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 It was originally made using a Mortar and Pestle but we find it’s faster and easier in a food processor.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 made this recipe X2. Only put lemon for single recipe and it came out perfect. Love it. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome! Great to hear that it was a success!
hi my names natasha too! i added some boursin cheese as well and this always comes out amazing! how long can this stay good refrigerated as well as frozen?
Hi there, Natasha! That’s wonderful, glad you liked it! We keep a steady supply of this fantastic sauce in the fridge and freezer since it stores really well. This will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator but longer in the freezer.
So yum! I Added some lemon zest and that really gave it a nice flavour too
Good idea, thank you for your review and for sharing!
This is my yearly go to recipe for making big batches to freeze from the basil we grow in our garden. I double the recipe with each batch. The only ingredient I don’t double is the lemon juice and it turns out perfect!
I’m so happy you found a favorite on our blog! Thank you for your lovely review.
Natasha, your pesto recipe is wonderful! It was not too lemony for us at all, but we did add extra garlic. With Canadian Thanksgiving coming up, I am looking forward to trying it various ways with leftover turkey. Great recipe, and easy too!
That’s great, Jane!
Too much lemon in this recipe.
I would suggest putting in tbl at a time to insure its to your liking.
For us 1/4 cup too much.
I did use fresh from a lemon I juiced.
Made this today following the directions. The lemon flavor overpowered the basil so I added more basil. It helped but lemon was still pretty strong. I love the idea of the freshness lemon can bring to pesto so I’ll try it again and just decrease the amount. Thanks for your recipe!
You’re welcome! It wasn;t overpowering for us but feel free to use less lemon next time if you prefer.
Looking to make this soon but have a question. All other pesto recipes say to add the EVOO in slowly but yours adds it with everything at once. Will this not cause the oil to emulsify?
Hi JB, we haven’t had that issue with this process and recipe. I hope you love it!
My GO TO pesto sauce! It’s delicious, I too use walnuts instead of pricey pine nuts. Thank you, sooo good😋
I’m so glad this is your go-to recipe! Thank you for sharing, Lorraine.
Is 1/4 cup lemon juice accurate compared to other recipes only calling for a tbsp?
Hi Sierra, that’s correct! Be sure to use freshly squeezed juice from 1 large or 2 smaller lemons. Do not use lemon juice concentrate.
Thank you Natasha! Just made this pesto and it tastes amazing. I’m going to freeze it and put it in the freeze dryer’s next batch so I can have it long term.
That’s great! You’ll love having this on hand.
This turned out better than I thought!! Thank you Natasha for all your yummy recipes!
You’re very welcome, Traci!
Made mine substituted pepitas for pine nuts ❣️ Delicious ❣️
How long can I keep pesto in the fridge? Or is it better to freeze it?
We keep a steady supply of this fantastic sauce in the fridge and freezer since it stores really well. This will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator but longer in the freezer.
Great recipe. I make many of your recipes as your my go to for most of my recipes. Thank you for all your videos and tips and tricks. This is great!! Love it with the lemon vs without. It needs the acid. I added 3 large cloves of garlic and a lil more sea salt and ground black pepper to suit my taste. Otherwise wala!!!
Hi Lynann! Thank you for the feedback. So glad you loved it!
I love this recipe. Make it all the time and keep a stock in my freezer. I use white wine instead of the lemon and it’s excellent.
Sounds amazing, Denise! I’m glad you love this recipe!