Pesto Sauce

While a good basil pesto is a matter of using the basic ingredients of basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, olive oil and pine nuts to taste, I agree with those reviewers who commented that there is not enough basil in this recipe! If you DOUBLE the amount of basil and reduce the salt to at most 1/4 tsp. (if any at all) you'll have a perfect basil pesto. Or...make half the recipe, but still use the 2 cups of basil. The conventional wisdom is that if you're going to freeze this that you don't add the Parmesan until you're ready to use the pesto as it supposedly doesn't freeze well. However, I always add the Parmesan right away and have never had a problem. Also, I loved and used Crazy4sushi's idea of freezing this flat in ziploc bags and breaking off pieces as needed. Ingenious!

This is delicious!!! When I buy a bunch of fresh basil, and use the whole thing, my proportions are: 2 cups basil leaves, 3/4 cup parmesan (freshly grated is worth every bit of effort), 3/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup pine nuts, 3 garlic cloves (I use the fresh in the jar kind), pepper and salt to taste. My friends, who are chefs, make their pesto about like this, as well as this amazing flat fry bread to dip in the pesto, which is the tastiest thing I've ever had! They use fresh ground flax seed (using a coffee grinder) in the dough. If I get the recipe, I'll share! By the way, this pesto goes great with salmon, even for non fish lovers. I always say this pesto is so good it would make an old shoe test great!!!

Good, but not the definitive pesto recipe. I used one cup basil, 1/2 cup olive oil and zero salt. Good call from previous reviewers about skipping the salt. It was really salty without the extra - I guess my parmesan is saltier than most, but then I used freshly grated cheese.

another great way of storing this is to freeze in ice cube trays. Then pop out into a ziploc. Then all you have to do is grab a cube!

Excellent recipe!! I took another users suggestion and only added 1/4 tsp salt because I figured I could always add later and didn't need to! My husband is a picky eater and liked this as well!! Thank you for sharing!

This is the same recipe that is in my Betty Crocker cookbook. I tried it last night (first time ever trying pesto) and my husband and I LOVED it! Used it on some linguine and topped with sliced grilled chicken breasts and some fresh sliced tomatoes. Had a salad on the side and it was perfect! Now I know what I am going to do with all my extra basil. Thanks!

I am the worse cook ever but I saw this recipe and was curious to see if it tasted good. It is SIMPLY AMAZING. Not only was this recipe EASY but it didn't require alot of ingredients. I love that 2 teaspoons over pasta is more then enough for one portion. I made my 3rd batch last night. Thanks for the recipe :)

This is so delicious and simple to make. I spread it on salmon fillets and bake them. delicious!

Yum, yum, & yum! I added a little extra garlic because I can't seem to get enough of it. I'm sure that it freezes well, but none of it made it to my freezer! This was very flavorful and easy and so much better than store bought! Thanks Sue!

Excellent, though a bit saltier than I like in my pesto. I'll cut the salt down by half the next time.

This is great (aside from the too salty thing). I'm so excited that I can make my own pesto now since the only store bought variety in my country is gross. Woohoo!

I grow a lot of basil in my garden so this was a great thing to make to use it all up. I agree with the others that this recipe does not have enough basil in it. I used about 2 cups packed of basil & I used pine nuts because I had them. I omitted the salt altogether but it did need some in the end. It was delicious! I will freeze it (with the cheese already in it) like someone else suggested... in ice cube trays and then transfer them into zip lock bags and use by cubes when needed. Very, very easy to make & very good just add more basil and you're all set!

Very good pesto! One tip, to make the green color more pronounced and prevent browning from oxidation during storage, blanch the basil in salted water. Submerge in boiling salted water for a few seconds, then run under cold water.

This is a wonderful pesto sauce, I used basil from my herb garden and tossed a few spinach leaves in as well. Loved the sunflower seeds in the pesto for a nice crunch, especially since pine nuts are so expensive. I loved the sunflower seeds. I also added an extra clove of garlic...you can never have too much garlic :-)

Excellent recipe that my whole family enjoys. Only change (for my taste) is a bit less salt. I've received numerous requests for copies of this pesto recipe and enjoy passing it on.

As is, this did not have enough basil for me, so I use 2 cups packed basil and reduce the salt to only about 1/4 teaspoon. It comes out nice and thick and not as oily. When making it for pasta, I save a little bit of the cooking water to help thin it out while tossing. Freezes well in a ziploc bag. Press out the air, freeze flat and then just break off pieces you need. I like this freezing system much better than ice cube trays.

