Easy Pesto Recipe

Name: Easy Pesto Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 1 cup
Ingredients: 2 cups fresh basil; ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese; Juice of ½ lemon; 1 tsp garlic; ½ tsp salt; ¼ cup olive oil; ½ cup pine nuts

User Reviews

5.0

3 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
10 mins
Servings
1 cup
Calories
1045 kcal
Course
Main Course, Condiments
Cuisine
Italian

Easy Pesto Recipe

Dominic Levy

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You are going to love this fresh, simple, and flavorful 6 ingredient recipe! Serve it with pasta, chicken, or on pizza for a delicious dinner.

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Ingredients

Servings

2 cups fresh basil densely packed
¼ cup Parmesan Cheese grated
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp garlic
½ tsp salt
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup pine nuts

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Instructions

Toast the pine nuts in a small, ungreased pan on the stove until they begin to get some brown color.
Add all ingredients (including pine nuts) into a blender and blend. Add more olive oil incrementally if the pesto needs to be thinner.

Notes

Recipe copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational or personal use only.
Use fresh basil leaves for this recipe.
Use fresh, high quality grated parmesan cheese. The cheese should be grated so finely that it looks like snow.
I like using a freshly juiced lemon.
Use unroasted, unsalted pine nuts for this recipe. If you want to skip the roasting step in the instructions, you can buy them roasted, but still make sure they are unsalted.
If you want smaller portions of frozen pesto, you can freeze the pesto in ice cube trays and then transfer the cubes to a plastic bag. This is great to pull out when you are making eggs or need a single serving of pesto for pasta.
During the time of its invention, Giovanni Battista Ratto suggested that when basil wasn’t available, it was possible to make Basil Pesto Sauce WITHOUT basil! He suggests using a mixture of marjoram and parsley. I have never tried this method, but if you do, D’d love to hear what you think!
Traditionally pesto is prepared with a mortar and pestle, but I find the blender to be much simpler.
Basil: Use fresh basil leaves for this recipe.
Parmesan Cheese: Use fresh, high quality grated parmesan cheese. The cheese should be grated so finely that it looks like snow.
Lemon Juice: I like using a freshly juiced lemon.
Pine Nuts: Use unroasted, unsalted pine nuts for this recipe. If you want to skip the roasting step in the instructions, you can buy them roasted, but still make sure they are unsalted.
If you want smaller portions of frozen pesto, you can freeze the pesto in ice cube trays and then transfer the cubes to a plastic bag. This is great to pull out when you are making eggs or need a single serving of pesto for pasta.
During the time of its invention, Giovanni Battista Ratto suggested that when basil wasn’t available, it was possible to make Basil Pesto Sauce WITHOUT basil! He suggests using a mixture of marjoram and parsley. I have never tried this method, but if you do, D’d love to hear what you think!
Traditionally pesto is prepared with a mortar and pestle, but I find the blender to be much simpler.

Nutrition Information

Show Details

Serving 1recipe Calories 1045kcal (52%) Carbohydrates 12g (4%) Protein 20g (40%) Fat 107g (165%) Saturated Fat 15g (75%) Polyunsaturated Fat 29g Monounsaturated Fat 54g Cholesterol 17mg (6%) Sodium 1568mg (65%) Potassium 580mg (17%) Fiber 3g (12%) Sugar 3g (6%) Vitamin A 2747IU (55%) Vitamin C 10mg (11%) Calcium 398mg (40%) Iron 6mg (33%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1cup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 1045 kcal

% Daily Value*

Serving	1recipe
Calories	1045kcal	52%
Carbohydrates	12g	4%
Protein	20g	40%
Fat	107g	165%
Saturated Fat	15g	75%
Polyunsaturated Fat	29g	171%
Monounsaturated Fat	54g	270%
Cholesterol	17mg	6%
Sodium	1568mg	65%
Potassium	580mg	12%
Fiber	3g	12%
Sugar	3g	6%
Vitamin A	2747IU	55%
Vitamin C	10mg	11%
Calcium	398mg	40%
Iron	6mg	33%