Easy Pesto

Excellent! Loved this one & easy to make too. One thing about the almonds that I really like instead of the pine nuts is the COST! The toasted almonds were very tasty & so much less $$. Also...a tip on toasting the nuts, don't bother with the oven, simply heat a (dry) non stick heavy skillet on the stove, and saute' the nuts until toasted with no butter or oil. They are super easy & quick to do this way. Great recipe!

I tried halving this recipe and ran into difficulties. In particular, with half the material, after the initial blender pulse, all the material -much more compact- now could lay beneath the blades. Additional blending didn't do anything. I had to manually raise of the material and try to blender again, but this achieved little because it quickly went below the blades again, and in the end I was left with pesto with many practically unchopped garlic and nuts. This is posted here as an unrated review to warn others that before reducing the size of the recipe, think about the size, shape, and abilities of your food processor/blender. (With more material, I think that the convection in my blender would chop everything without difficulty.)

Wow! Do I like this recipe! It's quick and yummy. Just the thing to do with a handful of fresh basil straight from the farmer's market. I simply toasted slivered almonds on a hot, dry skillet until lightly toasted and fragrant. Forget the oven!

This recipe really can be adjusted, and probably should be, depending on your taste. We used about 1/2 a cup of toasted pine nuts, added a tbl of shaved parm., added a bit of mint and played with the olive oil till it was the right texture. But this recipe shows you all the basic elements...adding sundried tomatos is fun too, or olvies.

This is a great basic pesto recipe- I use pine nuts and possibly any other nuts I have around (pecans). I also add parmesan cheese as I'm a big cheese fan. You can substitute water for some of the oil if you'd like a lower-fat version. Very versatile recipe!

I amgiving this recipe 5 stars simply because of the fact that it uses nutmeg!! That is a wonderful addition to any pesto sauce!! I did modify it for other things however, I added lemon juice and parmesan cheese, and used pine nuts instead. This is a great base however, and the nutmeg really does add an impressive taste! Thanks for sharing!

I had a ton of basil that I needed to use up. It doesn't tolerate cold at all, so it's streching it to keep it into October in Minnesota. I was struggling to choose a recipe, so I decided to try three different pesto recipes from this site. In A-typical allrecipes fashion I actually stuck exactly to each recipe so that we could truly judge them fairly. The recipes were Easy Pesto by Rebecca Jane Thompson, Pesto Sauce by Sara, and Simple Garlic and Basil Pesto by FuzzyGreenMonkey. My favorite was Easy Pesto. It had a nice nutty flavor because of the toasted almonds. It's also nice if you don't have much basil on hand because it uses half as much as the other recipes. My husband liked Simple Garlic and Basil Pesto the best, it was my close second. The parmesan cheese and pine nuts really make that recipe. We both agreed that by far our least favorite was Pesto Sauce. It was very bland compared to the other two. I would attribute that to the 1 1/2 cups of walnuts. I would not recommend that recipe at all. It was a fun experiment and the other two recipes will go into my permanant file.

I have never made Pesto before and honestly didn't know what it was until I made this and put it in a pasta dish,then voila! I realized the glob I dug out of the food processor was a familiar taste and made the pasta dish wonderfully delicious. I used raw almonds and did not toast them, and used dried basil instead of fresh leaves. I will definately make again and not sure I can make another pasta dish without it. Thank you!

This was an awesome recipe! I added about 3 tbsp of parmesan cheese and used the pesto to make a cream sauce. I will make this again!

Excellent and so easy! I had never made pesto before--I was surprised at how much better it was than the store-bought kind. I added extra garlic and used pine nuts.

This was so easy to put together. I had to add some lemon basil because I didn't have enough of the regular. It was great. I would add more garlic and less oil next time. Thanks for a great recipe! Oh, I also added a little parmesean cheese 'cause I like it!

I LOVE THIS!! My only 2 strays from the recipe were that I toasted the almonds stove-top and added a bit of shaved parmesan cheese to the food processor. The whole thing takes 10 minutes! *FYI this recipe makes enough for 1 lb of pasta. Thanks Rebecca for a keeper!!

I loved this recipe! Before putting in the basil, I dunked it in boiling salt water and then immediately cooled it in ice cold water. This helps keep the bright green color of the basil.

I make basil pesto frequently but this time had TONS of basil to use (had to remove a garden bed) & the fact that this one used almonds intrigued me...I had an oversized can of mixed nuts leftover from a party & picked out the almonds. I love the fact that I can sub most any nut I have on hand (didn't need to add any salt) but this needed something so I added 1/4 cup parmesan & a quick squeeze of lemon & there it was!

