Basil pesto is an easy and flavorful sauce to keep on hand. Make ahead and store in the fridge or freezer to use on veggies, salads, sandwiches and, of course, in pasta. This recipe will yield 1 cup.
Prep time: PT9M
Cook time: PT1M
Total time: PT10M
Rating
4.83 stars (89 reviews)
Keywords
Basil Pesto, How to Make Pesto, Pesto
Ingredients
2 cups packed basil leaves
1 to 2 clove garlic, (chopped)
1/3 cup pine nuts
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
kosher salt
black pepper
Categories
Condiment
Cuisine
Italian
Steps
Get ready: Fill a small saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water and set it near your stove. Set up a food processor with the blade attachment (or get your blender all plugged in and ready).
Briefly blanch the basil: Drop the basil leaves in the boiling water and blanch just until they’re wilted, 5 to 10 seconds. Use tongs to transfer the basil leaves to the prepared ice water. This stops them from continuing to cook.
Dry the basil very well: Wrap the basil in paper towels. Squeeze to wring out all the water and transfer to the food processor, along with the garlic, pine nuts, and lemon juice.
Blend: Pulse until everything has broken down into small chunks. With the processor running on low speed, slowly pour in the extra virgin olive oil. Do not run the processor too long, you want to have a little bit of texture to your basil pesto.
Stir in the parmesan: Transfer the basil mixture to a small bowl. Add the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix to combine. If your pesto is looking a little thicker or less smooth than you like it, add a little bit more extra virgin olive oil.
Serve or store: Use immediately or store for later (see “Notes” below for storage tips).
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 93 kcal
Carbohydrates: 1 g
Protein: 1.4 g
Fat: 9.6 g
Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
Cholesterol: 2.7 mg
Sodium: 55 mg
Sugar: 0.1 g
Unsaturated Fat: 7.4 g
Reviews
Diane on 2026-08-01 (5 stars): Love, love this recipe!
Allie Macalle on 2026-07-09 (1 stars): The blanching turned my basil immediately brown and it tasted like a jarred pesto rather than fresh
Jacqueline Howell on 2026-05-10 (5 stars): When my son visits he has an allergy to nuts. Best to just eliminate pine nuts or is their a nut alternative you can suggest?
Lin on 2025-10-12 (4 stars): I skipped the blanching step, but followed the recipe otherwise. It made 1.5c this way. I think I would skip the lemon next time - it's very pronounced. Maybe because each lemon can vary from 2tsp or 2+T of lemon juice. It would probably be better to have an exact amount of juice required in the recipe. I also would skip the toasting of the pine nuts. That's the other prominent flavor that comes through, and I guess I'm used to the more subtle/blended flavor of the nuts.
Mariuxi on 2025-07-13 (5 stars): I have made it several times and my family loves it because you feel the fresh flavor. It does not compare to the onew sod already prepared
Stephanie on 2024-08-30 (5 stars): I have made your basil several times. The last few times I have blanched the basil and put it in an ice bath quickly. The leaves turned brown. Can you tell me what I’m doing wrong?
Breanna Mast on 2024-08-28 (5 stars): Way better than I imagined. Thanks for the recipe!
