5-Ingredient Pesto
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Making pesto at home is easier than you think. The flavor of our Homemade Pesto Recipe far outmatches the store bought version. Use our tips to double batch this recipe and freeze pesto for later too!
What is in Pesto?
Pesto is a popular Italian sauce made primarily from fresh basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil. The ingredients are typically crushed or blended together to create a smooth, vibrant green sauce.
Store Bought vs. Homemade Pesto
Friends, there just isn’t even a comparison. Homemade Pesto is just SO much tastier than store-bought pesto. The canned pesto from the store is more oily and lacks the fresh taste of basil that just can’t be replicated.
If you must buy it from the store, we recommending getting refrigerated pesto if possible.
Pro Tips for Making Fresh Pesto
- The pesto will be as good as your ingredients. Quality fresh basil, and freshly grated cheese will do wonders for the flavor.
- A food processor is a must. I have never tried it in a blender but I don’t think it has enough liquid to work in one of those. A food processor is necessary to get the texture you’ll want.
- You can double the recipe in the food processor. If you have enough ingredients, save yourself some time and double the recipe. Freeze the pesto that you don’t use!
- Silicone muffin cups work great to freeze the pesto in. Just pop it out after it’s frozen and store in a freezer bag.
How to Freeze Pesto
Because of the superiority of fresh pesto, I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE advocate of making tons of fresh pesto when basil is in season and freezing it to use all year long. We have an entire post and video on How to Freeze Pesto but I will give you a quick rundown here as well.
- Make your fresh pesto.
- Divide your fresh pesto into small portions.
- Drizzle a little olive oil over the pesto to prevent discoloration.
- Flash freeze the pesto until it is solid enough to put in a storage container. Use it all year long!
Recipes that Use Pesto
Now that you have a delicious batch of pesto, here are some great ideas on how to use it. Yum!
FAQs
Homemade pesto can typically be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. It’s best to cover the surface of the pesto with a thin layer of olive oil to help preserve its vibrant green color.
Yes! Divide your fresh pesto into small portions. Drizzle a little olive oil over the pesto to prevent discoloration.Flash freeze the pesto until it is solid enough to put in a storage container. Use it all year long.
Generally, homemade pesto is gluten-free as long as the ingredients you use are gluten-free. However, it’s essential to check labels, especially for ingredients like Parmesan cheese and nuts, as some brands may process these items in facilities that also process gluten-containing products.
Yes, you can substitute the pine nuts. Feel free to experiment with these alternatives and adjust the quantities to suit your taste preferences.
Walnuts: Walnuts have a rich, slightly bitter flavor that complements the other ingredients in pesto. They are readily available and often more affordable than pine nuts.
Almonds: Almonds add a slightly sweet and nutty flavor to pesto. You can use either raw almonds or lightly toasted almonds for a more intense flavor.
Cashews: Cashews have a creamy texture and a mild, buttery flavor that works well in pesto. They can help create a smoother, creamier sauce.
More Homemade Sauces You’ll Love
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5 Ingredient Pesto
Try your hand at homemade pesto with just a few ingredients. The robust flavor will wow your most-favorite dishes!
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/4 cup pine nuts (sub: walnuts)
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
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Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the basil, garlic, pine nuts, and cheese and pulse until coarsely chopped.
- Add 1/2 cup of olive oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Freezer Meal Instructions:
To Freeze:
Blend the pesto sauce as directed. Once fully incorporated, you can add small amounts of pesto to ice cube trays. Put in freezer until solid. Then dump ice cubes out into freezer-safe ziplock bags. Store in freezer for up to 6 months. You can also store larger quantities of pesto in glass jars.
To Prepare:
Remove desired amount of pesto from freezer. Let thaw in refrigerator overnight or on the countertop. Use as needed.
Notes/Tips
- Prep Time Note: The prep time in this recipe doesn’t include the time it takes to harvest, rinse, and dry the basil, if you’re harvesting your own. When you buy it from the store, this is already done for you.
- Harvesting Basil: Be sure to harvest basil leaves before the plant begins to flower. Once they get to this stage, the basil gets bitter. It’s best to cut back your plant regularly (and make pesto regularly!).
- Reader Tip: One reader mentioned that she toasts her pine nuts and roasts the garlic to add more flavor.
So easy & so delicious! This will be my go to pesto recipe. I halved it (I didn’t have enough ingredients in the house for the full batch) & it worked perfectly. I made it to use in the pesto chicken pizza recipe from the first Thriving Home cookbook. Wow, it was good! A great change from the usual tomato based pizza. Highly recommend both recipes.
Thanks so much for the kind words about both recipes! Glad you enjoyed them. And thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
The best and easiest pesto recipe ever! I toasted the pine nuts first just a bit to intensify their flavor and used freshly grated Parmesan cheese rather than pre shredded.
Hi Susan. Thanks for leaving a review and the tips on toasting the pine nuts and using fresh Parmesan.
The recipe works well and will probably be delicious. My issue is you have prep time as 5 minutes. Our experience is it takes much longer to prep a batch – we harvested the basil, destemmed the leaves, sorted the leaves, washed the leaves, dried the leaves, roasted garlic, toasted nuts, grated the cheese and measure the oil. We harvested a little over 8 cups of leaves and made 2 double batches. From start to finish, it took about 3 hours and we still have to cleanup lots of oily items.
Thank you for the feedback, Barbara. Our 5 minute prep time was is based on the time it takes to add the ingredients to the food processor and stream in the oil. (Our recipe doesn’t say to toast the garlic or pine nuts, but sounds delicious!) I think it will be helpful to add in a note about the time it takes to harvest/wash/dry the basil somewhere in the article, though. Thanks again.
I love homemade pesto!! We have to make ours tree-nut free (serious allergies at our house) but sunflower seeds can be subbed in and work great.
I have kiddos with different food allergies but I have been able to sub raw sunflower seeds for the pine nuts and some nutritional yeast flakes for the Parmesan. Works like a charm and keeps everyone safe at my table.
I can’t have pine nuts or walnuts. Do you have suggestions for any other substitutions?
Have you ever tried canning pesto? I have a ton of basil and was wondering if it would turn out.