Homemade Pesto Sauce | Basil Pesto Recipe

My homemade Pesto Sauce is delicious, creamy, and is perfect with a bowl of pasta. I’ll walk you through both the Vegan and non-Vegan versions of this green goodness. It will be ready in under 5 minutes and keeps well in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Pesto is hands down my favorite pasta sauce. I prefer the fresh flavor of Basil over the tangy tomato sauce. I would always pick a pesto sauce based pasta at Italian restaurants. A blend of alfredo and pesto is my cheese loving husband’s favorite. When we went on a holiday to England, we had the best Linguine al Pesto at a restaurant in Bath. It blew our minds, and we kept returning to that restaurant for dinner for the duration of our stay there. It was that good! I’ve been experimenting to re-create the flavor of pesto from that restaurant, and I nailed it after a lot of tries.

I make my homemade Pesto sauce almost every week along with my toddler. He enjoys being my little helper and knows the recipe and steps by heart! He absolutely loves it with his chickpea pasta. I alternatively make it with spinach instead of basil and different nuts. He loves all the variations while I grin secretly in succeeding to get him to eat his greens.

Last weekend when I visited the summer Farmer’s Market, I could smell Basil when I walked past a humble vendor and I stopped immediately. I knew I had to buy a bunch and make a Pesto sauce immediately. As expected, it turned out amazing full of flavor and tasted like summer!

Check out other dip recipes from my blog

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Spicy Guacamole

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This homemade Pesto sauce

• Is very healthy
• Can be made vegan
• Tastes refreshing
• Is easily customizable
• Is great with pasta, sandwiches or as a dip

Ingredients for my homemade Pesto Sauce

Basil

Fresh basil will elevate the flavor of your pesto. While picking basil, make sure the leaves are lush green and not brown. You should be able to smell them from as you walk past a bunch of fresh basil. You can also use baby spinach to make it a spinach pesto.

Pine nuts

Pine nuts render the characteristic nutty flavor to pesto. You can replace it with walnuts for a similar taste. However, I do recommend you to use pine nuts just once to know what an impact it creates on the flavor profile.

Garlic

You can use fresh or roasted garlic. Make sure the roasted garlic cools down before adding it to the basil leaves. If not, the basil leaves will wilt and darken immediately giving your pesto a dark green color.

Parmesan cheese

Parmesan is one of the key ingredients and I would highly recommend using the traditional Parmigiano Reggiano for the authentic taste. You can replace it with nutritional yeast to make it vegan.

Olive oil

Olive oil is an essential ingredient in almost all Italian dishes. It keeps your pesto green and extends the shelf life. Use good quality extra virgin olive oil for the best results.

Lemon juice

This is one of the key ingredients in bringing out the flavor of basil. Lemon and basil pair beautifully. Adjust it depending on how tart you want your pesto to be.

Black Pepper

Black pepper is used to add mild heat to the pesto. Don’t add more than the mentioned quantity. Pesto is not supposed to be spicy.

Step by step method to make my homemade Pesto Sauce

How to wash Basil before making Pesto?

Wash the basil leaves thoroughly in water, making sure not to squish them too much. Drain them in a towel and pat them dry. Removing all the moisture will extend the shelf life of your homemade pesto. If you are going to use it the same day, you can use wet basil leaves without drying them.

How to roast garlic cloves for this homemade Pesto?

Roast garlic cloves in a little olive oil till they brown a little. Alternatively, you can oven roast garlic at 375 F (190 C) wrapped in a foil for 30 minutes. Let the garlic cool down completely. If you add hot garlic to the basil leaves, they will wilt and darken immediately giving your pesto a dark green hue.

In a blender or a food processor add the washed basil leaves, pine nuts, and roasted garlic.

Give it a quick pulse for 30 seconds or so. We are doing this to just blitz the basil leaves and pine nuts.

Now, add the grated parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and squeeze in some lemon juice. Blend it for another 30-40 seconds.

If you are using a food processor, you can add olive oil slowly as the rest of the contents are getting blended. If not, add the olive oil and blend it one last time until it’s fairly smooth.

 I like to see the tiny bits of basil leaves in my pesto. Make the paste fine or coarse depending on how you enjoy your pesto. Serve it with freshly cooked pasta or use a spread on sandwiches.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to store this Homemade Pesto sauce?

You can store the leftovers in the fridge for 3-5 days. If you store it for any longer, the Basil will start to darken and oxidize.

How to make this Homemade Pesto sauce Vegan?

To make this Basil Pesto Vegan replace the parmesan cheese with 1/4th cup of Nutritional yeast powder.

What is a good substitute for Pine nuts in Pesto?

Walnuts are a great substitute for Pine nuts in Pesto. They taste very similar and are much cheaper than Pine nuts.