You will definitely want to make this amazing homemade pesto, thanks to this recipe that is so simple and delicious! Made with fresh herbs and pine nuts, you will want to make this all summer long!
Homemade Pesto
This Fresh Homemade Pesto has an amazing flavor combination featuring basil, parmesan, and pine nuts. I know some people use different nuts when making pesto because pine nuts are not the cheapest nut. If you must substitute the pine nuts — like for an allergy or something — you can use walnuts or cashews instead. But if you want that true authentic pesto flavor you have got to use the pine nuts! I got my pine nuts from the bins at Winco and they weren’t too expensive and totally worth it.
A Great Way to Use Your Own Herbs
I am especially proud of this batch of pesto because I made it with my own home grown basil from my little Italian herb garden! This was my first time growing herbs and I am absolutely loving it. It’s been much easier than I thought to take care of it. I have been using these fresh herbs in a lot of my cooking and the flavors are so much better than the dried stuff. We made our Rosemary Tri-Tip on Sunday with the fresh rosemary and it was awesome!
Here is a pic of when I first started my little garden and what it looks like now, just one month later. It’s growing like crazy! The funny thing is that I took this picture after I cut down my basil plants to make the pesto (which I used 2 cups of packed leaves), so you can just imagine how big the basil was before this picture! I have had success with thyme, basil, parsley, rosemary and oregano. If you decide to use your homegrown herbs in this, or any of our recipes, leave us a comment and let us know how it tastes!
More Delicious Pesto Recipes
We love pesto and use it in tons of our recipes! I love it spread on sourdough toast like the picture above but here are a few more recipes you need some delicious ideas:
Turkey Pesto Croissant Sandwiches
Grilled Pesto Pizzas
Gourmet Steak Sandwiches
Margherita Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Homemade Pesto Rolls
BAM Sammys
Stuffed Pesto Chicken
Pesto Potatoes
How To Make Homemade Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups basil leaves packed
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1/4 c. pine nuts
- 1/4 c. parmesan cheese
- 1/2 c. olive oil
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until mostly smooth.
- For sandwiches, we love pesto mayo (2 parts mayo to one part pesto)
- Pesto can be frozen for later use.
Equipment
- Food Processor
Gloria M. says
I’m growing lemon basil I can’t wait to try it with this recipe, Love adding it to pasta. Thanks for sharing.
Noelle says
Homemade pesto is the best sauce for pasta! Can’t wait to try this one out for dinner 🙂
Renee Goerger says
I adore growing fresh herbs in my yard, and I love making homemade pesto. Thanks for the recipe.
Carolyn D. says
Great looking herbs! I recognize the thyme, flat leaf parsley, basil, and rosemary in your planter, but could you identify the 2 herbs on the right side?
Emily says
I have Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Parsley and Rosemary.
How to Philosophize with Cake says
Looks great! I love a good pesto recipe. 🙂