Pesto is such a versatile sauce. It’s fantastic tossed with any pasta, gnocchi, or used as a spread on sandwiches. This pesto recipe is also the secret ingredient in Chicken Pesto Pasta and Chicken Pesto Roll-Ups.
Homemade pesto is surprisingly easy and inexpensive to make and fresh tastes so much better than storebought. During the summer months, we keep a steady supply of this fantastic sauce in the fridge and freezer since it stores really well.
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I’m always comparing this homemade pesto to the Costco pesto (which is the best store-bought one I’ve found) and this fresh pesto recipe wins. The lemon juice keeps the color bright and beautiful and adds fresh flavor without needing too much extra salt.
What Is Pesto Sauce?
Pesto is basically a bright green sauce that is made from crushing together basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.
It’s a sauce that originated in Italy, with the term pesto derived from the Italian word “pestare” which means “to crush”. It was originally made using a Mortar and Pestle but we find it’s faster and easier in a food processor.
Ingredients for Basil Pesto
Most of the ingredients needed for this pesto recipe are things you probably already have on hand. If you don’t have basil growing in your garden, it’s best to buy it fresh the day you are making the sauce.
- Basil – use fresh basil leaves. The common basil leaves for pesto are large leaf basil, sweet basil, or genovese basil
- Parmesan cheese – shredded
- Extra virgin olive oil – use the best quality oil you can source
- Pine nuts – these are typical for pesto, but we have substituted with walnuts with great results
- Garlic cloves – we use 2 large cloves
- Lemon juice – use freshly squeezed juice from 1 large or 2 smaller lemons. Do not use lemon juice concentrate.
- Salt & Pepper – can be added to taste
Can I substitute Pine Nuts?
While traditional pesto sauce is made with pine nuts, you can certainly replace the pine nuts with a less expensive nut such as walnuts, or blanched almonds which work great.
Pro Tip: To get the most flavor out of your pine nuts, toast them on a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing often until golden and fragrant then cool before using in the recipe.
What Type of Basil Should I Use?
There are many varieties of basil. A few of the most popular include Italian large leaf (sweet basil), Thai, and lemon basil.
Any of these can be used for pesto but each has a slightly different flavor profile. For a traditional basil pesto flavor, you’ll want to use the Italian large leaf. It’s the basil leaf that most people typically think of as “normal” basil. It’s also referred to as sweet basil or Genovese basil. This is the type of basil sold in most grocery stores.
How to Make Basil Pesto
- Prep Basil – Gently rinse fresh basil leaves and pat dry or use a salad spinner to remove excess water.
- Process Sauce – Place all of your ingredients to a food processor or a high powered blender and process until smooth.
Pro Tip: After blending the pesto, add more salt to taste if desired. Keep in mind that store-bought pesto sauces can be significantly saltier since they are compensating for freshness. Salt also preserves the sauce for longer shelf life.
Serve with
Basil pesto is an easy and healthy summer sauce that adds incredible flavor to a variety of dishes. Of course, there are the obvious uses for basil pesto, like mixing it in with your favorite pasta dish, or as the base for a pizza, but there’s so much more you can do with it!
- Spread on a sandwich for an elevated lunch
- Thin it down with oil or vinegar and make a basil pesto salad dressing
- Marinate or toss with your favorite grilled or roasted veggies.
- Topping for meat – spread pesto over cooked chicken, salmon, pork tenderloin, and of course on medalions of beef tenderloin.
More Homemade Sauces
The flavors and ingredients of pesto and these homemade condiment recipes are way better than storebought. Once you make your own homemade dressings and sauces, you won’t want anything else.
- Tzatziki Sauce Recipe – a healthy sauce you can serve with chicken, grilled veggies, pita chips, gyros and as a raw veggie dip.
- Tartar Sauce Recipe – great with fish and crab cakes
- Horseradish Sauce Recipe – Steakhouse quality horseradish
- Chimichuri Sauce – excellent topping for steak
- Avocado Ranch Dressing – doubles as a dip or dressing
- Caesar Dressing – our go-to creamy caesar
Basil Pesto Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
- 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup pine nuts , or walnuts
- 2 garlic cloves, (large)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, (juice of 2 small lemons)
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Wash and dry the basil leaves.
- Place basil into a food processor, add cheese, nuts, garlic cloves, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth.
- Season with more salt to taste if desired.
I love pesto but I never seem to buy it. So glad that I can make it for myself now! So delicious.
I hope you love this recipe, Julie!
Can I freeze the pesto? And if so, how long will it retain the taste? I’m thinking of making it for Christmas gifts. Thank yiu
Hi Donna, I hope this its helpeful, here is what one of our readers wrote “To freeze, I fill up ice trays with the pesto, let them harden, & then put the individual cubes in a ziploc bag. Works great!!”
This was really amazing! And I loved that it is so easy to make!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This is such a great way to add so much flavor to sandwiches! Loved it!
I’m so happy you enjoeyd that, Jen!
My first attempt at making my own pesto and I am so pleased with how this recipe turned out. I used a blender and found that I needed to add a little extra olive oil to get it to blend properly.
