Fabulous Cilantro Pesto

This may be deserving of a five, but only after some changes are made....what's up w/ the vinegar, walnuts, and cayenne?! Hubby loves cilantro, and so I remade it and I chose to change the recipe. I used 2 cups cilantro, 1/4 cup of roasted pinenuts, 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, 2 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of black pepper, 1 tsp minced garlic, and 6 Tbsp olive oil. All I can say is wow...what a kick!!! Much better!!

Wow! This was really good! The only thing I substituted was pine nuts instead of the other nuts. Also the left overs actually tasted better the next day- I think I will make the pesto again a day ahead of time so the flavors will blend better. Also there is no need to pick the leaves off the cilantro- just wash- squeeze out the water-cut the ends off, then cut in half and add to the blender- I learned that from making Amy's Cilantro Sauce(on this site)so many times.

I used this recipe to create a quick and easy appetizer I had at a party a few years ago. Spread one package of cream cheese on a plate and then spread it with the cilantro pesto. Serve with tortilla chips or crackers. I used more cilantro than called for in this recipe - almost double, I think. Also added some lime juice which gave a great, bright burst of flavor. Don't really remember how much, but maybe 1-2 T?

I was not expecting much from this, but it was very good! I often buy fresh cilantro to use a small amount for a recipe, and it's frustrating trying to find a way to use up the rest. This is a tasty and easy way to use it up. I may try some other cilantro pesto recipes as well, but the nice thing about this one is that you probably have all the ingredients on hand.

Excellent! I added some water as a replacement for half the oil. The flavors were definitely better the second day. I'd recommend preparing the sauce the night before to give the flavors a chance to meld.

read previous reviews so subbed lemon juice for vinegar. Had pine nuts after making basil pesto, so toasted them & used them instead. Also, used about a 1/4t crushed red pepper instead of cayenne...I don't like really hot, just a zing. Since I was washing the cilantro as I was adding it to the blender, putting all the liquids in to begin w/, it got a little water & mixed up very nicely. Let it sit in fridge overnite & used on pasta w/ some feta...yum!!!

We loved this! We used it first as a sauce with grilled chicken breasts, and used the leftovers as a pasta sauce. My husband liked it so much, he called his mother and told her how great it was! Victory!

This was great! To adjust to personal taste: I use only 2 cloves of garlic, which was plenty. 1/3 c. of parmesan, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1 tbs. lemon juice and, 1/3 c. Brazilian nuts. Awesome pesto!...Next time, I’d double recipe so I can freeze some in an ice-cube tray for quick meals. Thank you for sharing and for some many helpful reviews.

This is excellent! I followed the recipe as far as the pesto goes but then decided to add chicken. I cooked the boneless chicken breast with garlic, red onions, and yellow peppers. MMMM! My guest thoroughly enjoyed it and I plan to pass this one on.

Terrific on pasta. A very good alternative to basil based pestos.

A nice change for pesto. I wasn't sure about the combination of cilantro and parm. cheese and walnuts, but it actually works. I used whole wheat pasta, omitted the pepper, added a few tablespoons of lime juice and used less olive oil for a chunkier pesto. Just be careful not to use too much cilantro, or else it becomes bitter.

Well I made the mistake of following the first reviewer's advice as she changed the recipe and it came out horribly oversalted. So I tried to salvage the rest of the pesto by trying to incorporate a few of the original ingredients that the original submitter included that the first reviewer took out (cayenne pepper and vinegar), and it was much better. I will update when I've had a chance to make the recipe completely as stated.

Yum - loved this pesto! Made mine with walnuts and fresh lime juice...can't wait to make it again.

This recipe did NOT go over at my house. My boyfriend, said "nope," and put it down. I've never had him refuse to finish a meal. I think the problem was the garlic. I love garlic, but 5 cloves was way too much and it totally overpowered the dish. If I made this again, which is unlikely because I don't think I could tempt the bf into tasting it again, I would tone the garlic down to 2 cloves.

Incredible recipe! I left out the vinegar (seemed weird) and the cheese (I'm vegan), but would HIGHLY recommend keeping the walnuts. Walnuts are one of the Super Foods and this is a great way to get some into your diet, plus they add a wonderfully earthy taste to the sauce!

Like others, I changed a few things. I didn't add cheese, or pasta. I used 1/2 TBSP vinegar and 1/2 TBSP white wine. I used shelled seeds from a few butternut squashes I've used in recent weeks and saved up instead of walnuts or pecans. I also added a pinch of black pepper and used sea salt (just a pinch). I stored the finished product in an ice cube tray for individual servings/storage. My gosh this stuff's good. I've been eating it lightly spread on unbreaded chicken burgers with grilled vegetables, and it's truly a wonderful pesto. The cayenne's lovely in the mix. I can't wait to try other applications with the pesto, thanks for the recipe!

