Easy Homemade Basil Pesto

Did you know that you can make a homemade basil pesto in just a few minutes? This easy homemade basil pesto recipe is so fresh and delicious!

What is pesto?

Pesto is used to refer to the sauce that originated in Liguria, Italy. It consists of garlic, pine nuts, salt, basil leaves, hard cheese, and olive oil.

It can be used to add flavor to a variety of dishes and is popular in Italian cuisine!

What kinds of dishes use pesto?

A lot of Italian pasta dishes call for pesto. Don’t worry, pasta is not the only thing you can cook to enjoy this amazing homemade basil pesto.

Try adding some pesto to things like mashed potatoes, rice, risotto, or even mashed cauliflower. It adds a great flavor and pizazz. We use it instead of tomato sauce on homemade pizza sometimes. It’s super tasty on our Pesto Turkey Sliders!

You can also enjoy pesto in our Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad and Pesto Sun Dried Tomato Pinwheels.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own basil pesto:

Pesto is a really easy sauce to put together. It’s got very simple, fresh, ingredients but they come together to create something truly magical.

For this homemade basil pesto we will be using the classic ingredients for pesto: fresh basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

You might want to grab enough for a double batch of this tasty sauce. You’ll want to have some on hand after you try it!

To find the full amounts and nutritional info, just scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to make homemade basil pesto:

To make this easy homemade pesto you’ll just have to dig out the food processor or high powered blender to make a smooth mixture. I like to use the food processor but you could easily use a high speed blender!

To start out we’ll add the basil leaves, pine nuts, grated parmesan cheese, garlic, and salt and pepper to a food processor.

Turn the food processor or blender on and process until the mixture is finely minced. 

With the processor running on a low speed, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the bowl and process until the mixture is smooth. 

How to store homemade pesto:

If you make a batch of this pesto you’ll want to store it in the refrigerator or freezer. Freezing it is a great option if you want to portion it out for sauces and pasta dishes!

A great option is to freeze it in ice cube trays and then pop them out into a freezer bag or container. These portion sized cubes are perfect for cooking with your meat or pasta.

Speaking of storage, if you end up with a lot of fresh basil from your summer garden, it’s easy to learn how to dry basil. Then you can enjoy it year-round!

More homemade sauces and dips

Once you use fresh ingredients to whip up your own homemade sauces and dips, it is hard to go back to store-bought and processed. Sure, those are great in a pinch, but making these fresh recipes really only takes a few minutes. So give them a try!

Besides this delicious pesto, try our homemade poppy seed dressing and ranch dressing. Another 5-minute recipe that’s perfect for dipping is Chipotle Southwest Sauce.