Pumpkin Seed Pesto: Swapping Seeds for Pine Nuts

By What Are Pepitas Editorial Team · Updated 2026-09-14 · Part of Pepita Seed Recipes: Roasting, Seasoning and Sauce Guides

Pumpkin seed pesto replaces pine nuts with pumpkin seeds, and it works because the two occupy a similar place in a pesto: a fatty, mild, slightly sweet solid that bulks out the sauce and carries the oil. Pumpkin seeds are larger, firmer and more assertively nutty than pine nuts, so a straight one-to-one swap gives a coarser, more rustic pesto with a distinctly toasted edge. Most people like that; some want to soften it.

The adjustment is a mix of quantity, toast level and oil. Toasted seeds need less oil than raw ones, and hulled pepitas give a completely different colour and texture from whole in-shell seeds. This page covers the swap mechanics: ratios, herb choices and cheese handling. For the dairy-free version built specifically on hulled seeds, see pepita pesto, for a full measured recipe card see pumpkin seed pesto recipe, and the whole set lives in pepita recipes.

Swap Ratios: Pumpkin Seeds for Pine Nuts

Start with 90 percent of the weight of pine nuts the recipe calls for. If a pesto wants 60 g of pine nuts, use 54 g of pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds are denser and their flavour is stronger, so a full one-to-one swap tends to take over the basil. If you are using whole in-shell roasted seeds rather than hulled, drop to 75 percent by weight, because the shell adds bulk and fibre without adding the fat and protein that give pesto its body.

Toast level is your second lever. Raw seeds give a green, slightly grassy pesto that tastes closer to a basil purée. Lightly toasted seeds, 4 to 5 minutes in a dry pan, give the classic flavour. Skip toasting entirely if you are using a delicate herb such as basil and want the herb to dominate; toast if you are using hardier parsley, cilantro or kale, which can stand up to the extra roast.

Colour is worth planning for. Hulled pepitas are deep green and keep a pesto green, while whole in-shell seeds are grey-brown and will pull the finished pesto toward olive no matter how fresh the herbs are. If you want a bright green result using whole seeds, blanch the herbs for 15 seconds, shock them in ice water, squeeze out as much water as you can, and add 10 g of extra parsley to compensate for the darker seed. Holding back a third of the oil and blending it in at the very end also gives a finer emulsion and a paler, fresher-looking sauce.

Oil Amount and Herb Choices

Pumpkin seeds absorb more oil than pine nuts do before the pesto loosens, so plan on 15 to 20 percent more oil by volume. A 60 g pine nut pesto typically takes about 80 g of olive oil; the pumpkin seed version usually wants 95 to 110 g to reach the same spoonable consistency. Add it in a slow stream with the motor running, and stop 10 g short of what you think you need, because the sauce continues to tighten for about 10 minutes as the solids hydrate.

Basil is the traditional herb and still works, but its delicate, sweet character competes with a strongly toasted seed. Flat-leaf parsley gives a cleaner, more savoury pesto that holds its colour for days. Cilantro with a little lime juice gives the brightest result and pairs well with toasted seeds. Kale or arugula need blanching for 20 seconds and shocking in ice water first, otherwise the pesto turns harsh and fibrous after a day in the refrigerator.

Salt and acid timing change with the herb you choose. Salt draws water out of basil quickly, which is why a salted basil pesto can weep a dark liquid within an hour, so salt it at the very end and eat it the same day. Parsley and cilantro hold up better and can be salted during blending. Five to eight grams of lemon juice stirred in at the end does more than season, since the acid slows the enzyme-driven browning that dulls cut herbs. Brush a thin film of oil over the surface of the stored jar too, which limits contact with air. Seeds you roasted yourself from a whole pumpkin work well here; how to cook pumpkin seeds from a pumpkin covers that first stage.

Cheese and No-Cheese Options

Hard cheese such as pecorino or aged parmesan is the standard addition at 30 to 40 g per 60 g of seeds. Add it after the oil, pulsing 3 or 4 times rather than blending continuously, so you keep a little texture. Finely grated hard cheese also thickens the pesto, so if you are adding cheese, stop adding oil about 15 g earlier than you otherwise would.

For a dairy-free version, replace the cheese with 15 g of nutritional yeast plus 2 g of fine salt and 5 g of lemon juice. That combination supplies the savoury, salty note the cheese was providing. A vegan pesto also keeps better: dairy pesto is best within 4 days, while a no-cheese version holds for 6 to 7 days refrigerated with a thin layer of oil poured over the surface to slow oxidation.

• Use 54 g pumpkin seeds for every 60 g pine nuts
• Whole in-shell seeds: drop to 45 g per 60 g
• Plan on 95 to 110 g oil versus 80 g for pine nuts
• Parsley holds colour better than basil over 3 days
• Cheese: 30 to 40 g, pulsed in after the oil
• No cheese: 15 g nutritional yeast, 2 g salt, 5 g lemon

This page is part of the Pepita Seed Recipes: Roasting, Seasoning and Sauce Guides guide.