The aroma of fresh basil is simply divine. Fresh, fragrant, and peppery it lends a whole wallop of flavor when used in a pesto. This basil pesto recipe gives the perfect ratio of ingredients to make a creamy, nutty sauce that is flavorful and useful in a huge range of other recipes.

The word pesto originally coming from the Italian verb meaning ‘to pound’ or ‘to crush’. This refers to the original method of making pesto, using a mortar and pestle to crush things together. Basically, you need to break open the basil to release the full flavor of the herb. Then get it to combine with the nuts, garlic, and oil to make a smooth sauce.

I love pairing this pesto with some fresh pasta and shrimp. Just cook the shrimp with a little olive oil and two spoonfuls of the pesto and use that to top the pasta. Then mix the entire thing with more pesto for full herb flavor.

Use this basil pesto recipe to make one of the most popular dishes on this site – the pesto pizza pasta salad. I think a lot of its popularity comes from the alliteration in the name. But I also like to think it is because of how delicious the recipe is. And it uses pesto as a base. So read on for the recipe.

Simple Steps for Basil Pesto

The easiest way to make this basil pesto recipe is to use a food processor or blender. You can go all traditional and use a mortar and pestle if you’d like. But that just seems like too much effort for little reward. A pestle-made pesto will be chunkier than the super-smooth results from a food processor. A food processor is better simply because it is usually a much shallower bowl and you can get the pesto out easier. This isn’t a runny sauce, so it won’t pour out of the blender well.

With the food processor, you mostly just have to toss things in and pulse it until smooth. Just break it up into a few separate pulses to make it the best it can be. You honestly could probably toss it all into the food processor at the same time and give it a whirl. But it is better to at least add the olive oil later as a sort of emulsion while the processor is running.

The first pulse includes basil, pine nuts, and garlic together in the blender or food processor. Then add the parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper and blitz it again. This gives the base of the sauce and includes everything but the olive oil. You’ll get the best consistency out of your pesto by adding the olive oil in a drizzle while running the machine. Just slowly pour it in through the opening in the top.

There you have it, pesto ready to go.

Variations on the Basil Pesto Recipe

The greens don’t necessarily have to be basil, or 100% basil. Add some spinach into the mix, use some arugula, or toss in parsley. Technically any greens would really work in a pesto. But you have to consider the flavor that it will add. Go crazy and try a beet green or mint pesto.

Same thing goes for pine nuts. Especially since pine nuts can be quite pricey (though buying a bulk bag from Amazon or Costco helps out). Walnuts or almonds are most commonly substituted for pine nuts. The nuts don’t seem to make quite as big a difference as the greens in the final flavor of the dish. But, roasting the nuts can give a whole different depth to the final pesto.

Add some lemon juice to the mix at the same time as the parmesan cheese for a little acidic flavor and as a kind of preservative for the bright green color. I’ve had a few batches of homemade pesto quickly turn brown. So another way to preserve that color is to blanch the basil.

Prep a large bowl with ice water. Start boiling a pot of water. Put all the basil or greens you are using into a metal sieve or colander. Dunk the colander into the hot water for about 15 seconds so that all the basil is covered. Immediately remove the basil from the hot water and dunk it into the ice water so that it stops cooking. Then drain and dry the basil and use as directed in the recipe.

What to Pair with Pesto

The first and most obvious pairing for pesto is pasta. It is a match made in heaven. The pesto will cling to the pasta and flavor every nook and cranny. You can even try your hand at making homemade pasta. The fresh, delicate texture of homemade pasta works well with this bright, peppery sauce. Tortellini, gnocchi, elbows, Combine the prepared pesto with a bit of milk, cream, and/or half and half in a saucepan over medium heat to make a pesto cream sauce to toss over pasta.

Pesto also goes great as a spread when making sandwiches. On grilled cheese, a pesto chicken sandwich, or a steak sandwich. Even just spreading it out on some toast. Try splitting a loaf of french bread, spreading some pesto on it, topping it with cheese, and popping it under the broiler for about 5 minutes.

And you can’t forget about pizza. Use pesto as a pizza sauce and top it with your favorite toppings. Pine nuts, chicken, mozzarella, parmesan. Mmmm.

