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Home Recipes Sauces and Condiments

Best Pesto Recipe – Easy & Homemade

best pesto recipe featured image
Posted on May 31, 2019 By Lara
Jump to RecipePrint Recipe

Best Pesto Recipe – Easy and Homemade Pesto Recipe that will transform any dish. Made with fresh herbs like basil, parsley and cilantro. Keep on reading and we’ll tell you how to make pesto!

best pesto recipe - Easy and Homemade

Best Pesto Recipe 

This homemade pesto recipe is insanely easy to make! It’s delicious and the best way to transform a boring dish! Pesto goes great with chicken, on keto pizza, zoodles, and even top a salad!

On a non-traditional note – we also love to use this homemade pesto sauce as a dip! We sometimes whip up a batch of homemade parmesan cheese crisps and dip them in the pesto sauce!

best pesto recipe - Easy and Homemade pesto with homemade parmesan cheese crisps

In This Article

Toggle
  • What is pesto?
  • Pesto Ingredients
  • How to make pesto
  • How do you make good pesto?
  • What is the best pesto sauce in a jar?
  • If you like this pesto sauce recipe, check out these other low carb sauces and dressings
  • Best Pesto Recipe

What is pesto?

Pesto is a sauce that was first made in Genoa, Italy. Traditionally pesto is made with fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese.

In authentic fashion, the pesto should be crushed with a mortar and pestle. But nowadays most recipes online say to blend it. If we break down the term “pesto,” it actually means “to crush” in the Genoese dialect. 

best pesto recipe - Easy and Homemade

Pesto Ingredients

What’s in pesto? There are so many ways to make pesto. Some include only basil, others only cilantro. And others include a combination of herbs. There are even nut free pesto recipes and dairy free pesto recipes!

  • Fresh basil
  • Fresh cilantro
  • Fresh parsley
  • Garlic
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Pine nuts
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Salt

How to make pesto

Making pesto is so easy! You’ll never by store-bought again!

First you need to grab a blender or food processor. Then add the basil, parsley, cilantro, garlic, and olive oil to the blender or food processor.

Next you’ll need to blend and pulse until it forms a chunky paste. After that, add the pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and salt and process until smooth (or leave a little texture if you prefer).

Finally serve, or store in a glass container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Freezing pesto is an option too if you don’t use it all up. Simply pour leftovers into an ice cube tray and
freeze for up to 3 months.

Pesto Calories – our pesto recipe contains 81 calories per tablespoon.

best pesto recipe - Easy and Homemade

How do you make good pesto?

We believe that a pesto sauce must most importantly be made with FRESH HERBS! It doesn’t have to be isolated to 1 herb (we use a combo of 3!). You can swap out the pine nuts for another nut like walnuts or pecans and you can swap the parmesan cheese for any other hard cheese.

What is the best pesto sauce in a jar?

If you don’t have time to make a homemade pesto recipe, simply pick up one of these at Walmart, Publix, Trader Joe’s, WholeFoods or Amazon.

  • Blue Moose Basil Pesto
  • Giusto Basil Pesto
  • Classico Basil Pesto
  • ROI Imported Italian Ligurian Pesto Sauce
  • Alessi Pesto
  • Filippo Classic Pesto

best pesto recipe - Easy and Homemade

If you like this pesto sauce recipe, check out these other low carb sauces and dressings

  • Easy Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing
  • Keto BBQ Sauce
  • Low Carb Alfredo
  • Rosemary Cream Sauce

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best pesto recipe - Easy and Homemade

Best Pesto Recipe

Best Pesto Recipe - Easy and Homemade Pesto Recipe that will transform any dish. Made with fresh herbs like basil, parsley and cilantro. Keep on reading and we'll tell you how to make pesto!
Author: Faith
Servings: 16 tablespoons
Calories: 81
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 0 minutes mins
Print Pin Rate

What You'll Need

  • blender

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups basil, parsely, and cilantro very tightly packed basil
  • 1 large clove garlic peeled
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted and cooled
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese freshly-grated
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Add the herbs, garlic, and olive oil to a blender and pulse until it forms a chunky paste.
  • Add the pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and salt and process until smooth (or leave a little texture if
  • you prefer).
  • Serve, or store in a glass container in the fridge for up to 2 days or pour into an ice cube tray and
  • freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Facts
Best Pesto Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 81 Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 43mg2%
Potassium 19mg1%
Carbohydrates 1g0%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 130IU3%
Vitamin C 0.5mg1%
Calcium 22mg2%
Iron 0.2mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Dressing
Cuisine: American
Keyword: basil, cilantro, parsley, pesto, sauce
Tried this recipe?Mention @TheRealKetoQueens or tag #TheKetoQueens!

I want to start keto!

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  4. Put together your keto meal plan. Go with recipes you love, and try some new things too.
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  6. Grocery shop. Cook. Enjoy. And reap the benefits of keto.

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Hi! I'm Faith.

Hello! Whether you’re a keto newbie, already keto-adapted, or just keto-curious, you’re in the right place. Here at The Keto Queens, we share keto lifestyle tips, informative tidbits, and of course tasty low carb and keto recipes that your whole family will love. We want to inspire you, and show you that you can do this! Welcome to the family.

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