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Easy Pesto Recipe

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.

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

Ingredients

  • 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

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Toast the pine nuts in a small, ungreased pan on the stove until they begin to get some brown color.
  2. 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

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

% 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%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.