Fresh, homemade Basil Pesto is arguably the best way to put your out of control basil plant to use in the summer. I love the bright, almost spiciness of fresh basil paired up with the deep nuttiness of parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts. All you need is a few ingredients and a food processor to have perfect basil pesto in no time. I love serving it with summer pasta salads, alongside grilled meat and veggies, or slathered on sandwiches and pizzas.
serve it on:
Grilled Pesto & Burrata Flatbread
Pesto melts deliciously on top of toasty homemade flatbread and is topped with burrata cheese, lemony dressed arugula, and toasted pine nuts.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s what you’ll need to recreate this Basil Peso recipe at home:
- Basil – Genovese basil, sweet basil, or large leaf Italian basil are where it’s at for this recipe. Pictured here is the large leaf Italian variety, but any of these will turn into a deliciously aromatic pesto with tons of classic basil flavor.
- Pine nuts – Pine nuts tend to be a bit more expensive than most other nuts, but when they’re lightly toasted, they are just the perfect flavor for pesto. I can find a perfectly portioned 1/2 cup bag of them at my local Wegmans for about $5, and they’re totally worth it to me.
- Parmesan cheese – Parmesan cheese is one of the essential building blocks of a good pesto. I like to cut it down into about 1/4″ chunks and throw it right in the food processor, though you could also just go ahead and process larger chunks ahead of the other ingredients for a smoother pesto. I don’t recommend pre-shredded or grated parmesan since it typically includes anti-caking agents that can get in the way of good flavor. While you could use other hard cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, or Asiago, I personally think they all have too strong of a flavor for this pesto.
- Olive oil – Don’t substitute other oils in this recipe. Here, you really want that beautiful olive oil flavor to complement the Italian vibes of the pesto. Go ahead and splurge on a higher end olive oil for this one – this is the place to do it!
- Garlic – Similar to the cheese, you don’t want to go overboard with the garlic when it comes to making pesto. It can quickly overpower the other flavors when what you’re really going for is balance.
- Lemon zest – I love reinforcing the fresh, bright flavors of the basil with some lemon zest, but you could skip this if you must.
- Seasoning – I used a combo of lemon pepper seasoning and salt for this recipe, but you can adjust this to your own tastes. A little black pepper wouldn’t hurt in there either!
basil leaves:
To Blanch or Not to Blanch?
When it comes to basil pesto, there is a lot of debate about whether you should blanch the basil leaves (ie. stick them in almost-boiling water momentarily, then cool them in an ice bath). This is meant to prevent the leaves from oxidizing and turning a darker color, leaving you with a brighter green pesto.
Some people swear by this method while others think it destroys the bright basil flavor. I’ve made pesto both ways and personally don’t find blanching to be worth the effort – especially if you’re not going to freeze it. With blanching, you definitely do lose some of that bright, fresh basil flavor, plus you have to be really careful not to leave the leaves in the hot water for too long or they will turn black.
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Storage & Freezer Tips
Store fresh basil pesto in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 7-10 days. To keep it from oxidizing, add a little extra olive oil on top to seal it from any air.
Pesto freezes very well too. I recommend freezing 2 tbsp portions in these Souper Cube trays, which make popping them out really easy – much easier than most ice cube trays.
Recipe
Basil Pesto
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pine nuts, (60 grams)
- 4 oz basil leaves with stems, stems removed, (approx. 4 cup/3 oz yield)
- 4 fl oz olive oil
- 1 1/4 oz parmesan cheese, chopped into 1/2" chunks
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon, zested
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp Oh My Spice! Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Instructions
- Add parmesan cheese to the food processor and blend for 15-30 seconds or until finely ground.
- Add all remaining ingredients to the food processor and blend until pesto reaches desired consistency.
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information
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