Basil Pesto

This homemade basil pesto is the real deal. Prepared with fresh herbs, pine nuts and olive oil, pesto is delicious on pasta, pizzas, salad, and more!

We always need a simple basil pesto recipe we can rely on. Of course, store-bought comes in handy every so often, but for these days you feel like going the extra mile I really recommend you try your own. It’s unbelievably easy and all you need is a handful of ingredients and a generous bunch of basil leaves.

In no time, you’ll have homemade pesto ready to use in your pasta, salads, roasted potatoes, and so many other dishes. Oh, and while many store-bought pesto often combine pine nuts and almonds in their ingredients (to reduce the costs – pine nuts are expensive), this one is 100% pine nuts guaranteed. Without further ado, learn how to prepare basil pesto from scratch and let me know how you liked it!

Basil pesto key ingredients

• Fresh basil. You need a lot of fresh basil to make pesto, which is perfect when you grow basil in your garden or your balcony and don’t know what to do with it.
• Pine nuts. Use them raw (no need to roast them in this recipe).
• Olive oil. Use good quality extra virgin olive oil, and feel free to add more than the recipe calls for to thin out the pesto as needed.
• Garlic. It’s a key component, adding sharp flavors to the pesto.

Consider also adding fresh lemon juice for a hint of acidity, grated Parmesan for some cheesy flavors. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to your liking.

How to make the best pesto

Honestly, making pesto isn’t rocket science and everyone can make it. All you need is a food processor, some fresh herbs and a good extra virgin olive oil. The recipe itself comes together in just a few steps:

1. Pulse the nuts first together with garlic and lemon juice.
2. Then, add the fresh basil and pulse again.
3. Always finish up by gradually pouring the olive oil while the food processor is running, until combined. To achieve the desired texture, adjust the olive oil quantity – I usually add more than the recipe calls for.
4. Add the grated parmesan cheese and pulse briefly.

Recipe variations

Fresh herbs. The traditional pesto recipe is prepared with fresh basil, but feel free to swap it out and use a combination of fresh herbs. You can for instance prepare a pesto with cilantro, mint and basil all together, or even use greens such as baby spinach.

Nuts. Alongside with basil, pine nuts are the core ingredient of pesto. You can however use other nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews…) to create a nutrient-rich variation.

Make it vegan! While pesto calls for grated parmesan, this is not strictly necessary and you can indeed skip it in the recipe to make it vegan. Using nutritional yeast is another option to consider if you want to recreate the cheesy flavors.

How to store basil pesto

Pesto is a perfect sauce for meal prep: make it ahead of time so you have some for the week! It will keep for a few days in a sealed jar container in the refrigerator. Just add an extra drizzle of oil over your pesto before sealing the container to keep it fresh and green.

You can also freeze pesto in ice cube trays, before transferring to a ziploc bag. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months, and thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.

What to do with pesto

When thinking about pesto, pasta always comes to mind. You can prepare this simple Pesto Pasta with Burrata Cheese or add pesto to this Italian Tortellini Pasta Salad. Now make sure you explore beyond pasta, and add pesto to this enticing Tarte Soleil Appetizer, this Pesto Zucchini and Goat Cheese Quiche, these Caprese Breakfast Sandwich or to these Smashed Lemony Potatoes with Burrata and Pesto.

Pesto is not seasonal, and you can indeed make it all year round. When Christmas is around, you’ll also love it to garnish this Puff Pastry Christmas Tree Appetizer or in the mini version through these adorable Kids Pizza Christmas Trees.

Other sauce and pesto recipes you’ll like:

• Cashew Romesco Sauce
• Pistachio Pesto
• Cashew Basil Dressing

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