This easy homemade pesto is a garden-fresh recipe that’s delicious in pasta, on bread, on meats, or even a sandwich. You’ll never buy store-bought pesto again once you’ve made your own!
The most traditional recipe for pesto includes pine nuts, basil, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and grated parmesan, but I like to substitute pine nuts for pepitas (pumpkin seeds). They’re much less expensive, they have a delicious nutty flavor and they make the pesto extra bright and green.
You can also substitute pine nuts with almonds or even walnuts, but all other ingredients are required to make pesto “pesto.”
My recipe also includes a bit of white balsamic vinegar to give it a little extra zing. Enjoy!
Homemade Pesto
This easy homemade pesto is a garden-fresh recipe that's delicious in pasta, on bread, on meats, or even a sandwich. You'll never buy store-bought pesto again once you've made your own!
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Servings: 8 ounces
Calories: 168kcal
Equipment
- 1 food processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves – packed
- 6 tbsp. pine nuts – or pepitas
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 4 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Into a food processor, add 1 cup basil leaves, 6 tbsp. pine nuts (or pepitas), ½ cup grated parmesan, ¼ cup olive oil and 4 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar. Purée until almost creamy. At least 30 seconds.
Notes
Pesto will stay fresh in a covered, refrigerated container for up to a week. It can also be frozen for months but will brown in color.
Nutrition
Serving: 1ounce | Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 112mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 216IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 1mg
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