Very good, but the garlic is a little too intense. I love garlic, but I just felt like it overpowered the cilantro a bit too much. This would be a great spread for bruschetta though! Mmmm! I will definitely make it again, just with less garlic next time.

I just made this dish (with a few adjustments) and it is AWESOME. I added some lemon juice as other reviewers have suggested and used black pepper instead of cayenne. I didn't measure my ingredients - just added whatever amount seemed appropriate...and yum!

This came out really well though i have to say, i couldn't tell that there was cilantro in it [instead of the usual basil]. I did change it a bit. I didn't have any white wine vinegar so i used red and added a couple of squirts of lemon juice. The large [more than normal] amount of garlic made it delightfully spicy. Also, when i mixed the pesto with the pasta, i added one finely chopped tomato and 1/4 of a bell pepper and it gave the final dish a little more texture and freshness.

I'd give this 10 stars! I didn't make the pasta. Only made the pesto and left out the nuts. Then I mixed the pesto with some ricotta cheese and used to make crostini. Just spread some olive oil on some slices of French bread, toast under the broiler, top with slices of tomato, then ricotta and cilantro pesto mixture, then sprinkle parmesean cheese over all and broil for 1 minute. Yum!

Sooooooooo good! I only had canola oil, used walnuts, and subbed lemon juice for the vinegar. I admit I added maybe a 1/2 cup of parmesan, and I regret nothing. I froze the leftovers while topping off the container with a tad of oil to preserver its freshness.

This is a great recipe!! We recommend pine nuts instead of walnuts/pecans. We also recommend not using the entire amount of olive oil. Loved it!!

This recipe was super delicious after I altered it a bit. I used about 2/3 cup of olive oil, lemon juice instead of vinegar, added about half a small can of green chile, onion powder, less than a pound of the pasta, heaping 1/2 teaspoon of the cayenne and skipped the nuts. Turned out awesomely spicy! My picky eaters loved it! I even added chopped jalapeno to mine because I love spicy food. Add a little grilled or pulled rotisserie chicken to top it off!

If you like cilantro, this is a very good twist on pesto. You can also serve it over spaghetti squash if you're on a low-carb diet.

I love cilantro but have only ever used it in salsa's. I was thrilled to find a new way to use it and this stores really well in the fridge. Easy to make and great to pull at a later date for a quick amazing pasta dish!

With rice wine vinegar, salt & pepper and a last minute addition of a jalapeno-we had a great meal. I took jumbo shrimp and sauteed in a little of the pre-vinegared pesto mix. Toasted pecans, some good quality pec romano and lots of olive oil made the bowties exciting with a light coating of pesto. Plopped a few shrimp on each plate and served with a light, sweet white. Tastyness!

This turned out great. gave away a lot of it to friends who now want me to make more. excellent

good stuff! I only had peanuts on hand, used them, and it still tasted great!

Very tasty pesto...I love it. I put it in a toasted ciabatta bread sandwich with either mozzarella or swiss cheese and slices of tomatoes...YUMMY !!!

Delicious! I have been wanting to make pesto forever and was so glad to find this recipe. I used a whole bunch of cilantro, plus about 1/2 cup loose parsley leaves and about 1/4 cup loose basil leaves I had to use up. Also squeezed juice from 1/2 a lime in addition to vinegar. Wonderful. I will make a double batch next time. The amount of garlic was just right for us, as well as the cayenne.

This is an awesome recipe except for two things. DO NOT use the vinegar...made it taste a little odd. And 5 cloves of garlic is way too much....I used 3 cloves and it was a little overpowering. And I didn't have the walnuts or pecans and this tasted just as good.

This was delish! But the garlic was really powerful. I think it can be scaled down to three cloves. My hubby loved this on the pasta, but I think it would be better on crusty bread. Next time, as I have LOTS of fresh cilantro to use from my garden.

I used lime juice instead of white wine vinegar. Delicious!

This was fabulous! I wouldn't change a thing--except I did use only 2 cloves of garlic, which was plenty. We look forward to enjoying this recipe many more times in the future.

Really good alternative to regular basil pesto. I used lemon juice instead of the vinegar, a little less oil and a combo of walnuts and sunflower seeds. This was terrific on sandwiches, steaks, and pasta.

This was my first experience with pesto and was very pleased. I only wish I would have had more of an idea as to how much "one bunch" of cilantro was....I will definitely make this again. Two cloves of garlic is more than enough!!!!