Thanks for the recipe
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Alicia!
Turned out perfect. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Natasha! I planted some cinnamon basil in my garden this year and it’s growing like crazy. Unfortunately my traditional Italian basil is not doing so well. I’m wondering if you (or anyone else reading this) has ever tried pesto with this variety. I’m all for experimenting, but the ingredients are kind of expensive, so would rather get some feedback. Thanks so much…your recipes are consistently amazing!
Hi Amy, I haven’t tested with cinnamon basil but I did come across a couple of recipes from a quick google search. You might taste it before adding lemon juice and then stir lemon juice into a small batch to see if the flavors are complimentary. If you test it out with cinnamon basil, please let me know how it goes. Someone else may have the same question.
Looks great!
Thank you, Kamal!
Hi Natasha,
Is it okay to omit to the nuts?
The nuts actually make up a large portion of this recipe so you might consider replacing them. I have heard of people making pesto with seeds. You might research nut free pesto on Google to get more ideas.
I have a question about the leaves. I looked at your recipe and on the picture with your basil leaves, one had a hole in it. Is it ok to use ones that are not ‘perfect’. I tried to look for information online to see which ones i should discard. So, I picked through a whole bunch and only picked the healthy ones and threw out the ones with any marks on them or holes or ‘bitten’ ones. Would love to know your experience with this. Thank you for your help.
Hi Flora, as long as the basil doesn’t look wilted or spoiled, a good rinse should do the trick 🙂 Not all of the leaves have to be perfect since they are blended 🙂
Thank you for you response, however, still a little confused about what I do with brown spotted or marked ones. They so not look spoiled other than the marks… do I cut those parts out and still could use the leaves. For the bug bitten ones I was told I could use them…just wondering..because I had so many like that this year…
You can add them to the pesto and just blend everything together. I wouldn’t discard unless you have an abundance or excess.
Thank you:) will try it out with your recipe
My pleasure! Please let me know how it turns out!
I LOVE pesto!!!! It tastes so good on hamburgers, pasta and sandwiches. I wonder how well the pesto can keep up in the freezer? 🙂
I’ve never tried freezing pesto so I’m not sure. If you test it, let me know how it goes. The color might not be as vibrant after freezing.
Pesto freezes really well. I make my own or usually buy the Costco one (good quality and great value) and divide it up into sandwich bags in portions. 3-5 TBSP each bag or you decide!
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Guy I also made my pesto sauce and freeze it. but I made it without the cheese. Do you made it with cheese and freeze it?
hi, i was wondering if theres anything i can use instead of basil leaves? i cant find fresh ones anywhere 🙁
Traditionally pesto is made with basil, but you can substitute for spinach although the flavor would change quite a bit. You might search online for a spinach pesto recipes.
Trader Joe sells them.
how long can this pesto sit in the fridge for before it goes bad?
We’ve always eaten it within a couple days, but I probably wouldn’t leave it longer than 5-7 days in the fridge. It also depends on how fresh your basil is; if it was already kind of wilting when you used it, it won’t last long.
Hello. Quick question. Which salad spinner brand do you have? And also what size – small or large?
The one photographed here is the OXO large salad spinner. The one I currently use is the Dexas salad spinner. Both are very good!
This year my mom got excited and planted a lot, in fact a little too much basil so when I show her this recipe she will be so happy that we can put that basil to good use. I’m excited to make this cause I love this stuff, even as a dip.
Let me know hot it turns out :).
This stuff is amazing! We made pasta with it and later had it with our sandwiches (instead of mayo). I made a lot a froze about half of it. You’re awesome, Natasha!
Thank you, I’m glad you like it :).
Best recipe I’ve used for pesto
I grill cauliflower steaks and spread this pesto on each side
Aaaaaamazing!
That sounds like the best combination! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Pat!
try toasting the pine nuts … it’s even more yummier!!!
ooh, I think I will 🙂 Thanks Irina!
looks very delish. thank you
That pesto looks delicious! Thanks for sharing
I agree that pesto can do so much to add flavour to just about anything. I’ve added my pesto to regular tomato sauce, to my homemade vegetable soup, with white wine when cooking mussels, in a thin layer on pizza dough before any other sauces or toppings. I’ve also made pesto with spinach when basil is not plentiful in my area. When I freeze it, I put a plop of it in a small sandwich bag, flatten the bag before I close the ziploc. I stack several flat bags like this in the freezer and take out one when I need it. Or open the bag and break off a bit of the flat pesto when I need just a bit. Thanks for the recipe, I’d better get some basil asap.
Thank you so much for sharing your ideas!
To freeze, I fill up ice trays with the pesto, let them harden, & then put the individual cubes in a ziploc bag. Works great!!
Thanks for sharing that with us Jennifer!
Hi.Natasha I like pesto but added parsley leaves that tastes better.Hello from Poland.
Thank you for sharing that with me. I love that idea! It reminds me of chimichurri sauce.
Looks Yummy.
Hi Deepa – thank you! I was just checking out your site. What recipe would you recommend for someone who has zero experience with Indian food?