Simple Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto
Posted on October 11, 2017
A beautifully fresh, herby pesto that is easy to make in your blender in just 5 minutes. This Simple Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto is bursting with flavour and healthy goodness, and it’s made with almonds instead of pine nuts. You can’t beat the freshness of homemade sauces and dressings! They’re the very best!
Basil pesto can be used in a number of scrumptious ways:
- It’s delicious with pasta, check out my Green Goddess Pesto Pasta Salad
- You can spread it on french bread as you would with a garlic loaf, then bake in the oven until the bread has warmed through. Amazing!
- Stir it into a homemade salad dressing
- Spread it on sandwiches, wraps or flatbreads before adding the other fillings
All incredibly delicious ways to eat Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto!
You might also like these recipes – The Best Herby Avocado & Yoghurt Pesto Sauce, my Chicken Pasta With Avocado Pesto Sauce, my Roasted Butternut Cous Cous Salad With Pesto Dressing and my Roasted Red Pepper Garlic Pasta Sauce.
I know what you’re thinking, is it really worth making homemade pesto when it’s just so easy to buy it in a jar? I would have to say, YES! It’s totally worth the few extra groceries and the 5 full minutes it takes to throw everything into a blender and whizz up to fresh basil pesto perfection. PLUS it keeps in the fridge in an air tight container for up to a week.
You just can’t beat the goodness and flavour of freshly made pesto, like all things, the fresher the better! For your taste buds and for your body.
Another bonus: You can freeze this Simple Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto in glass jars or plastic containers for up to 9 – 12 months. So if you feel like making a big batch that will last you for months, go for it friend! I could do with a year’s supply of basil pesto sitting in my freezer to delve into whenever I feel like it.
Sounds like a plan to me!
As I mentioned above, this pesto is made without pine nuts, I used almonds instead, so if you have a pine nut allergy, this pesto is the answer to all your woes. I find the almonds make the pesto a bit less rich, but still add a nutty flavour and I don’t even mind if there are a few crunchy almond bits that the blender didn’t quite get to, it adds a bit of texture and interest.
If you prefer a completely smooth pesto, just keep on pulsing until those pesky nuts are blitzed!
This is how to make Simple Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto – There’s nothing to it
- Place the fresh basil leaves, garlic, parmesan, almonds, salt and pepper in the blender and pulse until almost smooth
- Then pour the olive oil in slowly, continuing to pulse the mixture until it comes together
This recipe couldn’t be simpler.
You can make this pesto with pine nuts if you prefer, I would recommend that you lightly toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until they are only slightly golden, (don’t be tempted to toast them any more or it will change their flavour) before adding them to the blender with the other ingredients.
Play around and have fun with this recipe, I hope you love this Simple Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto! Do you have a favourite pesto recipe you would like to share with us? Post it in the comments, I’d love to see!!
A delicious, fresh and herby basil pesto made from healthy ingredients in 5 minutes. Just blend everything up, serve with pasta, on sandwiches, flatbreads, wraps…the list is endless!
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup almonds
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
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Place all ingredients except the olive oil in a blender and pulse until almost smooth. Now pour the olive oil in slowly, continuing to pulse the mixture until it comes together.
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Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Pesto is traditionally made with pine nuts - feel free to use them, I like the almonds for something different!
If you use pine nuts, I recommend that you lightly toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until they are only slightly golden, (don’t be tempted to toast them any more or it will change their flavour) before adding them to the blender with the other ingredients.