Yum! And so easy. I live in Korea and cilantro is hard to come by, but a nice Canadian knew that my Californian self would appreciate some cilantro from the big city so I had a bunch. For my taste, I'll prob cut the garlic a bit the next time I make it, but I LOVED it. I put it over rice noodles. I will try it over chicken, too. Thank you for the very good recipe.

Since the cilantro was taking over the garden, I was looking for a good way to use it. This is it. I think i like it better than basil pesto. Grow, cilantro grow!

I made it exactly as instructed except instead of cayane, I used crushed red peppers. I think it would be great either way.

If you like cilantro this is a recipe for you! I made and froze it. It has been added to tortilla soup, spread on chicken breasts before grilling, added to pasta, and mixed with sauteed peppers and onions for fajitas. WOW!! So versatile that I made more to experiment with!

This was realy good. I used 8 oz. of pasta instead of 16 and added a couple chopped, sauteed chicken tenders to make it a main-dish meal. I tasted the pesto before adding it to the pasta and it was somewhat bitter, so I was worried, but after being mixed into the pasta and adding the chicken, it tasted great and not bitter at all. I used lime juice instead of vinegar, and 3 cloves of garlic. Also used 1/4 plus 1 TBS. of quality olive oil. I used whole wheat penne. Served with a veggie for a simple and tasty dinner!

I would have never thought to make pesto out of cilantro, as I have only had the basil-based kind. But this was fantastic (and much cheaper than using fresh basil, as well)!! I brushed mine over some seabass steaks and stuck them in the broiler for a few minutes - it was really delicious. I can't wait to try it over pasta. Thanks for the idea!

This pesto has a bit more zip than the traditional pesto recipes. I love using cilantro, which is much less expensive than fresh basil, and much more accessible. I enjoyed the first serving of the sauce, but, unlike others who rated the pesto, mine did not reheat well. It was quite flavorless the second time around.

Fabulas doesn't even begin to describe this! It's amazing, it's heaven! My fiance & I loved this dish soooo much! I have a magic bullet & that worked great to blend the pesto sauce. I followed the recipe exactly but I added Chicken which was really yummy! I'm so makeing this over & over again!

very good but doesn't taste much like cilantro at all. the garlic takes the lead in the taste of this

I used only two cloves of garlic and half the oil, but I added fresh lemon juice, dill and mint.

I used chili powder instead of cayenne, lime juice instead of vinegar and walnuts then let it sit in the refrigerator for a few days. When I mixed it in with the hot pasta I grated parmesan on top. Delicious

I only made the pesto as I wanted to serve it on ahi tuna. It has a great flavor but I won't heat it up on the stove again. Although I stirred it constantly, the mixture separated from the oil. Tip to the reviewer who said it came out bitter: walnuts can be bitter and I recommend using pecans instead.

I like the amount of garlic, but I'm a garlic lover (and used small cloves). I didn't have any nuts, so I just omitted them; and it turned out fine. Same with the Parmesan--I put in a little chicken bouillon as a substitute. I probably only put in half of the olive oil and added some water to keep the fat down, which didn't cause any problems. I threw some ground turkey into the sauce & let it cook on the stove a little, which turned out surprisingly well (though chopped chicken would probably be best). I added some chunks of avocado at the end, which was delicious :) A great, economic recipe...yummy!

Great! An awesomely spicy deviation from the ordinary pesto.

Made this recipe exactly as its written and I LOVED it! The only thing I will do different next time is less Cayenne b/c I found it too hot. Otherwise, its a great alternative to regular basil pesto which costs so much more to make. Cilantro Pesto for me from now on! Great recipe!!!

Oh my goodness, this is really good. I also substituted lemon for vinegar. This would be a great sandwich spread in addition to a pasta topper.

I was looking for some way to use up a bunch of cilantro, and I decided to give this a shot. Since I didn't have white wine vinegar, I took some of the reviewers' advice and used lemon juice instead. Other than that, I followed the recipe pretty much exactly. I wasn't sure about the first few bites (I'd only had basil pesto up to this point), but eventually I decided that this pesto is amazing. I'll definitely be making this again. Thanks!

I was honestly blown away by this recipe. I wasn't sure if I would like the cilantro but it came out very very nicely. I actually didn't have any nuts (something I realized only after I had put everything else together) but it still tasted great. I also added some pan fried shrimp. The only change I would make is next time I think I would wait until I stirred the noodles in with the sauce to add the parmesan because when it melted the cilantro clumped all together.

