Classic Italian Basil Pesto Sauce Recipe

I love pesto – I like to smell it and to eat it :)  It has such a unique taste that’s out of this world!  Homemade pesto is a green goodness with all natural ingredients that are good for you – it’s packed with anti-oxidants in basil, garlic and olive oil.

Eating pesto is a perfect way to get more fresh raw greens into your diet.  Pesto ingredients are never cooked or heated in any way – they are simply chopped up in a food processor, so they remain raw and retain all their nutrients. If you are trying to reduce fat, you can use less oil – however, extra-virgin olive oil has a healthy kind of fat, so anyone can enjoy it in moderation.

There are so many ways to eat pesto.  You can serve it as an appetizer for dipping bread.  You can spread it on a sandwich – it’s so much more flavorful than mayo and mustard :)  You can also serve pesto as a sauce for chicken and fish and as a quick fix for an otherwise bland main dish!  And of course you can toss pesto into a pasta – pesto makes a wonderful pasta sauce!

This classic pesto recipe uses basil, but you can make pesto with other green herbs.  I’ve eaten pesto made with curly and flat-leaf parsley, cilantro and even mint.  You can also mix different types of herbs for unique combinations of flavors.  However, my favorite kind of pesto remains this classic – Italian pesto made with basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and Parmesan.

Making pesto is very simple – it really takes just a few minutes to make.   Just put all ingredients in the food processor, press the Start button and you are done!

Pesto Ingredients:

2 cups of packed basil leaves (usually 2 bunches of basil)
1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup of pine nuts (pignolis)
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
3 garlic cloves

Directions How To Make Pesto:

Put all pesto ingredients in a food processor.   Pulse until the pesto reaches the consistency you like.  Enjoy this delicious pesto – it’s really good!

Save this for later on your social media:

Share

Pin245

Yum106

Email

351 Shares

Get Melanie's FREE Recipes In Your Inbox!