Homemade Pesto

4.50 from 6 votes

Nothing you purchase at the store can compete with homemade pesto. This versatile Italian sauce made with fresh basil and toasted pine nuts is great served over pasta, pizza, or on vegetables. Best of all, it has a short ingredient list and can be made in just a few minutes!

Makes 1 cup pesto.

Want to adjust the size of this recipe? Click on the number next to “servings” and use the slider to scale up or down.

Prep Time5

Cook Time5

Total Time10

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: basil, fresh herb sauce

Servings:

Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef

Cost: $6.50

Equipment

Food Processor

Ingredients

3 Tbsp Pine Nuts
2 oz (60g) Fresh Basil Leaves
2 cloves Garlic, peeled
1 oz (30g) Parmesan Cheese, chopped into large pieces
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Lemon Juice (optional)
1/3 cup (80ml) Olive Oil

Instructions

Toast pine nuts (optional): Place a dry skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Add pine nuts and cook, stirring frequently, until they start to smell fragrant and lightly golden brown spots appear, 3 to 4 minutes. (Watch the pine nuts closely to prevent burning.)
Make pesto: Combine pine nuts, basil leaves, garlic cloves, cheese, salt, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor. (Note: You can also use a standing blender if the blades sit low enough to blend the ingredients.) Pulse / blend until all of the ingredients are finely chopped.
With the food processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil until the pesto is smooth and pourable. If it is too thick, you can add up to 1 Tbsp of additional olive oil.
Taste the pesto and season with some more salt, if needed.

Notes

Pine nuts - Toasting the pine nuts gives them a more rich savory flavor, but you can skip this step if you prefer. Chopped pecans make a great substitute and can also be used toasted or raw.

Basil - To make this recipe, you need a good amount of fresh basil. It’s a good idea to measure it by weight since the leaves can vary in size and can be inconsistent if measured in measuring cups. If you don’t have a kitchen scale 2 oz of fresh basil is about 4 cups of loosely packed basil leaves.

To Freeze - Pesto freezes well. Freeze it in small jars (be sure to leave some space in the top of the jar to allow for expansion as the pesto freezes) or in an ice cube tray (pop the frozen cubes out and store them in a freezer bag). Use within 4-6 months.

Nutrition