This is an excellent pesto recipe!! You will save a lot of $$ by using almonds vs. pine nuts. Don't bother cooking these in the oven, dry saute them on the stove top on a low heat- be careful, they burn easily! And my most important recommendation: Add a Tbsp. or 2 (I did 3!) of finely grated Parmesan cheese - it adds a delicious creaminess that you don't get otherwise.

This is a very nice pesto! I have always used expensive pine nuts :(, but almonds and nutmeg really work! I tried as is (very good) then for more "oomph" went ahead and added the secret ingredient from "Simple Garlic and Basil Pesto" on this site, which is 1/4 tsp. chili powder. It sounds all wrong, but it amazingly works. I also used a bit less oil. Very nice even without Parmesan.

This was yummy and easy. I made no changes to the recipe. None were needed!

This was my second time making this in a short period of time as I currently have a plethora of fresh basil on my back deck. This time, I made a little bigger batch (I loved it so much the first time around), using half for pasta, the other half I mixed into softened cream cream---it made a wonderful cracker spread. This recipe will be made again and again, as long as I have a basil crop. Thanks again for this absolute winner.

It was super easy. I used pine nuts instead of almonds. The taste was right on the money. I even froze the extra in an ice cube tray so I have some ready to use next time.

Excellent recipe. I used lots of basil from my garden and made two batches. I placed the pesto in ice cube trays and froze then popped out and individually wrapped each cube and put all the cubes in a bag in the freezer. I use these all fall and winter as single serving pesto, in sauces, or as spreads.

Surprisingly good with the almonds. I toasted whole almonds on the stovetop, then chopped before processing it all together. As others have said, I recommend this method over the oven, especially if using sliced or slivered nuts. I only used 1/2 of the oil and it was great with rotini pasta - stuck in all the spirals. I added some diced tomato for color, and next time I might add some shredded zucchini and carrot.

I'm not a pesto connoisseur by any means and, in fact, this was my fist time trying to make it myself. But I thought this recipe was incredible! I followed the recipe with the following exceptions: I added a few squirts of fresh lemon and about 1/4 cup parm/reg cheese.

I love this recipe! If I am feeling a little fiesty I'll throw a sun-dried tomato in it!! I pulse the dry ingredients before adding the olive oil- this way I can determine how wet/dry I want the pesto depending on how I am serving it! Delicious EVERY time!

Really good! I used a whole box of bow-tie pasta and wasn't sure the sauce would cover it all but it did! I added a little water just to make sure. Also, tip my boyfriend was to not grind up the almonds completely. He commented that the almond crunch is a nice texture change. Very delicious! Will make again. So simple!

Very tasty and quick. Try adding a teaspoon of fresjh lemon juice to get a real Southern Italian flavor. A few almond slices give it a really great texture, too.

I made this with fresh basil from my garden and I had no Almonds so I used finely chopped black walnuts. OH YYYYYUUUUUUMMMMMM. I had enough to use for two different meals. I made the first one a couple of weeks ago. Bruce liked it and said he has to get used to the olive oil and I guess he better because I will make this every summer I have fresh Basil in the garden. Also I had some pork chops left over and boned them, sliced them very thin. Mixed them and the pesto and pasta together and what a delicious quick dish. Yum, yum, thank you for this recipe. I will make it over and over again.

I adjusted amounts to my preference, and used minced garlic from a jar, fresh spinich in place of about 1/3 of the basil to get veggies in where I can. This was as wonderful as the recipe that inspired me to try this one. Thank you!

This was very good, but I suggest to use 2 cloves of garlic instead of 3. I'm a garlic lover, but even this was too garlicky for me. I also added parmesan cheese and a small tomato for more flavor. Overall, this is a good pesto.

I liked the idea of it being made with almonds instead of pine nuts. I will definitely use this again, it was a nice change to pine. I used light OO. I didnt have fresh basil, so I used dried & was still good. Next time will try with fresh. I added this to cooked low carb ziti pasta and added fresh grated Romano cheese & grilled chicken. YUM!

I didn't care for this. Maybe I just don't care for pesto in general though as it was my first time trying it. It was easy though.

