Nothing beats fresh homemade, and this Easy Basil Pesto Recipe will have your tastebuds doing the happy dance!
It’s easy to love the power-packed flavor of fresh Pesto, but did you know Homemade Pesto is SO easy to make??  You’ll never go back to store bought pesto again after making this Easy Basil Pesto Recipe!
After my trip to Rome Italy, I developed a bit of a pesto addiction. Â There’s just something so inviting about this dreamy sauce! Â The fresh basil, rich extra virgin olive oil, nutty pine nuts, and aged parmesan cheese blend into something amazing! Â And let me tell you… my love for pesto is still going strong!
There are so many fun ways to use homemade pesto, too… like Crockpot Pesto Chicken or this perfect for summer Grilled Pesto Chicken Sandwich or this crazy-good Creamy Pesto Pasta!  YUM!
Whether you’ve been growing Basil at home, or you pick up a bunch at the store, this Pesto comes together in a snap! Â Just 5 Ingredients! Â Here’s what you’ll do…
Related:
Easy Basil Pesto Recipe
What Your Frugal Friends Are Saying About This Recipe…
Kate writes: “LOVE LOVE this recipe!!!! It will make u feel like a professional chef making a meal this good!”
Karol writes: “Better than any store bought.”
Eka writes: “I got compliments! It is exquisite!”
Ashley writes: “So fresh! My house smells amazing!”
Amanda writes: “Very easy and simple and delicious”
Jennifer writes: “I didn’t have pine nuts so I used slivered almonds and it tasted great! I will make this again!”
Mandy writes: “SO YUMMY – super simple and so delicious!!”
Jackie writes: “Made it with Walnuts. Tastes amazing!”
Charlene writes: “Great recipe! Followed recipe substituting walnuts for pine nuts, blended in my Vitamix. Delicious addition to our meal!”
Kathy writes: “Easily made in my food processor and delicious! I added a teaspoon or so of lemon juice as I picked my basil plants at the end of the season. The lemon seems to counteract that bitterness. Awesome on pasta and chicken!!”
Easy Basil Pesto Recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 cups Fresh Basil Leaves packed
- ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Garlic Cloves minced
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese
- ÂĽ cup Pine Nuts {or you can substitute ÂĽ cup chopped Walnuts}
Instructions
- Combine Basil Leaves, Pine Nuts, Garlic and Parmesan Cheese in Food Processor or Blender. {I used my Vitamix to get the job done}
- Pulse or Blend ingredients until combined.
- Slowly pour in Olive Oil while running food processor or blender on a low speed.
- Optional: Add in a pinch of pepper or salt to taste.
- Transfer to a mason jar, drizzle with a thin layer of olive oil on top, store in the refrigerator, and pull it out with your dinner tonight, stir, and ENJOY!
Notes
What You’ll Need To Make This Basil Pesto Recipe:
Blender
or Food Processor
Genius Basil Hacks:
Learn How to Freeze Pesto
How to Grow Basil From Cuttings
How to Keep Basil Fresh
How to Dry Fresh Basil Leaves in 90 Seconds
So are you on the hunt for more tasty ways to put that amazing Basil Pesto to use?? Check out these recipe ideas…
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Made with fresh Basil Pesto, this pasta practically jumped right off the fork into my mouth!
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So have you made this Homemade Basil Pesto Recipe yet?
Leave a comment and share…
Chani says
I’ve been making this pesto for a while and just replaced the basil with baby spinach and it was delightful!! I had quite a bit of spinach on hand. Replaced equally for the Basil. Will be doing this going forward as I have spinach on hand more regularly.
Shannon says
We have an abundance of basil and I’ve been making and freezing pesto this week using this recipe. It never occurred to me to use grated Parmesan as mentioned in reviews so I used fresh, shredded. I also used walnuts instead of pine nuts. Easy, cost effecrtive and DELICIOUS! 3 batches filled my 12 cup silicone muffin pan then I topped with olive oil, froze, and eventually dumped out and put in freezer bags. Each of those is about 1/4 cup of pesto. Now I have 3 ice cube trays full and freezing which will be about 1 Tbsp. per cube. This should last the winter until our beautiful basil returns. Thank you for the amazing recipe!
Heidi says
You’re very welcome, Shannon… I’m so glad you loved the recipe! I just made some more with our backyard basil and walnuts, too. 🙂 I love your tip for freezing portions in a silicone muffin tin… that’s a great idea!
Heather says
Made the pesto true to your recipe! Very easy recipe to follow.Yummy!
Storing it flat in a Ziplock freezer bag. Will break off amount I need per meal.
Thank you.
Heidi says
You’re very welcome, Heather… I’m so glad you found the recipe easy and yummy! I just love having homemade pesto on hand in the freezer, too. 🙂
Bill griffin says
I used your recipe as a basis for the pesto sauce. First of all I’d like to state that the recipe is simple, easy to follow and delicious as is. I happen to like garlic so I added 2.5 times more than what was stated in the recipe. To my taste, the more pungent, the better. I appreciate your sharing because it is my go to basis for peso sauce. One other note, I used Thai basil because I believe it adds a distinct differentiating taste. Thanks for sharing.
Heidi says
You’re very welcome, Bill! Yes… this is definitely easily adaptable, and I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying the homemade Pesto Sauce!
Irma says
is the Parmesan cheese the fresh grated cheese or the kind in a can, dried cheese?
Heidi says
Hi Irma ~ you’ll use the dried parmesan that comes in a can or bottle. Hope that helps! 🙂
ML Wells says
Cannot say how long pesto will stay fresh in the refrigerator or if it can be canned, but it CAN be frozen! Last year I put tablespoons of pesto on waxed paper and froze those. After the individual tablespoons were frozen solid I put them in a freezer bag. When I needed pesto for a recipe, I pulled out as many tablespoons as needed. This method worked quite well.
Michelle H says
Can this be canned? If so, do you know how long?
Cynthia says
How long will the pesto keep in the fridge?
K says
http://www.eatbydate.com/pesto/ – this website says Homemade Pesto lasts for 5-7 Days in the fridge & 3-4 Months in the freezer 🙂