Homemade Basil Pesto

This Make It Yourself Monday recipe is a delightfully easy Homemade Basil Pesto that is perfect for pasta, chicken, fish, roasted veggies and much more!

Make It Yourself Monday Series

This is the very first recipe in a new series called “Make It Yourself Monday”. Each month, I’ll be sharing an easy recipe for something that I typically purchase at the store but can easily be made at home.

I recently asked for suggestions on social media for recipes you guys either wanted to see in this series, or ideas of things you make at home that a lot of people typically purchase. So far the suggestions are awesome and include things like –

• hummus
• salad dressings (both vinaigrettes and ranch style dressings)
• tomato sauce
• salsa
• cashew cheese / queso
• nut milks
• coffee creamers

The goal of this series isn’t to make anyone feel bad about purchasing ready made items….far from it! They are a time saver in the kitchen and sometimes are just necessary. Since a big focus of the Mediterranean Diet is trying to eat as “real” of food as possible, this series is designed to help share easy recipes as well as highlight the importance of reading ingredient labels. For each recipe shared in the series, I also hope to share some store bought examples that are good compromises.

Store Bought Pesto

When you think of traditional pesto, the following ingredients typically come to mind: olive oil, basil, parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper and pine nuts. Pretty simple and straightforward.

I checked the ingredient label on some popular pesto jars on multiple large chain grocery stores (Trader Joes, Safeway, Luckys, Costco, Amazon) and found some surprising facts!

Many of the jarred pestos on the shelves did not contain olive oil. The ones that did contain olive oil also typically also contained additional oils as well, like soybean oil, canola oil, or sunflower oil.

A few of the store bought varieties of pesto even contained the following ingredients –

• Potatoes
• Dehydrated Potatoes
• Natural Flavor (not even sure what this is)
• Rennet – an enzyme produced in the stomach of animals that is used to curdle milk

Making Basil Pesto at Home

If you’ve never made pesto before, it’s pretty darn simple and the flavor is amazing!

This simple recipe contains just 5 ingredients (plus a bit of salt & pepper) –

• olive oil
• parmesan cheese
• basil
• garlic
• pine nuts

Everything, except the olive oil, gets placed in a food processor or blender, and pulsed together as the olive oil gets drizzled in slowly to create a thick, creamy pesto. No potatoes or curdling enzymes needed.

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Homemade Basil Pesto

This Make It Yourself Monday recipe is a delightfully easy Homemade Basil Pesto that is perfect for pasta, chicken, fish, roasted veggies and much more!

Course dip, dressing, sauce

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword basil, dip, dressing, make it yourself, pasta, pesto, sauce

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 2 cups

Author Brynn McDowell at The Domestic Dietitian

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic peeled and rough chop
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

• In a food processor or blender, add the basil, garlic, parmesan cheese and pine nuts. Pulse to finely chop all ingredients
• With the food processor running, slowly add in the olive oil until well combined, thick and creamy. You may not need to use all 2/3 cup of olive oil
• Season as needed with salt and pepper

Tips for Homemade Pesto

Here are a few tips for making the most of your homemade pesto –

1. Check the bulk bins at your local grocery store for pine nuts, that way you can just buy the amount you need instead of having to purchase a whole bag
2. Purchasing a whole block of parmesan cheese and then grating it yourself in typically less expensive than the pre-grated kind
3. You can freezer leftover pesto for later use. I like to put mine in an ice cube tray to freeze in individual portions. Drizzle the top with a little extra olive oil before freezing

Additional Pesto Related Recipes

• This Spring Pea and Walnut Pesto is a fun spin on the classic recipe
• If you need a new snack idea, this Quick & Healthy Afternoon Snack is my favorite and would be delicious with this pesto recipe

Pin for Later –