Pesto Sauce (simple and delicious!)

/ Recipe

Pesto is such a versatile sauce and you can really use this recipe for a lot of different things! My favorite use case is with pasta, but some other ideas are to use it as a sauce to pour over grilled chicken (or as a marinade), spread it on toast with some cheesy eggs for a good lunch or light dinner, or mix up a lasagna night with pesto instead of red sauce!

Highlights

⏱ Prep Time: 10 minutes

🍳 Cook Time: 0

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Serves: 4

🧊 Make Ahead? – Yes

❄ Freezer Friendly? – Yes

🌱 Substitutions? – Yes, you can easily swap out pine nuts for almost any other nut (e.g., cashews, walnuts etc.). You can also omit the garlic entirely.

Ingredients List

  • 1/3 cup pine nuts (or other nut of choice)
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 3/4 cup fresh basil
  • 1/2 cup olive oil (plus additional as needed)
  • 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
This recipe contributes 5 items to your weekly list plus 4 pantry staples.

Recipe: Pesto Sauce (simple and delicious!)

  1. Heat your nuts on the stovetop in a small pan for ~3 minutes until lightly browned (make sure to monitor and toss frequently as you do not want the nuts to burn!). Set aside. If you are making pasta, get the water going and follow cooking instructions.
  2. In a food processor or blender add the spinach, basil, half the olive oil, garlic, and parmesan cheese. Alternate a pulse and chop for about 30 seconds.
  3. Add the nuts, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and rest of the olive oil. Pulse and chop until smooth. You may need to add additional olive oil to achieve the right consistency (note, if you are planning to serve with pasta, preserve a few tablespoons of pasta water as this will also help to create a more creamy texture). Enjoy!

Family Tips

  • Pesto is a great way to include a vegetable element to the meal and you can get really creative. If you don’t have spinach you can also substitute in carrot tops (which is an awesome way to use the whole carrot!) I have also used peas before as an alternative. Just make sure carrot tops and peas are really blitzed or the texture won’t be smooth.
  • You can make this sauce ahead of time and keep it wrapped in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. When ready for use you may need to add a few teaspoons of water or olive oil or pasta water to loosen it up. Just stir and it will get back to a regular consistency.
  • You can also swap out the nuts here for what is available – the goal is simplicity! Pine nuts are best, but if you prefer or only have walnuts, cashews or something else – go for it! 
  • To freeze any remaining pesto, spoon it into an ice cube tray, top with a very thin layer of olive oil to prevent oxidation, and freeze until solid. Then, transfer pesto cubes to an airtight freezer bag (e.g., ziploc) and store up to 6 months. When ready for use you can thaw overnight in the fridge and then toss on top of hot pasta to finish the job!