It is so easy to make and delicious! tossed with pasta, black olives, grape tomatoes and feta cheese, OMG it was good!

This was so simple I couldn't believe the amazing flavor! I will never buy store-bought pesto again. The freshly grated cheese is a must. You not only get a better taste but the cheese melts when added to hot pasta, etc. I froze the leftovers in an ice tray and it was wonderful to be able to boil up some noodles and after draining, toss a cube in for a delicious treat!

I love this recipe! It was my first time making pesto. It couldn't have turned out better. I omitted the salt (only had salted sunflowers on hand) and I added more basil. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

If u listen to other reviewers, this is can be a good fundamental recipe, that is, if it is adapted. Two cups of basil are necessary and i recommend listening to Ruanna who suggests other changes like 3/4 C oil and 3 cloves garlic. I omitted salt entirely since fresh ground parmesan or romano is salty enough! Mmmmmm.

Basic peston. I blanched the basil as suggested by others. I thought it a little dry & added oil to make it a total of 1/2 cup. And I used only 1/4 tsp salt. Very versitle recipe. The 2nd time I made it using walnut oil. Very yummy. I have also tried macadamia nut oil. Also yummy.

I picked some basil tonight with no real plans so I just went to allrecipes and tried the first pesto recipe that came up. I didn't eat with pasta yet but I tried it with a cracker and it was delicious, maybe just a little heavy on the salt. And I skipped the pine nuts because I don't have any. UPDATE: waaay too much salt. I tried heating this up and eating it with tortellini but it was so salty I couldn't eat it. I don't think the salt came from the pasta!

Very good. I added gloves of garlic.

This was a little disappointing for me... I think it needs even more basil!

I inadvertently made it just as the others has recommended! With twice the amount of Basil and it was wonderful. And I also used 1/2 c of Romano and 1/2 c of Parmesan, 1/2 c pine nuts and 3/4 c of olive oil to adjust to my own taste. Hey pesto is in the eye of the taster. But this gave me the bones to start with.

VERY easy and delicious! I hate to waste all the wonderful basil that I grew. Next time I will freeze this in ice cube trays as suggested.

I loved this recipe. I also like the idea of freezing it since I have a ton of basil this year in my garden! After I started making it, I realized that I didn't have any pine nuts or sunflower seeds so instead I substituted roasted lightly salted edamame. It was awesome!

This was amazing! I put it on chicken and served it with mushrooms and some rice. It was really good.

Excellent first experience with pesto. I am hooked. Although I never have had pine-nuts, the sunflower kernels were still great in this. It was very nice to offer an alternative to the $20/pound pine-nuts.

Very authentically Genovese. I recommend that the pine nuts gets toasted first. Adjust salt after tasting. Using a freshly grated good quality Parmesan or Romano makes a huge difference. Also, adjust the garlic level to taste. Delicious.

This would be a good recipe except for the salt amount. When I made this recipe for 30 servings it asked for way too much salt and practically ruin the recipe. Skip the salt because the parmesan has enough.

Easy to make and very tasty. I used garlic salt.

Perfect, except, too salty. It tastes absolutely wonderful, and is great to go right into the freezer, however, the change I will most definitely make next time is to cut the salt in half

Wonderfully easy to make. I used sunflower seeds because pine nuts are sooooo expensive over here in Thailand. Roasted the sunflower seeds, doubled the recipe added 40 thousand more cloves of garlic....just because.... Thank you for this recipe....will make again, and again. I believe it's a no fail...you just can't goof this one up. (no salt added, not needed)

Great recipe with wonderful flavours. So quick and easy. My variations: lightly toast the pine nuts for more intense nutiness, and use good quality extra virgin olive oil.

Very good pesto recipe. I would cut back on the salt a bit next time though.

Really good. It needs more oil if you're tossing it in pasta. I made mine in the blender; worked fine. Next time I'll try the sunflower seed option - who knew pine nuts were so expensive??!!

Yummy and so easy! It was my first time making pesto and had no idea such a great flavor came so easy! I doubled the recipe and used it as a sauce with bow tie pasta, sliced cooked chicken breast and then added a ton of veggies (sauteed onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, carrot, zucchini, broccoli, artichokes, and sundried tomatoes) made a wonderful primevera, better than any restaurant's around!

easy & delicious!

