This easy Homemade Basil Pesto Sauce is made with basil, parmesan cheese, toasted pine nuts and more. This classic and flavorful condiment will turn any meal into instant comfort food!
An Easy Classic Pesto Recipe
You only need 15 minutes to make the best basil pesto sauce ever. You can easily customize it to satisfy your taste. The fresh, nutty flavor in this condiment is unmatched! You’ll be making it regularly for pasta, pizza and more of your favorite meals.
What is Pesto Sauce?
Pesto sauce is a basil-based sauced made with grated parmesan and pine nuts. This version includes spinach as well. One of the best things about pesto sauce is that there are tons of ways to change it up if you’d like. You can use kale, walnuts, almonds, different herbs or even add nutritional yeast. Pesto sauce is hard to mess up. It’s perfect for picky eaters and lovers of bold flavor alike!
Pesto Ingredients
You only need a few ingredients to make homemade pesto:
- Fresh Basil Leaves
- Fresh Spinach
- Grated Parmesan: You can also use grated Romano cheese for a slightly stronger flavor.
- Olive Oil
- Pine Nuts: If desired, you can substitute with walnuts or almonds, too.
- Garlic Cloves
- Salt & Pepper
I don’t have pine nuts, what can I use instead?
Pine nuts are a very mild and creamy nut. You can also use walnuts or almonds in place of the pine nuts and get a very similar result!
Can you skip the fresh spinach?
Yes, you can use just basil! It’s a personal choice and neither way is incorrect! I like to use 75% basil and 25% spinach. The spinach adds some great nutrients, but you can not taste it!
How to Make Pesto
- Toast Pine Nuts: Toast your nuts in a small skillet on medium heat until golden and slightly brown. Allow nuts to cool before proceeding.
- Combine Nuts, Basil & Spinach: In a food processor, pulse basil, spinach and toasted nuts. Be sure not to over-blend.
- Add Seasonings: Add the garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and pulse several times more. Scrape down the sides of your bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Pour in Olive Oil: Slowly pour in the olive oil while the food processor is on and occasionally stop to scrape down the sides of your bowl once more, as needed.
Recipe Variations
- Use Other Nuts: If you have a favorite kind of nut, go ahead and use it in your pesto. Pesto tastes great with walnuts and almonds as well!
- Or Don’t Use Any Nuts: If you have a nut allergy, feel free to use pumpkin seeds or hemp seeds in place of pine nuts.
- Add More Herbs: You can substitute the spinach & basil or add other herbs if you’d like. Use cilantro, kale, parsley, arugula, or anything you like the taste of! Don’t be afraid to throw the stems in there too, as everything will get blended together anyway.
- Seasoning Ideas: To give your pesto some heat, add jalapeños or crushed red pepper flakes. You can also make it more flavorful by adding sun dried tomatoes or artichoke hearts.
How to Use Pesto Sauce
There are endless ways to use pesto in your cooking. My favorite is as a dip on chicken or in my favorite Caprese Stuffed Avocados! Here are some tasty ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
- In Pizza: Substitute tomato sauce for homemade pesto to change up your pizza night routine.
- On Pasta: Pasta smothered in pesto sauce is comfort food at its finest. Some of my favorite versions are this Spinach Pesto Pasta and my Creamy Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes.
- Baked into Bread: Try rolling some of this pesto sauce into my Easy Homemade Bread before you bake it!
- Added to Other Sauces: You can even mix your pesto sauce into other sauces or salad dressings for added flavor. Toss it in this Alfredo Sauce for a creamy pesto pasta dish!
How to Store Homemade Pesto
Your pesto sauce should always be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This recipe makes 1 cup of pesto, and it will last for up to a week! If you want your pesto sauce to stay bright green, try to limit its exposure to air. You can do this by storing it in a ziploc bag and squeezing out all the air.
Can I Freeze Pesto?
Yes! If you’re planning on freezing your pesto sauce, you’ll need to make it without the cheese. Line plastic wrap over an ice cube tray and pour your pesto into the cavities. Freeze the ice tray until your pesto is completely frozen, then transfer it to a resealable bag. When you’re ready to use the pesto, just defrost it and add in your cheese!
How to Make Basil Pesto Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- ½ cup of fresh spinach
- 2 oz grated parmesan cheese
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup pine nuts, can sub chopped walnuts or almonds
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt, to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Toast pine nuts in a small skillet on medium heat until golden and slightly brown. Allow nuts to cool before proceeding.
- In a food processor, pulse basil, spinach and toasted nuts. Be sure not to over blend as some texture is nice to have in the Pesto. Add the garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and pulse several times more. Scrape down the sides of your bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Slowly pour in the olive oil while food processor is on and occasionally stop to scrape down the sides of your bowl once more, as needed.
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Where can I get these lovely jars from for homemade sauces? Thanks.
Hi Kim, the jars in the photos were a purchase from Home Goods years ago. Sadly I do not have a link or brand.
No food processor. How else can I make this?
Hi Joan! Do you have a blender? A blender would work well!
I needed some pesto for a last minute meal for dinner and this was a huge hit! It was simple and super quick to make. I let it chill in the back of the fridge while I completed dinner and it came out great!! I did add some green onions, but that was the only addition. Thanks for the recipe!!!
Thanks for sharing! Could I freeze it too?
This looks so good! What a rewarding way to enjoy a bunch of garden basil!