Basil Pesto

Basil Pesto

4.6 of 5 (36)
member ratings
Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 20
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 63.9
  • Total Fat: 6.7 g
  • Cholesterol: 1.0 mg
  • Sodium: 23.5 mg
  • Total Carbs: 0.5 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 0.2 g
  • Protein: 0.8 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Basil Pesto calories by ingredient


Introduction

Great on Pasta Great on Pasta
Number of Servings: 20

Ingredients

    2 c Fresh Basil Leaves, packed
    1/2 c Olive Oil
    1/4 c Grated Parmesan Cheese
    3 T Pine Nuts
    3 Garlic Cloves, finely minced

Directions

Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped (do about 3/4 c at a time). Add about 1/3 of the nuts and garlic, blend again. Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan Cheese; blend while slowly adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, stopping to scrape down the sides of container. Process basil pesto it forms a thick smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used, mix all batches together well. Serve over pasta. Basil pesto keeps in refrigerator one week, or freeze for a few months. Serving size 1/2 T.

Number of Servings: 20

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user BUTTERFLY1945.

Member Ratings For This Recipe


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    8 of 8 people found this review helpful
    tasty, but I didn't find the 1/2 T serving size to be realistic. - 6/26/09


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    Incredible!
    4 of 4 people found this review helpful
    nice traditional recipe... one hint if using pine nuts. roast them in the oven for about 10 min or in a skillet for a few minutes to add really great flavor.(hint from a true Italian.) - 8/19/13


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    Very Good
    4 of 4 people found this review helpful
    I LOVE pesto sauce! I generally take a few spoonfuls and toss the pasta. The pesto is not supposed to be a sauce but rather a coating on the pasta, in case some people aren't familiar with it. I use walnuts too - much cheaper than pine nuts! - 5/18/11


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    Incredible!
    4 of 4 people found this review helpful
    I used walnuts instead (simply because that's what I had). Pesto is amazing! I cut french bread thinnly, put a tablespoon on each peice and toast it in the toaster oven. Super yummy! - 8/6/10


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    Very Good
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    great on pita bread with goat cheese and cherry tomatoes - 11/19/11


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    Incredible!
    2 of 5 people found this review helpful
    Very Good. - 6/20/09


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    Very Good
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Excellent though I used alittle less olive oil and added a pinch of salt. Left it to meld for 24 hours in the fridge. Will definitely make this again as I grew an over abundance of basil! - 7/27/15


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    Incredible!
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Loved this! I intially had looked at another recipe site and bought pine nuts though I wish I had seen the comments sooner and used walnuts as pinenuts were expensive and my friend used to use walnuts all the time. I used fresh basil from my garden, yum! I'm having this on some eggs tomorrow a.m. - 9/28/12


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    Very Good
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Works well as a topping on seafood steaks or fillets, like salmon, marlin, or tuna. - 8/15/12


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    Good
    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I prefer w/o cheese - 6/4/11


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    Incredible!
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Grilling asparagus and adding it to the food processor gives a different, but equally delicious, taste. It also adds another vegetable to your daily count. - 4/10/11


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    Incredible!
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    I agree with the low serving size, but other than that it was wonderful... This time I did add a little bit of hot sauce for a bit of a zing. I used it instead of mayonnaise on a chicken sandwich. Very tasty! - 8/15/10


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    Incredible!
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Quick, easy and yummmm. - 3/14/09


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    This pesto is delicious!!! - 12/18/20


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    Incredible!
    Delicious - 8/8/20


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    Very Good
    I used purple basil, which I found had a slightly bitter flavour. To mask it, I added an extra .25 c parmesan and 1 tbsp pine nuts. - 7/11/20


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    Love pesto but I don't like cooking 😑 - 6/30/17


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    Incredible!
    Love love love this recipe. Easy to make and so awesome. Keto and Paleo friendly! - 6/12/17


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    Incredible!
    This is my new favorite flavor! I use a little on wraps or chicken! YUMMMM! - 7/29/15


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    Incredible!
    awesome! i used walnuts because that's what i had. and i have fresh basil growing. i will definitely do this again! - 10/8/13


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    Very Good
    Great recipe, simple, although I have a hard time with the 1/2 Tbsp serving size. I tend to use more than that. - 8/4/13


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    Incredible!
    Awesome! I left out the parmesan but it was delicious! Thanks for the simple recipe! I had to agree though, the serving size isn't realistic, I didn't measure but I definitely used more than suggested. - 5/18/11


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    Very Good
    This recipe was a little complex for a beginner like me. I used 1 cup of basil and adjusted the recipe accordingly. Plus I made it with walnuts. Everything but the parmesan blended together nicely. The pesto was a little chewy on its own, but it was quite tasty on top of pasta. - 5/16/11


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    Incredible!
    great recipe - 1/10/11


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    Incredible!
    Great!! - 9/20/10


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    Incredible!
    This is the best pesto recipe I have found. Half a tablespoon I think is a reasonable serving for 1 cup of pasta. - 9/11/10


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    My basil is flourishing and I have the other ingredients in my pantry so I'm making this today. I cannot imagine that it makes 20 servings though! - 8/22/10


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    Very Good
    I made this with pasta it was really good. Next time I'll try on chicken. - 8/11/10


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    could you use broth for part of the oil and almonds for the pine nuts? - 7/24/10


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    Incredible!
    the classic.....it doesn't get better than this! - 4/30/10


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    I'm wondering if I could substitute pine nuts with Macadamia nuts. I'm from Hawai'i and pine nuts are limited. It sounds good and might try it for good friday!!!!!!!!!!! - 3/28/10


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    Incredible!
    I think on a cup of pasta, which is a normal serving, 1/2 T is fine. If I wanted to splurge I would use a whole tablespoon. Great! - 1/16/10


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    Incredible!
    Loved it! Having this broken down into small servings is great. It allowed me to use how much or little I wanted. - 12/10/09


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    Incredible!
    i tried it with chicken rap, so good. thank you - 7/13/09


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    Very Good
    I made this as a sauce for my pasta with chicken. I will definitely make it again. - 7/5/09


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    Very Good
    The recipe itself was wonderful -- we ate it over pasta. But there is no way that this makes 20 reasonably-sized servings, so calculate your calories accordingly. - 7/2/09


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    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
    I love pesto sauce. Thank you for calculating this for me. - 6/14/09