it yourself it out parmigani and freeze. You can freeze the shop bought one too

ErrolTheDragon · 08/09/2016 16:17

You can certainly freeze it - we never use a whole jar at a time, so I freeze it in an ice-cube tray inside a sealed bag. Just defrost a couple of lumps for a single serving. I don't see why this wouldn't work for home-made with a vegetarian cheese.

hugoagogo · 08/09/2016 16:21

If you can freeze it, then that maybe the answer! Grin

You would the cheap pesto would be vegetarian? Isn't parmesan really expensive?

OP posts:
UnicornMadeOfPinkGlitter · 08/09/2016 16:24

I think it's sacla do shot pots! Three small pots of pesto for us each pot is plenty for the 3-4 of us who eat it as I don't like it swimming in it just a light coating of pasta or gnocchi.

My mum says that each pot is enough for her and my sister as they like more pesto than we do.

RiverTam · 08/09/2016 16:25

Sainsbo's Basics Italian Hard Cheese is veggie Parmesan and is pretty cheap.

RiverTam · 08/09/2016 16:26

Are the shot pots veggie?

Lapinlapin · 08/09/2016 16:28

Sacla organic one is nice, although it is expensive. I keep mine in the fridge for longer than it says and it's always fine i.e it keeps for a few weeks no probs.

Sleepybeanbump · 08/09/2016 16:28

We buy sacla vegetarian pesto for dairy allergic DS after vegan friends all told us it's not economical to make your own...

RiverTam · 08/09/2016 16:32

Surely it's still got dairy in it, ie cheese, just not cheese made with rennet?

hugoagogo · 08/09/2016 16:35

I don't look at the date, but I draw the line at green fur! Grin

OP posts:
IHaveBrilloHair · 08/09/2016 16:35

I have just checked the pot shots and they don't say they are veggie so I'd assume not, however they don't list parmesan as an ingredient.
I'm not veggie so it's not an issue for me, I bought them as I live alone and they are a convenient size.

IHaveBrilloHair · 08/09/2016 16:37

They definitely do have dairy and it's clearly listed

milpool · 08/09/2016 16:37

Sacla Organic Vegetarian one is really nice but it is about £2.50 a jar I think.

Asda do an own brand one that's marked as veggie but it's nowhere near as nice.

milpool · 08/09/2016 16:38

Generally with pesto my rule is that it's not veggie unless it specifically says it is. Most of the hard cheese used in pesto isn't vegetarian.

binkiesandpopcorns · 08/09/2016 20:44

Sacla's gluten free pesto is also dairy free. Not cheap either though.

www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=283949873&gclid=COfnorvDgM8CFYQy0wodGHQPDQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

YelloDraw · 08/09/2016 20:49

I generally use 1/2 the jar and then freeze the other half just in the jar and then defrost in the microwave when I want to finish it up.

hugoagogo · 08/09/2016 20:53

People must use a lot of pesto! One of the jars I looked at on the tesco website says it serves 4!

How can that be right?!
One spoonful is plenty and still leaves loads on the plate.

Have I been doing it wrong all these years? Confused

OP posts:
ErrolTheDragon · 08/09/2016 21:00

No, a quarter of a jar on a serving of pasta would be way too much.

RiverTam · 08/09/2016 21:28

I would use about half a jar for 3 of us (about 9 ounces of pasta). I like a decent coating on the pasta.

Amalfimamma · 08/09/2016 21:36

If I buy a jar I use a full jar on 500g of pasta plus a jar and a half of the cooking water to loosen it up a bit otherwise it's too dry for my tastes

NicknameUsed · 08/09/2016 21:39

I get the Sacla organic one and really like it.

traviata · 08/09/2016 21:40

I use pesto a lot, instead of butter or pickle in a cheese sandwich or under grilled cheese, as a pizza topping, stirred into soup, with eggs...

hugoagogo · 09/09/2016 07:42

The idea of pesto and eggs, may have put me off getting any for quite some time.

OP posts:
ErrolTheDragon · 09/09/2016 11:33

Pesto is nice in a cheese panini - one (big) ice-cube of it is perfect.

Swipe left for the next trending thread