How To Make Homemade Basil Pesto - Step by Step Recipe (2024)

You only need a few simple ingredients to make the most amazing homemade basil pesto. It's so delicious and easy you'll never want to go back to store-bought again!

My love for basil pesto knows no limit. I remember when I found out a few years ago 1. how easy it was to make homemade pesto and 2. how incredibly delicious it tasted. I was already an addict to the store-bought kind but homemade? Homemade is next.level! Like, so good you won't touch the other kind anymore.

Seriously guys, if you haven't already, grab a bunch of fresh basil or two and do yourself a favor. Make homemade pesto ASAP! Did I mention that your kitchen will smell amazing, too?

Let's do this!

How to make homemade fresh basil pesto - step by step

It really is super duper easy!

First, add the basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic and parmesan in your food processor(step 1).

Pulse until the ingredients are combined and form a kind of paste(step 2).

Slowly add in the olive oil until it's all mixed and almost smooth (I personally like to keep some texture!). That's it!

Variations and substitutions

The combo and proportions below are my favorite way to make pesto - but you can play around with the ingredients and find what'syour favorite version!

• Cheese: Parmesan is traditional but you can also use grana padano or pecorino romano. No cheese? No problem! Try nutritional yeast instead or leave the cheese out entirely!
• Nuts: If you don't have pine nuts, find them too expensive or just want something different, try making your pesto with walnuts! It's great with roasted almonds and pistachios too.
• Garlic:I see a lot of recipes out there using more garlic than I do (usually 3 cloves) but that's way to intense for me. My advice is to start with a little and add more to your taste (because you can always add more, but too much is hard to fix!)
• Spinach:For a milder pesto, sub half of the basil leaves for 1 cup of baby spinach leaves.
• Other herbs: Try adding some of your favorite herbs like parsley, cilantro or even mint! Not traditional and different for sure, but delicious.

Making ahead and freezing pesto

If not used straight away, you'll notice that pesto darkens pretty quickly. It's okay. It's caused by oxidation. Although it's less bright and pretty, it doesn't change the taste. To prevent oxidation, cover the top of the pesto with olive oil.

You can make pesto ahead and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Pesto freezes well!If you know from the start that you're going to freeze it, omit the cheese because it doesn't freeze well (but if you do end up freezing it with cheese, you'll be okay, don't worry).

For individual portions, line an ice cube tray with plastic wrap, fill each pockets with pesto and freeze. Remove from the ice cube tray and store in freezer bags. When ready to eat, thaw in the fridge (not in the microwave) and add in the cheese.

Also...never (re)heat pesto! It will lose a lot of its delicious flavor. Instead, bring it to room temperature if it was in the fridge and it will be heated by the warm ingredients you're using it with (pasta, veggies and so on).

Can you make pesto in a blender?

That's a good question. It works best in the food processor. I don't like making pesto in the blender because you need to use more olive oil to get it running, it doesn't have the same nice and smooth texture and I find that I lose a lot of the precious nectar at the bottom of the blender (plus it's more difficult to wash).

BUT! if you only have a blender, you can make it work. Pack the basil leaves at the bottom of the blender, then top with parmesan, garlic and pine nuts. Pulse as much as you can, then slowly add in the olive oil. You will probably have to use more than ⅓ cup olive oil to get the blender to really blend the mixture.

This will work better in the blender if you double all the quantities(as if you were making two batches) - the more ingredients you have, the easier it will be for your blender to do the work.

How to use pesto + my favorite pesto recipes:

The most obvious way to use basil pesto is with pasta – there's a reason it's so popular: it's ridiculously delicious! I rarely eat pasta (the traditional kind anyway!) but when I do, my favorite is pasta al pesto!

But pesto is also perfect...

• as a salad dressing - to make it thinner and more "dressing like", try adding some lemon juice, a little bit of water or more olive oil.
• tossed with (grilled)veggies or potatoes
• as a spread for sandwiches,
• as pizza spread/base (seriously...SO GOOD!)
• eaten by the spoonful (okay, I'm kidding! Or am I?)

Here are a few of my favorite pesto recipes from the blog:

• Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad
• Pesto Zucchini Pasta with Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes
• Pesto Crusted Fish
• Tomato, Pesto and Mozzarella Skewers
• Eggplant and Pesto Baked Pasta
• Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms With Ricotta, Pesto And Grilled Haloumi
• Green Beans with Pesto

If you tried this pesto, don’t forget torate the recipeand let me know how it went in the comments below – I love hearing from you! You can also follow me onInstagram,PinterestandFacebookfor more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!

UPDATE NOTE:This post was originally published onJun 27, 2012and republished in June 2018 with an updated recipe, new photos and more tips.