We just hated this! Followed the recipe exactly and found it inedible. It might be improved by the suggested lemon juice instead of vinegar but I won't be trying it again to find out.

tastes fantastic. everyone loved it. used the lemon instead of vinegar. Next time I will maybe double up to make more

This is excellent, easy, and quick. The cayenne gives it a nice bite. I forgot the olive oil and was wondering why it was so clumpy, well, there's the answer. Don't be like me. Put in the olive oil. Amazingly enough, we ran out of parmesan cheese so I subbed mozzarella and used almonds instead of pecans or walnuts. Very good taste, with the cilantro flavor coming through nicely. Thanks!

Very easy and tasted great. Used a mix of pine nuts and pecans, and added some sun-dried tomatoes. Loved by all! :)

I love cilantro but this came out only OK. May try again substituting lime juice for the white wine vinegar to give it a little zest.

I made the pesto recipe as is and LOVED it! I used it on a pizza with roasted chicken and then on pasta. Beautiful bright green color and delish flavor!

Well I had high hopes for this but it was WAY too hot for us. My son wouldn't eat it and my husband just didn't like the flavors. I thought it was OK and I liked that it had a very fresh taste to it. We added chicken to make it a meal. Not one I'll make again though.

Family loved this recipe. I will cook it again.

I couldn't pass up the 3 for $1 sale on cilantro, so this was the perfect recipe to use it up. I followed the recipe pretty much as written, except substituting lemon juice for wine vinegar, and adding a jalapeño pepper for that extra heat. It was delicious on top of grilled chicken breast.

This was good. I wasn't sure what to expect since cilantro has such a strong flavor, but I liked it and would make it again. I used lime juice (not vinegar or lemon juice) and liked what it added to the flavor. I did not warm it up in a saucepan; rather I just tossed it raw into the pasta.

I made this with macadamia nuts. Soooo good. I put it on grilled tilapia, and then ate it on tortilla chips when I ran out of fish. This will be a summer staple for sure! :)

I think I like regular pesto better, but it was fun to try this alternative. Not sure I'd make it again, but it was good. Worth trying once, at least.

We used half a cup of oil and it was still really thick. We also put it over whole wheat pasta and it complimented it well.

Perfect summer time dish!! It was so refreshing.

Great taste - a LOT of garlic. Next time I'll half the garlic and add a little more Italian salad dressing.

We used this pesto on top of spaghetti. I agree that the 5 cloves of garlic was a little over the top--if I make this again, I think that I would only use 2 cloves. I also might try to use half basil or parsely, half cilantro next time, since the cilantro has such a powerful flavor.

Terrific! Subbed lemon juice for the vinegar but otherwise followed the recipe as written. Good kick--nice and garlicky! I will try blending in some chipotle peppers next time for some tex-mex style.

This was great...a wonderful take on the old basil pesto...even my kids loved it! Although I did add only three cloves of garlic :)I will be trying this on many other dishes it was yummy.

So good. I have to make this all the time from now on, because I'm addicted. I was kind of teetering on the edge of cilantro acceptance, and this recipe gave me the shove I needed. The taste of the cilantro wasn't overpowering like I thought it might be. All of the proportions were perfect; it wasn't too oily, too garlicky, or too..um, cilantro-y. The only thing I tweaked was the cayenne. I didn't have any, so I stuck some crushed red pepper flakes in the magic bullet and processed until they were mostly powdery. I think that probably made it slightly spicier than it would've been if I'd used cayenne, but some reviewers said it needed extra spice anyway, so hey! It all worked out, and it was delicious.

A B S O L U T E L Y F A N T A S T I C!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My taste buds are still YELLING - THANK YOU!!

Great recipe! The only change I made was to omit the cilantro and use fresh basil instead! I Hate Cilantro!

I just finished eating this pesto for dinner tonight. My husband and I both enjoyed it! I love cilantro, so I am always game for making something new with it. Based on some of the reviews I read, I made the pesto yesterday so it would have a chance to settle. I am on a strict diet, so I omitted the olive oil and used water and extra juice instead, but it was still great. I will definately be making this one again!

Pretty good. I also subbed pine nuts for the kind called for. Next time I will use lime juice instead of vinegar. Otherwise, somewhat bland. Maybe I needed to add salt or something.

I didn't need as much Olive Oil as called for and made a bit less pasta so there was some left for bread.

This was delicious!!

I adore cilantro and usually use it to excess, but I just had to fiddle so much with this recipe to get a flavor my husband or I would eat. I did love the idea of it, though!

