Basil Pesto Sauce

The classic Basil Pesto Sauce combines fresh, young Genovese basil leaves with pine nuts, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and a touch of salt for an out of this world flavor! Pesto is an easy to make base for so many wonderful pasta meals, dips, dressings and much more! This traditional old world Italian sauce blends with cooked pasta for a quick 10 minute dinner any night of the week!

Basil Pesto Sauce {Classic Recipe}

While this traditional basil sauce was originally made with a mortar and pestle in Genoa, Italy, it now comes together in just minutes with a food processor! This tasty fresh basil sauce is absolutely perfect for quick pasta dinners, pizzas, dips, salad dressings and more!

Plus, it's an extremely versatile sauce to use with meats. Marinate steak, pork, chicken or fish in your homemade pesto sauce, or use it to season Italian-inspired meatloaf or meatballs!

My fresh basil is growing like crazy on my porch this summer, so this easy homemade pesto is a must have with the readily available abundance of fresh, young Genovese basil leaves to use!

How To Make Basil Pesto Sauce {Pesto alla Genovese}

My favorite method of making my pesto sauce holds off on adding the basil until the end, that way the pesto sauce retains that vibrant green color from the fresh basil. So to get started, combine two tablespoons of pine nuts ( also called piñón, pinoli, or pignoli ) and two large garlic cloves in your food processor. Pulse the food processor until the pine nuts and garlic have reached a very fine minced texture.

With your food processor on the lowest speed setting, slowly drizzle the half cup of extra virgin olive oil into the minced nuts and garlic. Combine on low speed until your sauce reaches a smooth consistency.

Add a half cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese along with two cups of fresh basil leaves ( young, fresh Genovese basil is traditionally used and is favored by Italian foodie fans ). Pulse your food processor in short bursts, just enough to combine the ingredients. Add a pinch of salt, stir it into the pesto and adjust to taste as needed.

How To Serve Pesto Pasta

To serve your pesto on cooked pasta: transfer the cooked al denté pasta to a serving bowl using tongs or a pasta fork ( the saucepan or pot used to boil the pasta will be too hot for the fresh basil pesto ). Add your pesto sauce to the pasta, then add some of the pasta water in spoonfuls bit by bit. Stir between each addition to combine and emulsify the sauce. This recipe will use about ¼ cup of the pasta water to make your perfect pesto pasta!

Storing and Freezing Pesto

To store your classic pesto sauce in the refrigerator, transfer the sauce to a jar or air tight container. Pour a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil over the pesto sauce, or place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of your pesto sauce. This will keep the cut basil in the sauce from oxidizing and turning brown.

Homemade pesto will last for up to a week in the refrigerator, but is best used within the first half of the week. To serve your refrigerated pesto, remove it from the refrigerator ( or your desired portion ) and allow it to come to room temperature before adding it to your recipe.

The same applies to freezing your pesto. To keep the pesto vibrant and fresh looking when you use it later, transfer the pesto to a jar and fill it approximately ¾ full. Cover with a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil. Seal tightly with the screw on lid, then freeze for up to one month.

You can also transfer the homemade pesto to small snack size ziploc plastic storage bags. Squeeze all of the excess air out of the storage bags and seal securely. These will also keep in the freezer for about one month.

You can still eat slightly browned pesto and it will retain that familiar pesto flavor, however, it simply won't look as nice and fresh. If your pesto smells off, rotten, or bad at all, discard the refrigerated or thawed pesto sauce.

Pine Nut and Nut Free Alternatives

European pine nuts ( sometimes toasted ) are traditionally used in pesto alla genovese, however, other nuts can be used. My personal favorite runner-up to pine nuts in pesto sauce is walnuts. I always have them on hand, which makes mixing up pesto on the fly a snap.

Additional nut varieties that could be used in pesto sauce include: almonds, pistachios, pecans, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, or sesame seeds.

To make pesto without pine nuts or any nut variety, simply omit any nut ingredient. The basil will still be vibrant, fresh and delicious!

Parmesan and Dairy Free Alternatives

To substitute for Parmesan cheese, the best choices for a classic pesto flavor are other hard Italian cheeses such as Romano, Asiago, Pecorino, Machego, Grana Padano ( the closest Parmesan cheese flavor substitute ). Readily available cheeses here in the states can also be used, such as a good aged sharp or extra sharp cheddar, preferably white cheddar.

While hard cheese is typically used in pesto, experimenting with softer cheeses has been done by many. It won't give you the same familiar pesto consistency, but you may find you love your favorite cheese as part of your homemade pesto sauce. Have fun and be creative!

For those with, or cooking for someone with, dairy allergies you can simply omit the cheese entirely. The basil and nuts combine to make a fantastic sauce with or without any cheese element.

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