Quick and easy to make. I freeze mine in small portions so that it doesn't spoil. I have also made it with and without the nuts, and it tastes great either way.

Delicious and straightforward recipe, made per directions and it came out great! (But now I plan to try it with other greens in various ratios!)

You can triple the amount of basil called for here. Then the amount of the rest of the ingredients is about right. I used toasted almonds instead of the nuts called for here. This pesto is very tasty and can be used in so many ways. I like to keep it on hand in the freezer. It is so much better than store-bought!

This pesto is great, I used a little more basil, about 1 1/2 cups so I also added a little extra garlic, pine nuts and parmesan. I served it with a packaged gorgonzola gnocchi, but to make it a heartier meal I added sliced chicken/mushroom/asiago sausage and zucchini that I sauteed in olive oil and then when it was all mixed together I topped it with fresh tomatoes. It was a great easy dinner and the fresh pesto made all the difference.

I should have read the reviews, because when I followed the directions it was way too salty!!

Can't get enough of this! I increased the basil, as others have recommended. I used basil from my garden. I've used it as a spread for grilled chicken sandwiches and a pesto pizza w/tomatoes and mozzerella. But the pine nuts are so expensive!

very good made it just as recipe says came out delish very easy too.

This was a very good, quick recipe. I followed it pretty much exact using 2/3 cups of basil tightly packed (before chopping), reduced salt to 1/4 teaspoon and used one large garlic clove, grated parm cheese (didn't have fresh on hand). This recipe yields about 1/2 cup of pesto- enough to toss with pasta or spread on some chicken breasts! Yum! Thanks for the recipe!

Great consistency and great flavor.

I love this really easy recipe and just can't get over how much better making it fresh is than getting it from a jar. I've made this a few times, both using the recipe as is and taking others' suggestions. The As Is is my favorite way. Has the best flavor and texture.

Excellent! Mixed with Penne and sun-dried tomatoes, sprinkled with shredded parmesan and romano cheeses. Next time I make this, I might put a little less parmesan cheese in the pesto, or maybe at a tad more oil.

Good stuff. I used more pine nuts then the recipe called for, which provided a thich, rich flavor. I toasted them first. I also cut the olive oil down to 1/6 cup. I replaced the other 1/6 with chicken stock.

Easy to make. I used sunflower kernels and it tasted great! I also like to use walnuts when I don't have pine nuts in hands.

It was good, I changed the ingredient ratio a bit because I wanted to make more than the recipe is posted for. I used a blender, which gave it good consistancy. Also, we added cubed chicken to the pesto before serving over penne to make a hartier meal. It wasn't necessarily restaurant quality, but for at home it's pretty good.

Simple, takes minutes, add other things at combining stage like olives, cherry tomatoes, etc

I roasted the pine nuts and the garlic beforehand. I added slightly more than doubled the basil. At first, I didn't put any salt in it (per the reviews, I wasn't sure) but then added 1/4 tsp to taste. Since I roasted the garlic (and it makes it less strong and more sweet), I added 5 or 6 cloves. It turned out nicely and is currently in some icecube trays in my freezer. I can't wait to use it on chicken sandwiches and/or noodles. Thanks.

This is a super easy and delicious recipe. By all means do use pine nuts and toast them for more flavor. I used this pesto for a green layer in my home made lasagna and it was absolutely awesome. The first layer was ricotta, the second layer was a meaty home made spaghetti sauce and the third was the pesto layer. it was topped off with grated parmeson and motserella with a sprinkling of dried Italian herbs.

I doubled this recipe, as the original didn't seem to make much sauce. The sauce is delicious, though!

This is very good. I would use 1/2 the salt next time.

too much salt and not enough basil

perfect! I did not think it had too much salt at all. The only thing I added was a squeeze of lemon. My stepmother is Italian and she always adds lemon to freshen up the flavor. Great recipe

Really easy and really good. I have made the recipe as written or subbed toasted almonds for the pine nuts/sunflower seeds, and it came out great both ways. Thanks for a simply delicious and deliciously simple recipe!

A very good recipe. I had never made pesto, but decided to give it a try. I used walnuts instead of pine nuts and also added about half as much cilantro as basil. I put very little salt, but a little more olive oil, because of the addition of the cilantro. It turned out fabulous. I will do this again.

