Pesto Sauce
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Homemade pesto sauce is easy to make, and it’s good on just about everything, from pastas to pizzas to salads.
One of my favorite things about summer cooking is stepping out my back door to pick fresh herbs from my potted herb garden. It always amazes me how the tiny seedlings I plant in May grow into more herbs than I can possibly use up in August. Right now, my basil plant is overflowing, which means it’s time to make pesto sauce. Pesto, or pesto alla genovese, is a vibrant, garlicky green sauce that originated in Genoa, Italy. It’s traditionally made with a mortar and pestle, but most modern versions call for using a food processor. Pesto is a versatile sauce that can be used on just about everything, from pastas to sandwiches to salads. It freezes well, too.
What You’ll Need To Make Pesto Sauce
Traditional pesto is made with garlic, nuts, salt, basil leaves, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and extra-virgin olive oil. It’s important to use top-quality ingredients, as the flavors really shine through.
For the cheese, be sure to use authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy; domestic Parmesan is not the same thing. You can always tell if the cheese is authentic by looking at the rind, which is embossed with the name over and over. If the cheese is already grated, it should be labeled “Parmigiano-Reggiano,” not “Parmesan.”
For the nuts, I use walnuts instead of the more traditional pine nuts for a few reasons. First, I always seem to have walnuts in the house (pine nuts can be very pricey). Second, in recent years an increasing number of people, including me, have fallen prey to a bizarre problem with pine nuts called Pine Mouth Syndrome, a bitter, metallic taste in the mouth that develops a day or two after eating pine nuts. It can last for weeks and make eating or drinking anything very unpleasant. (You can use pecans or almonds, too.)
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, combine the walnuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.
Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper.
Process until finely chopped.
Then, with the food processor running, add the olive oil through the feed tube in a steady stream.
Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Process again until smooth, and that’s your pesto sauce.
How To Store & Freeze Pesto
Use the pesto immediately or store it in a tightly sealed jar or air-tight plastic container, covered with a thin layer of olive oil (this seals out the air and prevents the sauce from oxidizing, which would turn it an ugly brown color). It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.
Pesto can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 6 months. I suggest dividing it into the compartments of an ice cube tray and freezing. Once frozen, remove the cubes from the tray and put in a sealable plastic bag or airtight container. You can add the defrosted cubes to summer vegetable soup, pasta salad with pesto, zucchini noodles, pesto pizza, eggs, sandwiches, and baked potatoes.
More Summer Recipes You May Like
- Pizza with Pesto, Fresh Tomatoes & Mozzarella
- Caramelized Onions
- Vegetable Soup with Pesto
- Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
- Ratatouille
- Green Goddess Dressing
The Best Basic Pesto
Homemade pesto sauce is easy to make, and it’s good on just about everything, from pastas to pizzas to salads.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup walnuts
- 2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Instructions
- Place the walnuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until coarsely chopped, about 10 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper and process until mixture resembles a paste, about 1 minute. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly blended. Add the Parmesan and process a minute more. Use pesto immediately or store in a tightly sealed jar or air-tight plastic container, covered with a thin layer of olive oil (this seals out the air and prevents the pesto from oxidizing, which would turn it an ugly brown color). It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: Pesto can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 6 months. You can also divide your prepared pesto into the compartments of an ice cube tray and freeze. Once it’s frozen, remove the pesto cubes from the tray and put in a sealable plastic bag or airtight container. You can add the defrosted pesto cubes to soups, pasta dishes, eggs, sandwiches, and potatoes.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 2 Tbsp.
- Calories: 159
- Fat: 17 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 1 g
- Sugar: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 161 mg
- Cholesterol: 4 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Do you think you could use this pesto sauce recipe over pasta?
Definitely!
Hi Jen – your recipes are incredible! One question on this, if I wanted to make a “creamy pesto” and add some half and half, would that work here?
Hi Haley, I haven’t tried this before, but you could try replacing half the oil with 1/2 & 1/2. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it!
You can also freeze it… I have and it lasts for at least a year.
How much pasta will this recipe dress?
Good question Sally– maybe about 1 1/2 pounds of pasta (but it depends upon how “pesto-y” you want it). I’d suggest starting with a pound as any leftovers are also delicious on roasted veggies and potatoes, mixed into soup, or just spread on crackers.