This was allright. I guess I prefer classic basil pesto.... Don't get me wrong... this was good, just not great (or something I'd make again). My fiance agrees. We both felt that the end product was terribly dry (this recipe calls for waaay too much pasta, IMHO). Additionally, I felt that the cayenne was out of place. While I like the kick it imparted, I found it unnecessary and a tad odd for my liking. Tossed with whole wheat penne, this was an average, yet filling meal. I must admit, this was quite easy to prepare and economical to boot (cilantro is REALLY cheap compared to basil). I'm glad I tried this, but will stick to the "real" thing from now on. Thanks for sharing your unique idea though, Gena :)

Delicious! Made this with pasta to searve with chicken. Pasta could have been served on it's own...family loved it! Cayanne gave it a little kick and just love that this was made with cilantro. Will definitely make again.

This is amazing! I made it using less oil and with crushed pecans because thats all I had on hand. I used it on homemade pizza as a base sauce and it was excellent! This is my new favourite pesto for sure!

Like the name implies, this is a "Fabulous" pesto. I added some parsley and 2 tbs lime juice, and used 1/2 fresh jalepeno pepper (scraped clean--no seeds!)instead of the cayenne pepper. Great recipe; thanks Gena.

This was so yummy - and simple too!

easy to do for all...kids helped with no problem! terrfiic flavor without being overpowering

I'm still not sure this was worth cleaning out the food processor for, but it was a good way to use up leftover cilantro. I didn't have walnuts, so I used pine nuts. The walnuts probably would have been better. I also added a couple tablespoons of milk, as I prefer my pesto a little creamier.

I used lime juice instead of vinegar and pine nuts instead of walnuts (since that's what I had on hand). This was a big hit at my house! I have a ton of fresh cilantro in our garden so I was trying to find different uses for it. My 12 y.o. has already asked me to make it again! We like angel hair so I tossed it with a pound of that! Delish!!!!

This is a really good pesto! I substituted toasted pine nuts for the nuts and used a tablespoon of fresh lime juice instead of vinegar. Definitely a keeper to make again.

I love this recipe, only I never use 5 cloves of garlic, only two and even that seems pretty strong, although I love garlic. Anyway, this one is great.

You really have to be a fan of cilantro to like this one - I thought it was really tasty but my boyfriend didn't care for it. An easy way to make an interesting, quick pasta dish.

I hate to throw away a partially used bunch of cilantro. I did find a way to make it last a bit longer in the 'fridge but it'll still go bad after a short while. My wife suggested cilantro pesto; so, I tried this mix. Coupla t'ings: I thought a 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne was a bit much (even though I'm a spicy/pungent aficionado ). So, try a 1/4 teaspoon during the first blend/processing (I used a processor) and then add to taste. You can always add more as you add more oil. Suffice it to say, 1/2 teaspoon was fine by me. Garlic: same goes with the garlic. Yes, yes I know, pesto is supposed to have GARLIC; but, same as with the cayenne, 3-4 cloves and then adjust accordingly. I used walnuts as the recipe called for though if you're used to making basil pesto and are used to using pine nuts, have no fear, this works fine (and a lot cheaper). Don't get me wrong, this is a keeper. Just has to be adjusted according to taste. Thank for recipe and the suggestions that followed.

This is a very nice recipe. I know someone commented on the use of pine nuts versus walnuts or pecans, in my home I rarely have pine nuts on hand, however I always have walnuts and or pecans. I always appreciate ease of use when it comes to a recipe. I used an Italian dressing in place of the white wine vinegar and tossed some cooked shrimp in at the end. Thanks for the recipe.

My husband thought this was good, but I just did not care for it. I usually really like cilantro, but when it comes to pesto, I think I'll stick with the classic basil and pinenut pesto. The consistency and balance and everything seemed fine, it just didn't tickle my tastebuds. Thanks for the recipe though.

This was really delicious! Everyone loved it, including a friend who stopped by. She commented on the amazing smell and I couldn't resist sending some home with her. We had it over hot pasta and later over cold pasta. Yum!

Amazing alternative to regular basil pesto. I usually only need cilantro in small amounts so this is great way to not let the rest go to waste. I substituted regular olive oil for extra virgin and used almonds instead of walnuts or pecans (only because it was all I had at the time).

Excellent! We've never made pesto before, but this turned out perfect! We used italian dressing instead of the white wine vinegar, and pine nuts. we also ended up using a little less than 1/2 c olive oil and thought it was the perfect consistency. Thanks for this great and easy recipe!

The Cilantro Pesto was GREAT! I took home to my parents over the holidays and they loved it! A great compliment from my mother who is a SUPER cook! Thanks.

Used on Snapper en pappillote and added to my side dish of couscous. Yum!