Easy Homemade Basil Pesto Sauce Recipe
Pesto is an amazing sauce for so many dishes! This easy homemade pesto comes together in minutes and is perfect for pasta, chicken, pizza or any other dish!
I love pesto it is one of my favorite sauces! It is perfect on pasta, or chicken, great served with zucchini noodles or even as a pizza sauce. For years I would grab a jar of pesto at the grocery store and use it in my recipes. But then I discovered how simple and easy it is to make your own pesto at home with fresh herbs and I fell in love! While the flavors for fresh pesto are complex it is made with a simple handful of ingredients that can easily be found at most grocery stores. This fresh basil pesto recipe is so full of flavor, you’ll never go back to store-bought pesto in a jar!
If you grow fresh herbs this is a great way to use up a lot of basil! Not only is it great served fresh but this homemade pesto sauce recipe can also be preserved so that you can have fresh basil pesto any time. I like to double or triple the recipe so that I have some to use in my recipe and some perfect pesto to save for later!
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FAQ & Tips for this Easy Pesto Sauce
How to serve this easy homemade pesto-
This classic basil pesto recipe is great served in so many ways. Of course it is delicious on pasta, but I also like to make pesto chicken or pesto shrimp by tossing or marinating them in the sauce before cooking. It is also a great topping on pizza or flatbread, and it also makes a delicious dip for fresh bread! Use pesto to make pasta salad or potato salad for a delicious flavor kick! There are so many ways to serve this tasty sauce that your whole family will love!
How to store and freeze pesto –
You can store your pesto refrigerated in an airtight container for a few days. If you want to preserve it for longer my favorite way is to freeze it. Place the pesto in in ice cube trays and freeze until solid. Pop the pesto out of the ice tray and put the cubes in a freezer bag to keep them fresh. If you want to freeze them for several weeks you can also vacuum seal the frozen pesto cubes so that they don’t become freezer burnt and keep their incredible flavor!
Substitutions for this basic pesto recipe-
Want to make a vegan pesto? Swap out the parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast. It has a similar cheesy flavor but is dairy free! Classic pesto uses pine nuts but if you don’t like them can’t find them, or wan to try something different you can swap out pine nuts for walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or even pistachios! Toasting the pine nuts or other nuts gives another dimension of flavor to this pesty that is super tasty. You can also try different cheese in your pesto swap parmesan for pecorino romano or other hard cheese.
Ingredients for Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto
1 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves
2 Tbsp Pine Nuts
3 Fresh Garlic Cloves- peeled and roughly chopped
4 Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Here’s how to make Pesto Sauce
Place basil leaves ,pine nuts, grated parmesan, a pinch of salt and pepper, and chopped garlic cloves in the bowl of a food processor or blender.
Pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula in between pulses to make sure everything blends well.
Pour in the olive oil in a slow stream while pulsing the food processor.
For a smoother pesto continue to process until the desired consistency is reached. If you like larger pieces of basil in your sauce than don’t blend it as long.
Remove from the food processor and it is ready to serve or store.
Easy Homemade Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 3 fresh garlic cloves- peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- salt black pepper
Instructions
- Combine basil leaves ,pine nuts, grated parmesan, a pinch of salt and pepper, and chopped garlic cloves in the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped.
- Pour in the olive oil in a slow stream while pulsing the food processor.
- For a smoother pesto continue to process until the desired consistency is reached. If you like larger pieces of basil in your sauce than don’t blend it as long.
- Remove from the food processor and it is ready to serve or store.
