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How to Make the Pesto Recipe of Your Dreams
This recipe for classic pesto sauce is made with fresh basil and only five ingredients; use it for pasta, chicken salad, a spread on sandwiches, or pizza! Keep your refrigerator stocked with it this summer and put that beautiful basil in your garden (or on your deck!) to good use.
If you’ve taken the plunge and planted a garden this year, whether in the ground, in raised beds, or in containers, I suspect that basil is one of the things you decided to grow. And why not?! It’s incredibly easy to grow, smells amazing and will reward you with massive yields of those large, earthy leaves.
Is it just me or do you pluck them and then sniff the heck out of them? Ahhh that woodsy, slightly spicy smell is intoxicating.
I’m happy to pile basil on top of fresh mozzarella and garden tomatoes and call it a day, but if you have a true bounty of basil, you’ll need to gift it to all of your friends and neighbors or start whipping up batches of pesto. It is incredibly easy to make, super versatile, and is a wonderful candidate for freezing.
Basic Pesto Ingredients
Pesto is made with a very short list of ingredients that you may have on hand already:
- Basil! – The fresher, the better.
- Nuts – Pine nuts are traditional here, but I’ve often used walnuts with success.
- Garlic – Really catapults the flavor; use fresh garlic here and save the jarred stuff for quick cooking.
- Olive Oil – Pulls the whole thing together and gives pesto that smooth texture.
- Cheese – Parmesan cheese is traditionally used, but I’ve substituted Romano without issue!
- Salt and Pepper – Extra flavor.
Pesto Recipe Basics
Making pesto in a food processor or blender is quick and easy! Gather of all your ingredients and let’s get started…
- Pulse together the basil, pine nuts, and garlic until they are finely chopped.
- Stream in olive oil while the machine is running, then scrape down the sides.
- Add the cheese and pulse to incorporate.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste (I find it doesn’t need a TON more salt, but I do love a healthy dose of cracked black pepper.
That’s all there is to it! Only five minutes and you have crazy fresh pesto with that gorgeous plant you’ve been tending to since getting it in the ground. If that doesn’t feel like a massive dose of satisfaction, I don’t know what does.
If you’re really in over your head in basil production, be sure to freeze that pesto to get you through the winter (see recipe notes for instructions!). You can almost feel that summer sun beating down on you while the snow is falling mid-January.
My favorite ways to use pesto: my portobello pesto pizza (which I had to recreate years ago after eating something similar at Church Brew Works here in Pittsburgh, although regrettably, it doesn’t seem to still be on the menu!), pesto chicken salad, and open-faced veggie sandwiches. All are amazingly delicious!
How do you like to use fresh pesto? Share in the comments below!
More Recipes That Use Fresh Basil
Four years ago: Classic Lasagna
Five years ago: Cream Cheese Cherry Pie Crumb Bars
Six years ago: Veggie Pizza Appetizer
Seven years ago: Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
Nine years ago: Rocky Road Ice Cream
Ten years ago: Italian Supreme Calzones
Did you make this recipe?
A recipe for classic pesto sauce made with fresh basil and only five ingredients; use it for pasta, chicken salad, a spread on sandwiches, or pizza!
- 2
cups
fresh basil leaves
- 1/3
cup
pine nuts
- 3
cloves
garlic
(minced)
- ½
cup
olive oil
- ½
cup
Parmesan cheese
In a food processor or blender, pulse together the basil, pine nuts and garlic 5 to 7 times, until finely chopped.
With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Scrape down the sides of the machine and add the cheese. Pulse a few more times to blend.
Serve immediately or store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- You can substitute chopped walnuts for the pine nuts.
- Romano cheese can be substituted for Parmesan.
- To freeze, spoon the pesto into an ice cube tray and place in the freezer until completely frozen. Remove from the tray and place the cubes in a ziploc freezer bag, and freeze for up to 2 months. You can add to a cooked recipe from frozen, or thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Calories: 1427kcal
Fat: 147g
Saturated fat: 25g
Cholesterol: 52mg
Sodium: 606mg
Potassium: 392mg
Carbohydrates: 11g
Fiber: 3g
Sugar: 1g
Protein: 23g
Vitamin A: 54.8%
Vitamin C: 13.9%
Calcium: 67.2%
Iron: 20.3%
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in July 2011; updated in June 2019 with new photos, a better recipe, and extra notes and tips.
[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned]
Can you make the pesto without the pine nuts? I’m allergic to nuts and need an allergy friendly version. Thanks!
