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You’ll love this homemade basil pesto sauce recipe with parmesan, pine nuts, aromatic fresh basil and good olive oil. This easy pesto sauce recipe adds so much flavor to sandwiches, pasta salads, chicken, pasta and more!
Why We Love This Easy Pesto Sauce Recipe
- Easy 5 minute recipe – Blend together a few ingredients, adding ingredient gradually, then enjoy homemade pesto!
- Customizable – Switch the greens, the nuts, use more Parmesan or none at all.
- Great on pesto pasta, salads, pizza, toast like bruschetta!
Homemade Basil Pesto Sauce Recipe
Two very important people in my life absolutely love pesto: Erik and my sister, Jenny. They’ll have this herbaceous, nutty, cheesy delight on anything: pizza, pesto pasta salad, sandwiches, pasta… even by the spoonful. So when I tell you I had to get this homemade basil pesto sauce recipe right, I mean it. Expect an abundance of aromatic fresh basil, just the right amount of garlic, creamy pine nuts, umami delight from Parmesan, salt and pepper
This easy pesto sauce recipe is soon to be one of your favorite homemade sauces. It’s easy to make in just 5 minutes, customizable to match your tastes, and chockfull of fresh, simple ingredients. Bonus? It goes great on everything, from baked potatoes and chicken to pasta and bread.
Pesto – Homemade Recipe Ingredients & Notes
- Basil – look for fresh basil leaves without brown edges or bruising. Can be swapped with spinach, arugula, Swiss chard, and more.
- Olive oil – use a good quality olive oil as the flavor and aroma will really come through.
- Pine nuts – can be swapped with walnuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds and more!
- Parmesan – use freshly-grated for big flavor. You can also skip this if you prefer.
- Garlic – fresh garlic is best. You can also skip this if you’re sensitive.
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Pesto Sauce
- In a food processor, blend together garlic, 3/4 cup basil, pine nuts, Parmesan, salt and pepper until finely chopped.
- Add remaining 3/4 cup basil, blending until paste-like.
- With the food processor running on low, slowly add the olive oil to the chute and blend until emulsified. Enjoy homemade pesto sauce!
Tips
- Use a food processor to speed things up, but try a mortar and pestle for a more authentic, handmade feel.
- If using this homemade basil pesto sauce recipe for pasta, add more oil to thin it out; if using for a topping like on toast, use less oil so it’s thicker.
- For creamy, smoother pesto, blend a bit more; for chunkier, greener pesto, hold back a bit with blending. The pesto in my pics is just a few pulses more than super green, chunkier pesto. I like it right in between.
- You can also add in heavy cream or cream cheese to the food processor right before adding in the olive oil.
Storing Instructions
Pour into a small, airtight container with the least amount of air left in the jar—the more full the jar, the less your homemade pesto will be exposed to air, which will spoil it. Add a thin layer of olive oil over the pesto. Seal and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Tools You Need
For more delicious recipe ideas like easy homemade pesto, follow us on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. If you’ve tried this recipe, take a pic and tag us on Instagram using #beamingbaker. We can’t wait to see it! Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
More Homemade Sauce Recipes
We love sauces here at BB! Try our garlic parmesan sauce, Asian salad dressing, honey mustard dressing, and Alfredo sauce!
Homemade Basil Pesto Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 ½ cups fresh basil, (1.5 oz or 44g), packed & divided
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, or nuts/seeds of choice
- 1/3 cup freshly-grated Parmesan, optional but recommended
- 1/4 to ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- 5-7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add peeled garlic, half of the basil, pine nuts, parmesan, salt and pepper to a food processor (or do this recipe by hand with a mortar and pestle). Blend until finely chopped.
- Add the remaining basil, blending until you get a paste-like consistency throughout, scraping down the sides as needed. Blend more for creamier pesto, less for chunkier. (I like it in between.)
- With the food processor running on low, slowly pour the olive oil into the feed chute and blend until emulsified and uniform throughout. Add more oil for thinner sauce, less for thicker.
- Check out my post for Tips and Substitution Notes.
- ★ Last Step: If you made this recipe, leave a comment and review. It truly helps our small business keep running and it helps readers like you!
Notes
- *You’ll want to stop before the tiny bits of pine nuts and basil get completely obliterated, but still far enough that it’s creamy.
- Storing Instructions: Store basil pesto in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cover pesto with a layer of olive oil before sealing the container to protect from oxidization.
- Freezing Instructions: You can also freeze this pesto for 1-3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
