Padrón Pepper Pesto
Padrón pepper pesto is a vibrant, Spanish-inspired condiment made with blistered Padrón peppers, raw cashew nuts and olive oil. The Thermomix TM7 grinds the cashews and blends everything into a silky, dairy-free sauce in minutes. Perfect as a spread, pasta sauce or dip, it delivers gentle heat and nutty depth without any manual chopping.
About this recipe
Padrón pepper pesto Thermomix TM7 brings the spirit of a Galician tapas bar straight into your kitchen with this quick, all-in-one kitchen machine recipe. Blistered Padrón peppers lend their signature mild, occasionally fiery character, while raw cashew nuts replace traditional cheese to create a completely plant-based, velvety sauce. Searching for vegan pesto recipes that actually taste indulgent will lead you here: the combination of olive oil, garlic, onion powder, lemon juice and optional nutritional yeast flakes builds layers of savoury, tangy depth. The TM7 grinds the cashews from coarse to superfine in seconds, then blends everything into a consistent, spoonable texture without a food processor, mortar or sticky chopping board. It works beautifully stirred through warm pasta as a speedy weeknight dinner, dolloped onto grilled sourdough, swirled into roasted vegetables or served alongside a drinks board. Because it comes together so quickly and stores well in the fridge, it is also an excellent candidate for weekend meal prep, giving you a fridge-ready flavour booster for busy days ahead.
Preparation tips
- Blister the Padrón peppers in a dry pan until they char lightly before adding them to the mixing bowl; this step deepens their smoky sweetness and mellows any sharpness in the finished pesto.
- Taste before adding the sea salt, because Padrón peppers and nutritional yeast flakes both bring natural savouriness; adjust the lemon juice last so the pesto stays bright rather than sour.
- Store the pesto in a sterilised jar under a layer of olive oil in the fridge; it keeps for several days and makes a superb instant sauce for pasta, grilled courgette or a quick croque topping.
Recipe variations
- For a smoky festive version, replace half the Padrón peppers with charred red peppers and add a pinch of smoked paprika; this deepens the colour and pairs wonderfully with a Christmas drinks board.
- A kid-friendly milder variation uses only the smallest, least spicy Padrón peppers and swaps the garlic for a gentler amount of roasted garlic, keeping the creamy cashew base appealing to sensitive palates.
Thermomix TM7 Benefits
- With the built-in scale you weigh the raw cashew nuts directly into the mixing bowl, achieving exact proportions for a consistently creamy pesto. [Precision Control]
- Using the grinding function, the TM7 turns the cashew nuts into a fine, even meal in seconds, forming the ideal base for this dairy-free pesto. [Multi-Function]
- The chopping function processes the garlic clove and Padrón peppers into tiny, uniform pieces, so the pesto spread is balanced in every spoonful. [Built-in Scale]
- Thanks to the mixing function, the Thermomix blends olive oil, lemon juice and water into the pepper-cashew mixture until velvety smooth. [Multi-Function]
- By heating gently, the TM7 softens the blistered Padrón peppers so they merge into a silky sauce without any separate stovetop step. [Guided Cooking]
Ingredients
- raw cashew nuts
- Padrón peppers
- olive oil
- garlic clove
- nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
- onion powder
- fine sea salt
- water
- lemon juice