This super easy 5 Ingredient Homemade Basil Pesto recipe takes only 5 minutes to make and is so much better than store-bought. Plus, I’ve collected 15 of my favorites recipes to use this pesto in one place. Enjoy!
Love homemade sauces? Then try my Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce and my Bourbon Barbecue Sauce!
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Homemade Basil Pesto
What do you do when you have an abundance of basil in your garden? You make pesto! Pesto is super easy to make and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients or time and is a great way to use up extra basil.
This Homemade Basil Pesto recipe only requires 5 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep time. It’s delicious and super easy to make!
Even better, you can make this fresh in the summer and freeze or can to use all year long. Perfect for sandwiches, grilling, pasta, and so much more!
Why You Should Make your Own Pesto
Simply put, making your own pesto at home tastes so much better and can be customized to your taste. Not to mention it’s so easy to do! You can always add more oil for a thinner pesto or make it thick and chunky with less. If the basil flavor is too strong for your taste substitute spinach leaves. You can also substitute any herbs of nuts you have on hand. I love making pesto with walnuts and pecans.
How To Make Homemade Basil Pesto
Wondering how to make pesto? Simply add of the ingredients — basil, pine nuts, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper — to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Season as needed, and enjoy!
variations
- Change up the greens and herbs! Mint, parsley, arugula, spinach, kale, broccoli, carrot greens … the options are endless!
- Mix up the nuts! Pecans, walnuts, and almonds work beautifully here.
- Customize the flavor profile to your liking! I like adding lemon juice, walnut oil, sun dried tomatoes, and crushed red pepper flakes.
How To store pesto
Store your homemade pesto in a tightly sealed container. To help extend the life of the pesto cover the top with plastic wrap making sure to touch the top of the pesto so air doesn’t get in. Another trick is to add a thin layer of oil to the top of the pesto to also help keep the air out. Pesto stays good in the refrigerator for up to a week.
You can also freeze it in an ice cube tray. Just leave a little space to top with olive oil to keep it from browning.
what to serve with homemade pesto
more pesto recipes to try
1 hour- 20 minutes
- 35 minutes
- 40 minutes
5 Ingredient Homemade Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups basil, packed
- 1/4 cup pinenuts
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor. Pulse until combined.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition Information
Did you make this?
I’d love to hear your feedback! Leave a review and make sure to share your pictures on social media! Don’t forget to follow @thechefsavvy.
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four
Ooh I positively love basil, so you can imagine that I loveee pesto! Your recipe looks like a wonderfully easy and simple recipe to put together; I can’t wait to try it! 🙂
Kristen @ The Endless Meal
I obsess with pesto in the summertime. It’s so great how pretty much any green can become its own tasty form of pesto in a few seconds flat. Love it!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
You can’t beat homemade pesto. It tastes so much better and it is much cheaper. Not to mention that there is so much that you can put it on.
Gayle @ Pumpkin ‘N Spice
Homemade pesto is the best! I love how easy it is to customize depending on your tastes. What a great roundup of recipes, Kelley!
Mira
Love homemade pesto! ll these recipes look amazing!
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor
I love making homemade pesto! I always have plenty of basil in my garden this time of the year and homemade pesto is a great addition to any meal. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Shelby @ Go Eat and Repeat
I love making my own pesto! For the longest time I was so intimidated by it that I only ever bought the store bought stuff. When my made my own for the first time I was amazed at how much better it tasted! These recipes all look amaizng!
Danielle
Now I know what to do with all of that basil growing in my garden! Definitely need to give this a try!
Kelly – Life Made Sweeter
Homemade pesto is the best especially during the summer! Yours looks perfect! Love how easy it is to whip up!
Stacey @ Bake.Eat.Repeat.
That pesto looks perfect – I love homemade pesto! And so many tasty looking pesto recipes that I need to try!