I tweaked this recipe a little to sit my fancy. Instead of adding toased almonds, I added toasted walnuts instead. (It was all I had on hand!) I also added 3-4 sundried tomato pieces that I had dried myself. They were hard and not canned in oil, so I chopped them first to help the food processor out. I also added about 5 cloves of garlic since I like it so much. With the tomatoes and extra garlic, however, I had to add a little more oil to get it to bind together. I used cinnamon basil rather than the traditional sweet basil which gave it an earthier taste. What I made was absolutely wonderful! It was also a very earthy color as the red from the tomatoes mixed with the green from the basil.

The entire family loves this recipe! Tastes great with any nut (we use pine nuts, walnuts or pecans), and freezes wonderfully! I make a ton before the first frost and freeze it all in ice cube trays - love having this ready at any time. Careful on the timing when roasting the nuts - easy to burn them.

For my first attempt at making pesto this recipe was a winner! It was very easy. I think I will take some of the suggestions from the others and try a new modification next time.

Super Yummy! :)) I added a little 2 Tbsp of parmesean and it made it even better!

Wonderful! I wasn't sure about using almonds, but I didn't have any pine nuts so I tried it. Tastes great and very simple. I'll use this recipe from now on.

I'm not sure how to properly measure a cup of leaves, but I'm thinking they should be packed down after making this recipe. Seemed to have too much oil in it, so next time I'll pack the leaves down more.

I made 48 servings worth of this recipe to have in the freezer for the year, but made it in 3 batches of 16 servings. I chopped the garlic and blended it with the almonds, added the oil (only 1 cup for the 16 servings), 1 tbsp of lemon juice, nutmeg and salt and pepper. After blending those I add the basil and mixed it with a spoon and then blend it while pouring about 1/3 cup of water into the blender. I froze the pesto into ice cube trays and silicone muffin cups. Will definitely make again.

Yum!! We used pine nuts instead of almonds, and we didn't quite have enough basil so it ended up being quite garlicky tasting, but we loved it and it tasted so fresh and delicious. Thanks!!

A good basic pesto! Per others' reviews I added parmesan cheese, and since I had no almonds I subbed pecan pieces that I toasted in a skillet. Served over medium shell pasta with herbed chicken breast chunks and fresh tomato. Family thought they were getting a gourmet dinner! Leftovers today for lunch! YUM!

I added parmasan cheese and neglected to add nuts and loved it.

This was my first time making pesto. It was really easy. I was worried that the blender would not blend it properly but once the oil was added, it worked fine. I froze this for later use.

Excellent recipe!!! This is my first attempt at making pesto. It was delicious. Like most on here I did add some parmesan cheese.

This is a good basic pesto recipe which can be tweaked to individual preferences. One suggestion, for those who had difficulty processing the pesto... Buy one of those mini-food processors for jobs like these, as they're better suited than the full size machines.

Simple and easy, this was a good basic pesto. The only thing I did different was to toast the almonds in a skillet.

USE THIS RECIPE!!! This is the best pesto I've made so far. I did add lemon juice, salt and pepper and didn't exactly measure, but this was the best! I had never heard of using almonds before, but it was really good, and a lot cheaper. This is great to make if you grow herbs and garlic in your garden. I will make a much bigger batch next time! Thanks for the recipe.

Toast almonds in a dry skillet, it's easier and faster and you can keep an eye on them much better, too. I used 2 cups of basil. This needs the tang and richness of Parmesan cheese (I added 1/4 cup of fresh grated). No nutmeg.

This was fine. Tasted like something from a fancy restaurant. I would think of having it again. I made this to go with the scallop pesto pasta also found on this website.

YUM! Loved this recipe cause it's so easy and the almonds are a nice change to the pine nuts which are hard to find & expensive in my small town. The second time I made it I added 1/2 tsp. cumin instead of nutmeg & the squeeze of one fresh lemon! I liked it even more this way!!!! (Note- be sure to use a good extra virgin olive oil for a better flavor). Thanks Rebecca!

EASY and excellent. I used soy nuts that I had in the kitchen cabinet. I just may make a bundle to give as gifts to mom, friends, sister-in-law. MMMMMMMM.

did you use slivered or whole almonds?

I just finished blending the pesto exactly as this recipe describes and I can hardly wait for tonights dinner! The smell and taste are intoxicatingly good. I have slices of tomato slow drying in the oven to toss into pasta tonight along with this little bit of heaven Mmmmm...

Great idea to use almonds! I toasted on stovetop, which was quick and easy. Added a couple tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese and salt to taste. Can be prepared in advance.

I didn't even think I liked pesto... Boy was I wrong. This recipe was soooo tasty! Will definitely be making this again! I changed nothing in the recipe.

Excellent recipe!

This was very simple, and convenient and the taste was pretty good. A good everyday sort of recipe. I needed to find a pesto sauce w/o parmesan, since I didn't have any on hand. However it was missed. If you find it kinda bland, add a tsp of lemon juice, that helped.

We loved this recipe, fresh, tasty and easy! It's a keeper.

Very tasty...just used pine nuts instead of almonds, but turned out great!

FANTASTIC !!!!!!!!

WOW! I don't like pesto because of the strong pine nut flavor. I can't believe I never thought to use almonds. I added a bit of parmesan cheese, and a squeeze of lemon. This was outstanding!

I used this recipe with fresh basil from my garden. The toasted almonds give a nice flavour. I froze in ice cube trays to eat over winter. Doubling the recipe makes enough pesto for one ice cube tray.

Yummy! This was the first pesto sauce that I've ever made and it turned out fabulous! I thought that the nutty flavor of the almonds overpowered the basil and garlic, but it still tasted great. Will definitely make again!

Great on flavour and definitely easy to put together! I used a mix of cashews and almonds, added two tablespoons of Parmesan and forgot the nutmeg. A keep for sure.

This recipe was awesome. The only change I would make is keep the oven at a lower temperature and watch your nuts! They definitely don't take 10 minutes to toast, I had to throw the first batch out because they burned on me. I also used one clove of garlic, I thought 3 would be a little overboard.

Very easy to make and tasty. I added more garlic, but I always do. Thanks to those for the tip on just using a dry skillet to toast the almonds. Will use this recipe many more times. Thanks!

I've never made pesto but needed some for another recipe. I think this pesto is what did it for the other recipe! Very good! Will be making this again!

I kind of messed up with this recipe by doubling (!) the garlic. I strongly suggest you do NOT do that! 6 cloves of garlic was WAY too much!!! SO, I then tried to dilute the garlic taste by adding more of the other stuff, therefore by the time I was done I had barely followed the recipe. However ... I like pesto with parm cheese in it, and this recipe didn't call for it. Also, although I love pesto and was aware that pesto had oil in it, making this recipe myself with all that oil kind of grossed me out! I'll never look at pesto the same way again! SO, i'm going to keep looking for the perfect pesto recipe which to me would have parm cheese in it and, if possible, less oil. Oh, the almonds did actally work okay, which surprised me.

This is the first time I ever made pesto and this was very good. I liked that it did not require those expensive pine nuts. Next time, more garlic! I used three little guys; should have used three big guys. Cloves that is, ha! I used this over thin spaghetti tossed with shrimp & peas. Yummy dinner!

This is a great recipe. I had a lot of fresh basil from my own backyard and this recipe was so easy. I like the fact that it's almonds instead of pine nuts, which I'm not a big fan of. The only thing I changed was to add 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, and I think it came out better this way.

I thought this recipe was good but a bit too nutty for me.

Everyone loved it! Nice twist with the almonds!

Great "starter" recipe. I added fresh parmesan and used a mixture of basils from my herb garden. Will make again, but will try with pignoli nuts and a bit less garlic.

This pesto was super easy to make. My first time making it and it turned out great. It only took me 20 minutes start to finish (including cleanup). I added a touch of lemon juice and an extra clove of galrlic. Next time I will add a touch of Parm just to try it as alot of the reviews mentioned adding it.

"Easy" is a great description! This really helped me find a use for my abundance of basil! Great on sandwiches and pasta. I used my blender to make it and that worked just fine.

great, easy recipe. the perfect way to use and preserve all the basil I had at the end of the summer. I made this in big batches, then froze it - then I grab a little as I need it. It's like it's summer all year long!

This is the second pesto recipe I've tried on here and so far it's the best one yet.

This was exactly what I was looking for. The basic instructions for creating pesto. This recipe was great. I used walnuts instead of toasted almonds and measured more by eye than exact measurements. It turned out great! It was also very good with chicken. Thank you!

This Pesto recipe was delicious! We made some adjestments, only used 2 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup of pinenuts, and 2 tbs of Parmesean cheese. Now we know what we will use the 20 basil plants in the garden for!! When storing pesto in the freezer, leave out any kind of cheese, Parmesan. If the pesto is frozen with it, the pesto will ferment.

Very good!! 1st time making pesto and it came out great and it's very easy to make!!

Perfect!!! I substituted the Almonds with unsalted Sunflower Seeds. They're much closer in flavor to the traditional Pine Nuts at a fraction of the price of Almonds (about 30 cents from weigh-your-own aisle at the supermarket).

Easy and delicious. I prepared it according to recipe. I tried to cut down the olive oil, but you need the full 1/2 cup to get the proper consistency. After trying it, I did add some lemon juice, but it was still fantastic before I added it - the lemon juice just gave a little zing.

You score "5 stars" for an excellent basic recipe with the added originality of using almonds instead of pine nuts. It was wonderful, as is. However, I do prefer my pesto with added parmesan cheese (the real stuff, not processed) and a touch of lemon juice. Your recipe accepted these modifications with delightful results.

Very Easy, Very Yummy! I added sundried tomatos to the blend it was perfect! Thanks.

This was very easy to make and a good way to start using the basil from the herb garden I put in this year. I liked it but the rest of the family was not impressed. Maybe a little too much garlic for kids? I made it and used it right away. I wonder if the flavors would blend a bit more if next time I made it ahead of time.

I must have done something wrong here, because I wasn't thrilled with the outcome. Highly unlikely that I will try this one again.

This was really good and very easy. I usually have sliced almonds on hand, so I was glad the recipe included them instead of pine nuts. I followed exactly except I added a handful of grated cheese to the mix. Very tasty!

Didn't have pine nuts so I halved and toasted almonds on skillet, covered for 10 mins on med-low flame. I do think more than 6 can be served with this recipe as is :-) I put some of this in mayo & it was so good! I also added this pesto to Allrecipe's Philly Pesto Pasta!!

Very tasty. My first time making pesto, so I chose the easiest recipe with the most basic ingredients. I had just juiced a fresh lemon and so I added some, along with a pinch of chili powder that another recipe called for. I threw in a little frozen spinach, too. Even with all these variations, it tasted great and will I will make again, using this same base recipe.

I really appreciated that this uses almonds vs. pine nuts.

I didn't have any pine nuts or walnuts so I decided to try this recipe. I've never made a pesto without pine nuts, but I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out a rich, vibrant green color and was simple and easy to make. My almonds cooked in under 5 minutes so I would keep a watchful eye to make sure yours don't burn. I would also add the garlic one at a time and after tasting only add more if necessary. I ended up using all 3 cloves and it was a little too strong for my taste. I also added a couple of tablespoons parmesan simply because I love cheese and to cut down on the bite of the garlic. Because I was going to freeze it I decided to add a little fresh lemon juice to keep it from browning as suggested by other reviewers. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for the recipe!

YUM! It was delicious! Did sub pine nuts for the walnuts and did throw in some parmesan...

Quick, easy and delicious! I'll be making this one again for sure.

This pesto was delicious. Some suggestions for cooks: -My first batch of almonds burned. For the second batch of almonds, I put them on the lower shelf and cooked for only 5 minutes. -I don't have a food processor (only blender), so I banged the almonds with a meat hammer and then added them to the blender. This worked well.

Pretty good, but better with about 1/4 cup Parmesan added in.

Excellent recipe!! I added 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and it turned out FANTASTIC! My guest and family LOVED it! I highly recommend this recipe for something quick,easy and healthy! Tastes great with the fresh basil from the farmer's Market.

I'm not sure how to properly measure a cup of leaves, but I'm thinking they should be packed down after making this recipe. Seemed to have too much oil in it, so next time I'll pack the leaves down more.

I chose this recipe because I had a bunch of basil that was going to go bad and I realized that my pine nuts had gone rancid. I added some parmesan cheese (probably about an ounce...i just cut off a chunk and threw it in) and replaced some of the oil with lemon juice to cut the fat a bit and heighten the flavor. SO YUM! We ate it with some roasted chicken.

Good basic pesto, only had walnuts, will have to try almonds next time. Added a little fresh grated parmesan and a little lemon juice. So simple, but so lucious.

My basil plants were going crazy, so I decided to make my first pesto. This recipe is yummy. I had so many leaves, I doubled the recipe, used 5 cloves of garlic (it was plenty)blended all in the blender. Poured it all into an ice cube tray and the double recipe filled it perfectly. Tastes great, thank you for submitting.

Yummy!!!! This is so very good. I took the other reviewers advice and just toasted the almonds in a dry skillet. I made three batches of this because of my CSA basil bounty...and with the last batch I used walnut oil instead of olive oil. So very good that way too. I did add some grated Romano cheese to it too.