Very easy and yummy recipe. I use sunflower seeds because I'm allergic to pine nuts, and you'd never know the difference.

use no salt and added some butter and romano cheese.

I loved this recipe!! Yummmmmy!! I get bushels of basil at the farmers market so i made a nice sized bushels worth. I added some walnuts to the mix and a little more fresh parmesean cheese. It didn't need it but i did because i love good parmesean cheese. I through all the ingredients into my food processor and Presto.....PESTO :) This was a hit for sure. Thanks!

made with walnuts

Really great though I didn't even measure the salt and pepper - I just added to taste, though it was a lot less than the recipe called for.

with a bit more garlic, this is a 5 star recipe!! it keeps great in the freezer, so make a bunch, then portion it out to add to your fav pasta when you need a flavor boost!

Very good, but the salt is not needed as the parm has plenty of it's own. I used walnuts which I toasted and added more than called for and because we love garlic, I used three cloves. Thank you!

Excellent!

This is a little more oily than I'm used to, but still tastes good. Cut the salt ant it is still delicious

I'll cut down on the salt next time... Otherwise delicious!

Excellent pesto!

Love this recipe for its ease and tastiness! I use roasted sunflower seeds that makes it really great!

I would recommended NOT using salt! Fresh parm is very salty already... just add to taste.

Excellent recipe. Good flavor. Good call with the reduction of salt. Could even go down even less.

Very good basic pesto recipe! I cut the salt down after reading other reviews. Tossed with pasta and added sun dried tomatoes as another reviewer suggested. Thanks for the recipe! I'm going to try it with sunflower kernels next time to see how that tastes.

I found this to be way too salty for my taste. I used the grated Parmesan in the green jar (Kraft?), so maybe if I had used shredded Parmesan it would have been better. If I made this again, I definitely would not add any salt.

good standard recipe. it doesn't look like much, but a little goes a long way.

I used it with the Pesto Pasta chicken recipe. I grow my basil in a pot, so easy to grow and gives enough for the entire summer and into winter in the house. I have several jars of this in the freezer. I use it a lot.

Easy to make, simple and delicious. I used pine nuts. I froze this into 6 1/4 cup portions to use as I need. I've frozen pesto sauce in the past and it works out perfectly.

Never ever made pesto before. Needed for my pizza pronto. I was excited it came out perfect. That is its new name Perfect Pesto. Thank YOu

Great recipe! I followed other's advice and omitted the salt and also replaced most of the olive oil with chicken broth to reduce the fat. Delicious!

Easy! Flavorful!I loved it.I added an extra clove of garlic

Quick, Easy, and adds great flavor! Much better than the store bought Pesto's!

I have used this a few times My son said the best he ever tasted. I also freeze (freezes well) and use it by the teaspoon in EVOO for dipping bread - Delicious! -Carrie Annie

Delicious but TOO MUCH SALT! I doubled the recipe after picking fresh basil from the yard and I should not have doubled the salt. In fact, I probably only needed HALF the amount of salt or even no salt since the grated Parmesan has a salty flavor. Definitely give pesto a try this summer!

Really nice recipe for pesto, although I think that in packing the basil to make 2/3 cup I used too much. I will definitely try it with a little less basil next time.

Great recipe!

Pretty good pesto.

I had to use a little over 2 cups of basil along with a total of 4 cloves of garlic. Other than that followed the recipe and it turned out awesome.

Wonderful taste; this is my first year growing basil, and I am thrilled with being able to use it like this. The only (small) change I had to make was cutting the salt in half. I am hoping to make enough to freeze so I can use it all through the winter. Yum!

I love this, and it is so easy to make!

The taste of this pesto is delish and I would definitely make it again ... however, unless I'm missing something, there's NO WAY what I yielded could serve 4 people. More like 1-2 servings. I put it over about 1 cup cooked pasta and that's what I'm having for lunch tomorrow!

Made this with some basil from the garden and it was amazing!

sooooo easy and quick!!!! used toasted sesame seeds, as thats what I had in the pantry. YUM!

I used this in the Angel Hair Pasta with Garlic Shrimp and Broccoli. Omitted the pine nuts or sunflower kernals since I had none. Still a great Pesto.

I just made this pesto sauce and I loved it. I didn't have sunflower kernels, but instead I added crusted almonds. It is so good! Thank you for this recipe.

This pesto was good, but there was nothing exceptional about it. It's a good start for modification and developing your own recipe.