Grandma's Homemade Basil Pesto Recipe
The is a fool proof recipe for best classic basil pesto sauce ever!
Prep Time35 minutes mins
Cook Time5 minutes mins
Total Time40 minutes mins
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: basil, easy, homemade, pinenuts, sauce
Servings: 16 people
Calories: 252kcal
Cost: $10
- 6 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano aged
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup pine nuts toasted
- 10 cups basil leaves fresh, tightly packed
- 1/2-1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup olive oil extra virgin
Method with Food Processor
Method without Food Processor
Finely chop garlic, toasted pine nuts and basil.
Use a fine grater to grate the cheese.
Add olive oil and combine all ingredients until smooth.
How to Toast the Pine Nuts
Preheat oven to 350°.
Spread pine nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Cook for 5 minutes or until golden brown.
Be watchful. Pine nuts can burn easily!
Pesto sauce will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about a week. But if you want to make a big batch and store it so it’s ready when you want it do what we do! Store in single serve containers in the freezer so you can have fresh pesto pasta or fresh pesto sauce for any of your favorite Italian dishes when you want it.
How to store your pesto sauce:
- Fill mini food storage containers with fresh basil pesto sauce.
- We use reusable 4 0z. containers with lids and fill them about 3/4 of the way full.
- Leave enough room so you can drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the top to create a thin layer over the pesto sauce. This helps seal in the freshness.
- Seal the lid tightly and use a sharpie to write the date on a piece of masking tape.
- Then when you want to reuse the container you can change the tape and write the new date.
Be sure to make enough for family and friends! It makes a really nice gift!
Serving: 1g | Calories: 252kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 244mg | Potassium: 108mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 877IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 155mg | Iron: 1mg