This basil pesto recipe can be used in countless dishes. Store it in the fridge, freeze it, or (most likely) use it immediately after preparing it.

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How to Make Basil Pine Nut Pesto

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: SauceDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Total time

10

minutes

Fresh, fragrant, and peppery basil lends a wallop of flavor in this basil pesto recipe with the perfect ratio to make a creamy, nutty sauce

Ingredients

• 2 cups basil, packed

• 4 cloves garlic

• 3/4 cup pine nuts

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions

• Put the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in the food processor or blender and pulse on high until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes
• Add the parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper and pulse until combined, 1 minute
• Start pulsing the blender and slowly pour in the olive oil until the pesto is smooth
• Scoop the pesto out of the food processor and use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer

Notes

• Pesto can be stored in the fridge for up to a week or the freezer for up to a month
• If storing the pesto for later use, pour olive oil over the top of the pesto to help keep it fresh

The post How to Make Basil Pine Nut Pesto appeared first on Do You Roux?.

Growing up, I did not really like pasta salad. I think it is mostly because I didn’t realize there was variety to it. In my mind, I pictured some bland pasta with black olives (bleh) and hardly any other fixings. Not so with this loaded pesto pasta salad recipe. Plus, I am a fan of alliteration so a pesto pizza pasta salad with pine nuts, pepperoni, and parmesan is just too good to pass up.

This pasta salad packs a punch of flavor. It is super easy to make and comes together in 20 minutes or less. Basically, cook the pasta, get all the ingredients out, and toss it all together until mixed. It is that simple. And you have a full side salad – or double the recipe and serve it as the main dish.

Inspired by pesto pizzas I have had in the past, this takes all of those great ingredients and tosses them with pasta. I haven’t yet made a pesto pizza recipe, but I do have a delicious white pizza recipe you can give a try if you crave pizza and not pasta.

The best part is there is no need for exactness. It is easily adaptable to your own needs or preferences. Cook as much pasta as you want. Add more or less of different ingredients. Include new ingredients in your own pasta salad, or even swap things out for other options entirely. I have a few options in the following section.

Options for Pesto Pasta Salad

Pesto – Though there are 10 ingredients in this recipe, I think the one that everything most hinges on is the pesto. A pesto pizza pasta salad can’t be good if the pesto is bad. You can make your own pesto. Which I love doing. But typically I make a basil-based pesto and it takes a lot of fresh basil. So I usually don’t do that until we’re in the full summer harvest with loads of basil available from the garden. But you can make pesto with different greens or with different nuts. Experiment and tell me how it goes!

There are also a lot of great store-bought options for pesto. Those won’t be quite as fresh, but can still be delicious. Especially paired with every other mix-in.

Pasta – A lot of other pasta shapes can be used. But it is important to think of how they will grab onto the pesto. Shapes with little nooks and crannies are helpful so that you don’t just have a bunch of pesto sitting in the bottom of the bowl. Bowties are another common pasta shape for pasta salads.

Cheeses – Fresh mozzarella and parmesan cheese are classic on pizza. However, you can add your favorite cheese to the mix.

Pine Nuts – I paired pine nuts with this recipe because they are the most common nut used in making pesto. But other options could work in this recipe like chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds.

You can also add in other ingredients like a squirt of fresh lemon juice, a cup of arugula, or sliced cherry tomatoes. Sub the pepperoni with salami or a different protein. As always, feel free to make it your own.

Pesto Pizza Pasta Salad Recipe

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: Salads, SidesDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Total time

20

minutes

A pesto pizza inspired pasta salad that is loaded with mozzarella, pepperoni, and pine nuts

Ingredients

• 3 cups dried rotini pasta

• 1 cup prepared pesto

• 3/4 cup small pepperoni

• 1/2 cup pine nuts

• 3/4 cup fresh mozzarella pearls or cubed mozzarella

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 8 large basil leaves

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• Cook the pasta according to package instructions
• Chiffonade the basil leaves, cutting them into thin strips
• Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl
• Stir everything together until thoroughly mixed

The post Pesto Pizza Pasta Salad Recipe appeared first on Do You Roux?.