I’ve substituted walnuts, but I’ve never made it without nuts at all. You might try looking up nut-free pesto. Although, as an aside, I just had a conversation with my son’s allergist last week regarding pine nuts, because he has never been skin tested for them and they are not included in any blood work (spanning 3 different allergists!) and he said that’s because pine nuts are NOT ACTUAL NUTS; they’re seeds. I was like, what?! Mind blown. Totally thought they were nuts. So, maybe something to ask your doctor? Obviously, I wouldn’t advise you to eat something you might possibly be allergic to without discussing with your doctor first :)
Pesto is wonderful on green beans, too.
How do you measure the basil? Lightly packed or really firmly packed? thanks
I pack it in pretty firmly.
I always have pesto in my fridge. It’s so versatile, can make a super quick veggie pasta w mushrooms or zucchini or both. Will look forward to trying to make this homemade version…need a little food processor first though😊 will probably use walnuts..I dont really like pine nuts a whole lot and wouldn’t want any extras laying around after I made the pesto lol..plus their crazy expensive.
I make a great dip with pesto, a big handful of fresh spinach and cream cheese, it’s delicious! Also I use half pine nuts half cashews to cut down on the cost, no one notices the difference!
3 things I just learned in the Pesto region in Italy:
1. Use the small leaf fresh basil as it has the best flavor.
2. When using pesto on pasta, drop a raw cut potato in with the pasta to cook. When pasta is done, remove the potato cubes and mash them into the pesto before tossing in the pasta. It gives it body and creaminess.
3. When pasta is almost done, toss in fresh green beans. These are served tossed with the pasta and pesto.
I was told that this is how Nonna does it.
I love pesto with anything; crusty bread open faced sandwiches, pizzas, salads, burritos and now I’m crazy about lettuce wraps with grilled chicken or fl, shrimps, flank steak or salmon with avocado, red onions, bell peppers, grilled tomatoes, grilled portabello, any combination will do you can make it spicy by adding jalapeño and of course pesto!
I absolutely love pesto. One of my favourites. But I end buying from the store.. This looks incredibly delicious. shall try soon.. ❤️
I used the ingredients I had on hand by substituting cilantro for basil, mixture of walnuts and almond and combinations of 5 cheeses for Romano.,.came out very tasty!
Made this yesterday, had to use a a blend of “extra virgin olive oil/canola oil” b/c I was out of just regular olive oil. and I had to parm. b/c I didn’t Romano. But it still tasted awesome! Baked some fresh bread – and it was heavenly! Love the idea of using walnuts – great money saver!
Made it! But with pistachios instead of walnuts, because I was out. It turned out surprisingly yummy!
Excellent! So much better than the jarred kind. We made pizza with it spread on whole wheat crust with thin sliced onions, tomato slices, and fresh mozzarella. Delicious!
Pesto is one of my favorite summer treats as well. I plan on making some this week :)
I’m with you on the walnuts, much cheaper than pine nuts, and I really enjoy the texture they give to pesto. Looks delicious
I love pesto, too! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Your portobello pesto pizza made me almost cry…it looked so so so delicious, making me want to dive into the screen to take a bite… A long time ago I made pesto with petitas and and another time with peas. People said it was quite good and interesting. I just thought some people might be interested…so here’s the link.
https://eateng.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/the-world-of-roulade/
I make a ‘creamy pesto chicken & pasta’ that is a fav in our home. You read my mind, I was just thinking the other day that I need to try home-made Pesto. I will definitely be giving this a try. Thanks for another great recipe!!!
Sheena
I love pesto in the summer… Especially slathered on a nice piece of crusty bread! I, too, often make mine with walnuts!
Like you, I use walnuts in my pesto!
This pesto quiche is one of my favorites!! http://www.thesweetslife.com/2011/03/pesto-quiche-with-oatmeal-crust.html
That sounds like a lovely sauce for a different pizza. Yum! Wish I could get my hands on fresh basil. :)
Congrats on Top 9. That is how I found you!
We love pesto in our house–even the boy who thinks ketchup is both a vegetable AND a highly sophisticated condiment. One of my favorite ways to use it is to stir it into mayonnaise…probably 2 parts pesto to one 1 part mayo. Or however you like it. Then you use it to slather on a baguette and top it with shaved cold turkey, roasted peppers, tomatoes and some aged provolone. YUM.
I use this exact recipe except I substitute sunflower seeds for the pine nuts. You’re so right, pine nuts are expensive!! I’ve used walnuts as well, both are heavenly and add that needed crunch. I have three basil plants in my breakfast nook just for pesto!!
Excellent timing on this recipe, I’m making pesto for dinner tomorrow night and was just in the process of digging up the recipe! I usually throw in some arugula just to spice things up but I’m totally jealous of your basil plant :)
have never tried it but looks, well, green