Pesto Sauce is so easy to make and homemade pesto tastes way better than storebought. This Basil Pesto recipe is fantastic with pasta, chicken, or sandwiches.
Prep time: PT10M
Total time: PT10M
Rating
4.92 stars (217 reviews)
Keywords
basil pesto, italian pesto, pesto recipe
Ingredients
2 cups fresh basil leaves (tightly packed*)
3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts (*)
2 garlic cloves ((large))
1/4 cup lemon juice ((juice of 2 small lemons))
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp black pepper
Categories
Condiments
Cuisine
Italian
Steps
Wash and dry the basil leaves - you can use a salad spinner to make this step easier.
Place basil into a food processor. Add parmesan cheese, nuts, garlic cloves, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth.
Season with more salt to taste if desired.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 205 kcal
Carbohydrates: 2 g
Protein: 3 g
Fat: 21 g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 8 mg
Sodium: 290 mg
Sugar: 1 g
Reviews
Courtney on 2026-05-12 (5 stars): Perfection! I have been over growing basil and needed something to do with it. The measurements are perfect (I didn't even have to adjust S&P). I switched out olive oil for avocado because it's what I had today - yummy! Thank you for creating something so easy and fabulous! Will 100% make again.
Barbara on 2026-04-24 (5 stars): I have made this many many times. I grow my basil and have found what worked for me is, I find that if you add the garlic first it helps to fully break down, then add basil and drizzle olive oil slowly add nuts next and cheese last. I freeze mine for winter eating I put a piece of cellophane tightly on top of the basil in glass jars it helps to stop browning. You want to process this as little as possible to lesson browning in my opinion.
Francien Crane on 2026-03-27 (5 stars): I made this last night. It fit the bill perfectly. Easy directions, nice and quick to make. I served it over tagliatelle pasta with chunks of roasted chicken. So delicious! My husband loved it. I think I'll use the leftover sauce for a basil pesto pizza! Thank you, Natasha!
Sheri on 2026-01-20 (5 stars): Best basil recipe yet.The ratios are perfect. clear easy to follow directions. looking forward to trying more of your sauce recipes Natasha
Lisa on 2025-11-26 (5 stars): Perfect recipe but feel only one small lemon works for me!
Rachel on 2025-10-17 (5 stars): This is the perfect combination of ingredients for pesto. I too will be freezing in an ice cube tray.
Paulette C on 2025-10-05 (4 stars): This was really good! I used my end of season basil growing in the garden and toasted the pine nuts. Followed the recipe except reduced the lemon juice to just 1 1/2 teaspoons for a double batch. I’ve never seen lemon juice in pesto and read several comments mentioning it was a bit strong. I think I’d omit the lemon juice altogether next time but everything else was perfect! I froze it in 3 ( one cup each) small ziplock bags drizzling a little olive oil over the top. Thank you for this recipe!
