Pesto Recipe: How to Make Pesto Sauce From Scratch?

I love fresh basil and pesto pasta is one of my favorite dishes. Fresh basil has a delightful pungent aroma and an incredible flavor that is a cross between licorice and cloves.

Fresh pesto sauce is easy to make and a addition to pasta dishes, vegetable noodles, or as a veggie dip. Why not expand on this recipe a bit and transform with different greens and nuts combinations. Try to experiment with a various ingredients to find your personal favorites.

The traditional way of making pesto is with a mortar and pestle. As much as I enjoy trying traditional methods, I usually just reach for my Vitamix and blend the sauce in a matter of minutes. If you don’t have a Vitamix, use a regular blender or food processor.

The sauce should keep for 2 – 3 days in the fridge but freezes well if you want to keep it longer. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to use it.

Basic Pesto Sauce Recipe

1 bunch of fresh basil leaves (bunch could be as big or as little as you like)

1 cup of pine nuts

4-5 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients in food processor until thoroughly mixed. Do not over-process – it should have a nice chunky texture. Serve like you would any pesto, with pasta, veggies, etc.

Variations

1. Substitute all or part of basil with other greens, such as parsley, dandelion, arugula, watercress, kale, spinach, cilantro to give the recipe a unique flavor.

2. Substitute pine nuts with walnuts, almonds, basil nuts, etc.

3. For a creamy pesto sauce, add 2 avocados.

4. Toss in some sunflower or pumpkin seeds for more nutrition.

5. The basic recipe is dairy-free (vegan), but feel free to add some Parmesan cheese if you’d like.

 

Pesto Sauce Recipe


For all my blending recipes I use Vitamix. If you don’t already own a VitaMix, I strongly encourage you to check out what this machine is capable of! For more information about VitaMix you can go directly to the VitaMix website. You may also want to read my post about the Best Blender.

I LOVE my VitaMix and highly recommend investing in one if you are ready to make serious changes to your diet. I have had mine for almost 5 years and use it daily!

If you decide to purchase Vitamix – be sure to use Promotional Code 06-004554 to get free shipping.


Pesto Sauce

How to Make Pesto Sauce: Don't be limited by traditional ingredients!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

If you have a favorite recipe, why not submit it here in the comment section of this smoothie recipes blog for others to enjoy too!

I also welcome any comments, questions and suggestions. Thanks!