This basil pesto recipe not only tastes delicious, but it’s also incredibly convenient to use in a variety of dishes like pasta, grilled veggies, and more.
What We Love About This Basil Pesto
- Awesome flavor mix: Our basil pesto has all of the important elements: fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan, and olive oil—a combo that brings a burst of flavor to whatever you’re cooking.
- Goes with everything: This pesto goes on your favorite pasta, can be used as a spread in sandwiches, stirred into soups, used as a marinade for grilled veggies, and so much more.
- Beginner-friendly: This no-fuss basil pesto recipe makes use of simple ingredients, so it’s incredibly easy to whip up in a hurry.
Basil Pesto Ingredients
- Fresh Basil Leaves: Make sure to use fresh basil leaves because it really makes a difference.
- Cheese: Parmesan cheese adds a salty, nutty flavor as well as a richness to the pesto sauce that helps to balance out the other flavors.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil gives the sauce its signature silky, shiny texture. Use only high quality olive oil.
- Pine Nuts: Pine nuts add crunch and nuttiness to the pesto sauce.
- Garlic: Garlic helps to bring out all of the other flavors and really adds to the savory element of the sauce.
- Salt and Pepper: Season to taste with salt and pepper to make all of the flavors pop. If you add a lot of cheese, you won’t have to add as much salt.
How to Make Basil Pesto
- Combine the ingredients in a food processor. Add all the ingredients to a food processor.
- Process the ingredients until smooth. Season well with salt and pepper, tasting as you go.
- Serve immediately or store for later. Use immediately or transfer into a jar and cover with a little olive oil so it doesn’t dry up.
- Use an ice cube tray for easy storage. Spoon into tray, drizzle with more olive oil if needed.
- Freeze until solid. Frozen pesto cubes can last for six months in the freezer.
Storing and Freezing Instructions for Basil Pesto
- To store: Process the ingredients as usual, then store in an airtight container. Consume within a week for optimal flavor.
- To freeze: Spoon the pesto into ice cube trays and freeze until solid.
Recipe Variations
- Experiment with different greens such as arugula or spinach alongside the basil.
- Nuts: You can use walnuts or almonds if you don’t have any pine nuts available.
- Change up the cheese: Swap Parmesan with Pecorino for a sharper taste. If you don’t like Parmesan or Pecorino, feel free to use your preferred cheese.
- Add zest: Incorporate lemon or lime zest to impart a citrusy note to the pesto.
- Serve as a sandwich spread or dip. Basil pesto is fantastic with any type of bread or crackers.
Basil Pesto
This basil pesto recipe not only tastes delicious, but it's also incredibly convenient to use in a variety of dishes like pasta, grilled veggies, and more.
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth.
- Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Use immediately or transfer into a jar and cover with a little olive oil so it doesn’t dry up.
- To freeze the pesto, spoon the pesto into the ice cube tray and drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the tops of each of the cubes.
- Freeze until solid.
- Frozen pesto cubes can last for six months in the freezer.
Notes
- Blanching the basil is not necessary when making basil pesto. Just use fresh basil leaves.
- Use fresh Genovese basil for its sweet and delicate flavor.
Like this recipe?Leave a comment and review below!
We had a lot of extra basil. And this recipe was just what we were looking for 😋 Thank you!
Great tasting, fun to make often with all my basil!