What type of walnut? Black oe English??
Thank you.
English walnuts will work best here. Enjoy!
Made this last week and it was wonderful! I unfortunately cannot remember how much garlic I put in it and the bulbs that I have now have what I would describe as “huge” cloves. How much would you say a “large” garlic clove coarsely chopped is in teaspoons?
Hi Jan, 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic is the equivalent of about 2 average-sized cloves, so I’d just use your judgment based on how strong a garlic flavor you like.
Once again my pesto came out incredibly bitter. Inedibly so. What have I done wrong? Followed precisely. Any ideas?
Hi Dawn, This definitely shouldn’t taste bitter! Could the cheese have been bad, by any chance? Also, you used walnuts (and not pine nuts)?
Mine was also a bit bitter, I’m thinking the basil wasnt as fresh as possible.
Hi,
This is a classic recipe; I came looking for ratios. I ended up making a 20X recipe —- it freezes well! I make a couple additions to this pesto. In the basic amounts there, I would use juice from a 1/2 lemon. This helps emulsify the pesto, and like salad dressings, emulsification is a good thing. Also, I use additional pepper — in this batch, I used 1/3 black (Tellicherry) pepper, 1/3 pink, and 1/3 cubeb berries. If you don’t know what cubeb berries (pepper) are, look it up and get some! You and your guests will appreciate it!
Lovely recipe! The blender was on the fritz so I had to do all the chopping by hand but I frankly like walnuts more than pine nuts so this recipe was perfect for me
I just made this for the first time ever and WOW! Super easy and soooo delish! I actually don’t have a good processor, so I made it in my Bullet and it came out great! I added a couple tablespoons of lemon juice, since the bullet really emulsified it, it seemed to need more liquid. Delish! Thank you for posting this recipe!!
Why do I not see the recipe?
Hi Rick, I’m sorry you’re having a problem viewing the recipe. Please try this link.
This pesto is fabulous! It is the perfect balance of flavors. As usual, I followed your recipe exactly (even S&P amounts) and the results were superb. Lunch was a grilled chicken panini dressed with the pesto; supper is going to be homemade pizza with the pesto spread on the crust. My only hope is there will be enough left for another meal tomorrow! Thanks for yet another go-to recipe that I will be making again and again!
Hi Jenn,
I recently started eating pesto and LOVE it! (I might be a little obsessive right now!) I am wondering, could you blend this into sour cream or mayo or cream cheese to make a dip?
Sure Mary, I think that would work. If you’re making a dip, I’d go with the sour cream, cream cheese or even Greek yogurt. I’d use the mayo if you plan to use it more as a spread. Would love to know how it turns out!
If I’m understanding your question, you’re asking why Parmesan cheese can’t be frozen. It actually can– while it’s best fresh and the taste and texture will be a bit different when you defrost it, you can freeze it.
My son and I Made the basil walnut pesto using basil that he grew this summer as part of a Boy Scout merit badge requirement. Made exactly according to your recipe. A lovely Shabbat dinner with wild salmon and pesto fettuccine! Well received by the whole family! Thank you!
I just tried to print the recipe and for some reason, it will not print. I just get a blank page. The same thing happened with another recipe from this site. Is something going on with the site? I am able to print from other sites.
Hi Vicki, Are you clicking on the print tab?
I didn’t see the quantities of the ingredients. How much walnuts etc.
Hi Tara, Scroll down to the bottom for the recipe or click on the “recipe” tab on the top. Enjoy 🙂
Heavenly! I just made it – and made my husband a very happy man 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe using walnuts. I also have Pine Mouth and have found that I can eat Mediterranean pine nuts but not Asian ones. I have to order them, as they are very hard to find in stores. I can’t wait to try your recipe!
why did my pesto turn out grainy and not smooth like yours? do i need to process more?
Hi Chris, Yes, just keep processing until smooth.
Thank you for this recipe. After years of joyfully eating pine nuts I had several bouts of Pine Mouth before I realized the culprit. I find it strange that quite suddenly many people have it. Hopefully it is something to do with the source and we won’t have to swear of pignolas forever. In the meantime walnut pesto will comfort me.
For the first time I grew a herb garden and have lots of fresh basil. I used this for your recipe for grilled pesto shrimp and it was really yummy.
