Home » Family Style Dinners » Easy Basil Walnut Pesto

Easy Basil Walnut Pesto

This is the easiest basil pesto recipe you’ll find on the internet! This recipe makes about 3/4 of a cup of prepared pesto but is super easy to scale up or down depending on how much basil you’ve got on your hands!

A spoon scooping homemade basil pesto out of a small mason jar


 

Instructions

Add basil, garlic, walnuts, Parmesan, olive oil and a pinch of salt to a food processor or the smoothie size blender container.

All the ingredients for basil pesto in  a smoothie container waiting to be blended

Blend or process until everything is well minced and the consistency is smooth.

A spoon scooping homemade basil pesto out of a small smoothie container

Season to taste with salt and enjoy!

A mason jar of homemade basil pesto with a spoon in it

You’ll Love This

  • It tastes SO much better than store bought pesto. I still use store bought when I’m in a pinch (but I only ever use this brand). However most of the time I set aside a few minutes and throw together my own pesto before buying one off the shelf. The flavors are so much fresher and much more delicious!
  • It feels a little fancy but it’s SO easy to throw together! Pesto is not your everyday condiment or sauce, so it feels a little EXTRA and I like that. Also, no dicing, no slicing, no chopping – just toss everything in the blender and it’s done!
  • It adds a little something unexpected to every dish. Jazz up your weeknight pasta dish with a big scoop of pesto. Spread a tablespoon of this fresh basil pesto on your favorite sandwich at lunch time. Saute your weeknight veggies in a big scoop of pesto and enjoy the elevated flavors.

Tips

  • Obviously, use fresh basil! The fresher the better, but living in Wisconsin I realize that you can’t always pop out to the garden to grab a fresh bunch. Luckily your local grocery store and even Amazon has some great fresh options too!
  • Always use fresh garlic! You have no idea how long that jar of minced garlic has been sitting on the shelf. You don’t even have to mince the clove of garlic in this recipe either – just toss the whole clove right in!
  • Use a good olive oil! You can learn more about what makes a good olive oil in my Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Bread Dip post. But basically you’re looking for an olive oil that is cold pressed and organic. This one is my fave.
  • Use your favorite nut! I like to use walnuts or pecans for this pesto because I always have them on hand. Most recipes use pine nuts but they are super expensive and I find that they don’t make a huge difference in the end result. Use what you’ve got in the pantry – just make sure they haven’t gone rancid (which can happen really easily with nuts).

Storing Basil

  • DON’T store basil in the fridge. That’s right folks. Basil should never go inside the refrigerator!
  • It stays freshest when stored like a bouquet of flowers.
  • Put the basil (stems first) in a jar or vase of water. Make sure no leaves creep below the water level as they will break down and get slimy.
  • Leave the bouquet of basil uncovered and treat it like flowers, changing the water every couple days.

Freezing Pesto

Did you know that pesto freezes like a dream?!?

  • A great tip for freezing pesto is to scoop it into an ice cube tray. Place pesto in the freezer about an hour or until it freezes. Then pop the pesto cubes out and transfer them to an airtight container. Those pesto cubes will stay good for up to 3 months in the freezer.
  • A great use for those frozen pesto cubes is to add 1-2 to your pan when you’re sauteing chicken or veggies to give them a little pop of fresh basil flavor.
  • You can also just freeze a small mason jar of pesto if you think you’d like to use a larger portion of pesto at one time.
  • To thaw basil pesto, set it out on your counter for about an hour or so and let it come to room temp. Alternately, you can thaw it overnight in the fridge also.

What to make with pesto

More Easy Pizza Recipes

Did you love this recipe?

Please leave a 5-star rating and review below!

Print

Easy Basil Pesto

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

The easiest basil pesto recipe you’ll find on the internet! This recipe makes about 3/4 of a cup size batch but is super easy to scale up or down depending on how much basil you’ve got on your hands!

  • Author: Kylie
  • Prep Time: 3 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 minutes
  • Yield: 3/4 cup prepared pesto 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Blender
  • Cuisine: Italian
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup loosely packed basil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/4 cup toasted walnuts
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • Kosher salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Add basil, garlic, walnuts, Parmesan, oil and a large pinch of salt to a food processor or a smoothie container of a high speed blender
  2. Blend or process until well minced and smooth. 
  3. Season to taste with salt and enjoy!

Notes

Obviously, use fresh basil! The fresher the better, but living in Wisconsin I realize that you can’t always pop out to the garden to grab a fresh bunch. Luckily your local grocery store and even Amazon has some great fresh options too!

Always use fresh garlic! You have no idea how long that jar of minced garlic has been sitting on the shelf. You don’t even have to mince the clove of garlic in this recipe either – just toss the whole clove right in!

Use a good olive oil! You can learn more about what makes a good olive oil in my Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Bread Dip post. But basically you’re looking for an olive oil that is cold pressed and organic. This one is my fave.

Use your favorite nut! I like to use walnuts or pecans for this pesto because I always have them on hand. Most recipes use pine nuts but they are super expensive and I find that they don’t make a huge difference in the end result. Use what you’ve got in the pantry – just make sure they haven’t gone rancid (which can happen really easily with nuts).

2 Comments

  1. AMAZING pesto! We had never made our own pesto before & decided to use almonds for the nuts. Put this in her pesto caprese pasta salad! Excellent!!!






Please leave a rating, review, or comment!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star