Let’s Create a Great Pesto!
Do you have basil growing in your garden? Have you ever made a great pesto? or have a great pesto recipe?
Basil has always resided in my herb garden…but, this was my first time creating a new pesto recipe.
AND…I’m in love with it.
So easy.
Can I tell you that every year, I pick up an amazing basil plant and add it to a planter on my deck and enjoy it with a Caprese salad or in my marinara or other recipes every summer? It’s great in my corn salad, or my cantaloupe salad.
You see…this basil plant came home with me from Trader Joe’s. A small container of basil that was so gorgeous, why not plant it, right?
It is huge! Really needs a larger planter…
Didn’t this need to be made into a great basil pesto recipe???
It was screaming for a haircut.
I had been pinching off the blooms to keep it producing, but it was time for a serious shear.
This truly was a simple venture. I played with the amounts of olive oil to add and whether to toast the pine nuts or not. Whether I wanted freshly grated parmesan and to add minced garlic or not was my next challenge.
Here’s the recipe that I came up with and we all agreed was the BEST!
A Great Summer Pesto
Equipment
- 1 food processor
- measuring spoons/cups
- ice cube trays, if freezing
Ingredients
- 3 C fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 C olive oil
- 1/3 C pine nuts toasting optional
- 1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1/2 t salt to taste
Instructions
- Cut fresh basil and remove leaves from stems and lightly pack to measure.
- If you are grating your own Parmesan, add the grater attachment to the food processor and grate your fresh Parmesan.
- Measure all ingredients.
- Mince garlic cloves.
- Add the chopping blade into the food processor.
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until all ingredients are blended well.
- If freezing, add to ice cube trays, and use within a few months.TIP: Silicone cubes are my favorite.
- Add to a jar to store in the refrigerator and use within a couple of days.
Notes
Nine cups of fresh basil came off of that plant and you can’t tell it!
Seriously.
This plant keeps on giving!
Off to the grocery to get more pine nuts to make more to add to the freezer.
Hope you enjoy this one.
So simple. Sooooo good!
As an Amazon, Walmart and LTK affiliate, at times I may provide affiliate links to products that may offer an easier way to find products that I mention or use. Same price for you, but beneficial to this blog and at times, may offer compensation if you use them to shop. See my disclosure policy here.
Just click on the photo to shop!
I’d love to know your favorite way or recipes to enjoy pesto…I have a lot to use up!
Happy cooking, friends!
15 Comments
Cindy Walker
What a healthy basil plant!!! This pesto looks yummy & I love a quick & easy recipe. Thank you!
Leslie J Watkins
My basil plants are STILL overflowing! I’ll be making more today! Hope you love it.
Carla Vinson
WOW, Leslie! I have never seen such a huge basil grown in a pot. Does it get full sun? What soil did you use? We love petsto and I will try out your recipe. I do like keeping icecube trays of pesto in the freezor for making a fast meal. I am currently out of pesto.
Leslie J Watkins
Can you believe it was a tiny Trader Joe’s plant? We just used a potting soil and it gets a good bit of sun in the middle of the day. It really needs to be replanted in a larger pot! Hope you love this recipe!
Dorothy Ensz
I’m so excited to get a pesto recipe I know I can trust. We used to get homemade pesto from a client, but he never passed his recipe on to me. Nothing I purchase ever matches that flavor. Thanks, Leslie.
Leslie J Watkins
Hope it comes close and you love it, Dorothy! Some recipes left out the garlic and others had too much oil for my liking…and then the dilemma of whether to toast the pine nuts or not. I do think grating your own Parmesan makes it wonderful.
Martha Wallace
That is a monster basil plant!!! Reminds me of your sage plant! I’m envious. The pesto sounds amazing! Love the stuff! Thanks !
Leslie J Watkins
Oh, goodness. It’s still overflowing! I’ll be making more this weekend.
Elizabeth@pineconesandacorns
That basil plant is AMAZING! You might need to have a tutorial on growing one that big! Love pesto! HAve you made it with walnuts? IT is yummy!
Leslie J Watkins
Isn’t that crazy? Just a Trader Joe’s tiny pot planted in potting soil and compost…I can’t even tell you how many cups have been harvested from this one. I’ll be buying one from them again next year! Great idea to try walnuts…thanks for the tip!
Joyce Arritt
I ordered one of the meals in a box and they added plain yogurt to the pesto and it made a great dip for veggies and crackers.
We also served Baggett bread and shrimp with it. It was really good dip.
Leslie J Watkins
Oh, thank you for sharing! what a great idea…can’t wait to try it!
Kim Waldorf
This looks amazing, friend! I have been looking for something else to do with our basil crop. Thanks so much for sharing!
Leslie J Watkins
Our basil is overflowing! This is a great way to enjoy…hope you love it! Thank you for sharing on the Mitten Moments!!
Pingback: