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If there’s a classic summer flavor, this homemade basil pesto recipe is it! There are many variations, but I’m going to show you how to make pesto sauce with just 5 ingredients… and from there you can make easy swaps to make it your own. Either way, it’s ready in just 5 minutes and offers the perfect solution to your too-much-basil “problem” in the summer (please tell me it’s not just me!).
Pesto sauce adds such great flavor to just about anything. Try it on fish, grilled chicken, sandwiches, veggies, or whisk it into salad dressings or mayonnaise. It’s incredibly versatile and I recommend always having a stash in your fridge or freezer. Next time you find yourself with a big pile of basil leaves fresh off the plant, you need to make some!
Basil Pesto Recipe: Why You’ll Love It
- Bright, fresh, herby taste
- Aromatic and creamy
- 5 simple ingredients (plus salt and pepper)
- Just 5 minutes to make
- Healthy, naturally low carb, and packed with flavor
- Perfect for pasta, meats, veggies, and Italian dishes

What Is Pesto?
Pesto is a bright green sauce typically made from fresh basil, garlic, nuts, parmesan cheese, and olive oil. It originated in Genoa, Italy. Although it’s commonly used as a pasta sauce, pesto can also work as a condiment or marinade for meats and veggies.
Pesto Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for this homemade pesto recipe, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
Wondering what pesto is made of? You only need 5 ingredients, plus salt and pepper, and they are easy to customize:
- Nuts – A classic basil pesto recipe uses pine nuts, but you could use macadamia nuts, almonds, walnuts, or cashews instead. For a nut free pesto sauce, replace the nuts with seeds, such as pepitas or sunflower seeds.
- Fresh Basil – Fresh basil leaves are the star of the show here! This is the most traditional option, but you can also substitute arugula, spinach, cilantro, parsley, mint, or kale leaves. You can also add sun-dried tomatoes, in addition to or instead of the greens. The finished flavor and texture will vary depending on what you use.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese – You could also use pecorino romano or Asiago cheese. To make paleo, dairy free, or vegan pesto, simply omit the cheese and add a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast instead.
- Olive Oil – Choose extra virgin olive oil for the most traditional choice — its rich and fruity flavor complements the herbs and garlic. Regular olive oil also works if that’s what you have on hand, or you can experiment with other oils, but the flavor will be different.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is best for this pesto recipe, but you could use 1 teaspoon of minced jarred garlic for convenience.
- Sea Salt & Black Pepper
VARIATION: Add lemon juice!
This is not required, but adding 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice makes pesto last longer, preserves the bright green color, and adds a tangy flavor.

How To Make Pesto Sauce
This section shows how to make pesto, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Chop the nuts. Since we are blending the pesto sauce anyway, the easiest way to do this is to place nuts into a powerful blender or food processor, and pulse several times until broken up into smaller pieces.
- Add the other ingredients. Add the olive oil, garlic, cheese, basil, salt, and pepper into the blender or food processor. Push the basil leaves into the olive oil.


- Blend. Pulse intermittently intermittently, until the pesto recipe reaches your desired consistency. Scrape the sides occasionally with a spatula as needed.


Tips For The Best Pesto Recipe
Pesto recipes are very simple to make, but here are a few tips I discovered that might be helpful:
- Don’t over-process. In the first step, only pulse the nuts until they are broken up. If you over-process, you will end up with nut butter! If you’re using a blender, it might work better to chop the nuts instead and then just add with the other ingredients.
- For larger food processors, add the oil in a thin stream. If your food processor is large and the blade is much higher than the bottom of the food processor, don’t add the oil with the other ingredients, because it might not mix well. Instead, gradually pour in a thin stream while the food processor is running.
- Pulse intermittently. The texture of pesto sauce can get too fine pretty quickly, so it’s better to pulse the blender or food processor (starting and stopping, instead of blending constantly) to reach the consistency you want.
- No food processor? Use a mortar and pestle! A mortar and pestle is the traditional method for making this recipe. Chop the nuts by hand and mash the garlic first, followed by pine nuts, basil leaves and salt (in batches), cheese, olive oil, and pepper. Make sure the pestle crushes each ingredient into a fine paste before proceeding to the next one.
- Adjust oil as needed. The amount you need can vary depending on how you measure your ingredients and how thick you want your pesto sauce to be. If it’s too thick, just add more oil.
Storage Instructions
Store homemade pesto in a mason jar or airtight container in the refrigerator.
How Long Does Pesto Last?
Homemade pesto lasts up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Can You Freeze Pesto?
Yes, you can freeze pesto sauce for up to 6 months. Simply pour it into small, freezer-safe containers or an ice cube tray, and freeze until solid. Pop the pieces out and transfer them to a freezer bag for long-term storage.

Ways To Use Pesto Sauce
Once you’ve learned how to make this pesto sauce recipe, you might wonder what to do with it! There are so many ways to enjoy this fresh and herby condiment. Here are some ideas:
- Chicken – Make pesto chicken with it, or use it as a marinade for juicy baked chicken breast, crispy grilled chicken legs, or even chicken leg quarters.
- Seafood – I love homemade pesto sauce for pesto salmon, but it would be perfect drizzled on crispy broiled salmon or juicy shrimp skewers, too.
- Eggs – Fry eggs directly in a thin layer of pesto, or drizzle on top of cloud eggs.
- Veggies – For a burst of fresh flavor, add a few spoonfuls of pesto to your roasted vegetables! You can also use it as a dressing for antipasto salad or shrimp salad, or drizzle it over Caprese skewers.
- Pasta – The most common way to use pesto is on pasta! Try it with your favorite noodles, or with healthier options like zucchini noodles, baked spaghetti squash, or low carb pasta.
- Italian Dishes – I’m a huge fan of swapping this for the sauce in my zucchini lasagna, but you can also use it as the sauce on cauliflower pizza crust or serve with sausage and peppers.
Tools For This Pesto Recipe
- Food Processor – Quickly chops, grinds, and purees a variety of ingredients, making meal prep a breeze.You could also use a powerful blender for this pesto recipe.
- Mortar And Pestle – A classic tool for making pesto, and it also works great for guacamole and grinding spices!
Basil Pesto Recipe
Basil Pesto Recipe (5 Minutes!)
The universal EASY homemade basil pesto recipe you need! This sauce needs just 5 ingredients, 5 minutes, and it tastes amazing on everything.
Recipe Video
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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Place nuts into a powerful blender or food processor. Pulse several times until they are broken up into smaller pieces. (Don't over-process, or you'll end up with nut butter!)
- Add the remaining ingredients to the blender. Push the basil leaves into the olive oil.
- Pulse intermittently, scraping sides occasionally with a spatula, until the desired consistency is reached.
Last Step: Leave A Rating!
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Recipe Notes
Serving size: 2 tablespoons
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
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49 Comments
Joanne
0Loved this recipe! I actually used my immersion blender (in case anyone wondered if it would work)for this since my food processor is packed away right now…living in an RV!
Amy
0I just made this pesto recipe and it’s the best recipe I’ve ever made for pesto! I had never previously chopped the pine nuts before mixing them with the other ingredients, and this really helped. I did toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet to add depth. I tried a squeeze of lemon–definitely added brightness!
Deb
0So much better than store bought! Used sunflower seeds because that was all I had and it was great. Used it on the pesto chicken, another Wholesum Yum recipe…delicious!
Sarah
0I LOVE pesto! I made a triple batch of this sauce and used it on pork chops earlier in the week, cheese ravioli last night, and have the third round in the freezer for an easy go-to meal later this fall. Delicious and super easy to make.
Allie
0I was really craving some homemade pesto (and had so much extra basil this summer) so I tried out this recipe and it was great! I love pesto for pasta or on a sandwich and this one was really flavorful. Bookmarked to make again. Thanks!!!
Jere Cassidy
0I saw the picture of your basil pesto and just had to make it, and mine came out in the prettiest green color too! I served this over feta.
Elizabeth S
0I had so much basil from my basil plants and there is no better way to use it than in this recipe. It was easy to make, balanced, flavorful, and so delicious! Will definitely use this recipe again.
Janice
0We really love your pesto recipe! It was so delicious and easy! I tried pairing it with roasted vegetables, and it turned out so great! Such a great recipe to try!
LIsa Collum
0This pesto recipe is perfect! It is delicious and decadent right out of the Vitamix, but I made it today to mix with spaghetti squash, shrimp and topped with mozzarella and parmesan. Baked 25 minutes at 350. Spectacular! Thank you, Maya, for another winning recipe.
Dorothy
0This was absolutely yum. I use macadamia nuts, but as I didn’t have enough sweet basil growing in my garden I made the 2 cups up with Thai Basil and Coriander, which I did have plenty of.
And I grated the parmesan cheese fresh from the block. The only problem was that I wanted to eat it all before I could make the keto twists that I made it for lol.
Judith K Orr
0How much nutritional yeast would sub. for parm. cheese?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Judith, I have never tried to use nutritional yeast in this recipe.
Whitney
0Perfect pesto
Vicki
0Thank you so much for the recipe super easy to follow and super delicious!!!
Really like all The additional Information you provided i.e. substitutions on the nuts extremely helpful
Jo Truan
0Today was the 1st time I have made pesto. I am so happy I found your recipe!! I made zoodles with pesto and eggs for breakfast since I couldnt wait to try it. So delicious!! This will be a staple in my house as long as I have basil growing!! Thank you so much!!!
Lauren
0Can your nuts be lightly salted?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Lauren, Yes, but you may want to reduce the added salt in the recipe. You can adjust this to taste.
kazy
0How much is 2 cups of fresh basil? Should I just stuff them into 2 cups worth to find out? I went on line to google and it said about 43 grams or 1 1/2 ounces. Does that sound about right?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Kazy, Yes you can measure it that way (lightly packing into measuring cups) or go by weight if you have a kitchen scale. Either method will work fine.
sheila haliotis
0This pesto was amazing! I made it with macadamia nuts and served it over zoodles with low carb meatballs. Definitely a keeper!!
Laurie
0Can this pesto be frozen?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Laurie, Yes! This pesto freezes very well. Be sure to store in an air tight container to preserve freshness.
Adnan Usman
0Can I leave out the nuts? I really don’t like nuts.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Adnan, Yes you can omit the nuts. Your pesto will have a different texture than what you see pictured, but it will still work.
Katherine
0Pesto sauce is the best!!! I’ve never heard of using macadamias though – I bet it’s delicious! Thank goodness for my garden basil 🙂
Raia Todd
0Super easy!
Jean Choi
0I’ll take pesto in everything and I love that this used macadamia nuts!
ChihYu
0This pesto sauce will be SO GOOD on all the things! And I love the taste that the macadamia nuts gives!
Megan Stevens
0Maya, have you ever had trouble with your pesto browning? I know the typical advice is plenty of olive oil prevents oxidation, so I guess that’s the key. Maybe I always use too little. I appreciate having your recipe!
Wholesome Yum
0Hi Megan, it can happen when the fresh cut basil is exposed to the air for too long. If extra oil doesn’t help, you could also try a squeeze of lemon juice.
Tayler Ross
0My family loves pesto, and this is by far our favorite recipe! So fresh and delicious!
Matt Ivan
0I love pesto sauce but for some reason rarely make it. This recipe is so easy and yummy!
Kristine
0I love, love, love making my own pesto and this recipe is so super easy! It was perfect for my chicken recipe and I can’t wait to use it on all sorts of other things, thank you!
Helen
0This looks so good! We love fresh pesto but I haven’t tried it with macadamia nuts – yet!
Patty
0I love love love basil and love it in pesto. I never thought of adding it to mayo … yum!
Sandi
0I put pesto on everything. I love this recipe so much!
Jessica Formicola
0My family loves pesto! I gave this recipe a try and it was so delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!
Dannii
0We always make our own pesto. Such a great way to use up leftover herbs too.
Emily L Currie
0This would be good with cilantro too.
Wholesome Yum
0Great idea, Emily!
Rose
0Made this today. It is amazing!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Rose!
Edith
0Anything fermented (yeast, cheese, yogurt) is off my list. Could you make it without the parmesan?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Edith, You can replace the Parmesan with additional macadamia nuts. The flavor and texture will be different, though. Hope this helps!
Allergy Awesomeness
0You had me at two minutes! 🙂
Raia T.
0I agree, macadamias, basil, parmesan… Sounds like a wonderful flavor combo!
Strength and Sunshine
0Macadamia nuts are perfect to use! They are so creamy and delicious!
Sylvie
0Sounds terrific, I love the rich buttery flavor of macadamias!
vickytasteaholics
0I bet this tastes amazing! Anything with macadamia nuts does 🙂