I just made this pesto recipe and as I’m typing enjoying it with my whole grain pasta, delicious! Can’t wait to substitute my pizza sauce with the pesto, should be amazing! Thanks for sharing Jenn 🙂
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This is the only recipe I use for pesto. I’ve made it many, many times. Last year I froze enough to last all winter. My basil crop has reached the point this year that I need to start making pesto again. I always reduce the olive oil in this recipe to 1/2 cup (instead of 2/3 cup) for a less oily result. I love to use a dollop of pesto in a quiche or spread a little on sandwiches instead of mayo.
Even without the metallic taste condition you describe, the price of pine nuts leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Thanks for the recipe.
Made two big batches with my end of season basil; one with walnuts and one with pine nuts. I put the cooled pesto into ice cube trays. After they froze solid, I transferred the cubes into ziploc freezer bags. This makes them super easy to pull out and toss into a pan as needed.
This was a great recipe, thanks! I have a pine nut allergy (oddly, the only nut I am allergic to and it is NOT fun!) but LOVE pesto and i really enjoyed this
Will try today! Looks fantastic.
Great idea,had it with pasta and chicken yummm!
My local Wegman’s stopped carrying pine nuts in their bulk food aisle because of problems with their supply and cases of pine mouth syndrome being reported.
I’m not a fan of walnuts, but I’ve used almonds and pistachios and it worked wonderfully. As Becca mentioned, blanching whatever greens then shocking them in ice water will keep the color vibrant for days in the fridge.
Thanks for your discription of how. Living in Phoenix AZ, its mid november, and this could be the last batch of the year. Several lessons have been learned, comments are welcomed. Full sun? This year some of my plants were in the pepper bed getting sun only till noon, they did better in the heavy heat, so I made them all morning sun only, until the temps dropped. I add hot peppers, and add sugar to balance the bitterness. Also use a variety of basils, including Thai, Greek, Lemon, and several varieties of Sweet. My freezer is full of pesto cubes. Being end of seaon, this time I will separate varieties.
Tried it since I love so many of your recipes, but must confess… I prefer using pine nuts to walnuts. Love to eat the pesta tossed with orzo… great, fast & easy side!
Everyone should know about this tip. If you don’t plan to use all your pesto quickly, i.e. freezing it, blanching the basil leaves for about 30 seconds in boiling water will keep the pesto a vibrant green color. Before blending the pesto ingredients, blanch the basil leaves, take them out of the boiling water and run them under cool water to stop the cooking and then add to the food processor as the recipe directs. This really works and keeps pesto a nice fresh green color, even after freezing and defrosting.
I never liked pesto, but this recipe has changed my mind. Even my boys will eat it over pasta. Wonderful recipe–thank you!!
Pesto is one of my wife’s favorite flavors. This came out fantastic. We can’t wait to use it on different foods.
This turned out great, thank you for sharing.
Walnuts are a great sub. for pignoli. I’m going to have to try this!!
a great idea. i never thought to sub walnuts for pignola nuts.
Walnuts were a great sub for pine nuts.
Heading out to plant my basil seeds right now, with this dish as an inspiration! Loved serving this, as you suggested, drizzled over the summer vegetable soup.
This looks good. This is one of my favorite thing. I love this! This is very easy to make and a great.
How to make the perfect basil pesto?
Hi, Just made your walnut pesto! Delicious. Really am going to enjoy this with veggies or pasta…can’t decide which.
Donna
Just got a bunch of purple basil from our CSA and wasn’t sure what to do with it so figured I would give this a try. Thanks!
I also grow herbs and my basil was gorgeous this year! (live in Atlanta, GA) I have made about 5 quarts of pesto so far this summer. I also use walnuts instead of pine nuts, but it is mainly due to the difference in COST. A similar recipe was on The Barefoot Contessa on Food TV…so cheers to you and thanks for sharing!
I read that the problem with pine nuts was from the pine nuts from China, not the USA. You’ve got to be careful!
And walnuts are much cheaper than pine nuts anyway. Thanks for the recipe.
This looks good. My husband loves walnuts. I’m still using pesto I froze last summer. I’ve never heard of pine mouth syndrome. It sounds awful. I do check to see where the pine nuts I purchase are from. We have some in our grocery that are from a local area in Texas. I checked one of the popular Italian brands and they are actually from China, which surprised me.