Classic Pesto Recipe
Pesto is such a versatile sauce. It’s fantastic tossed with any pasta, gnocchi, or used as a spread on sandwiches. This pesto recipe is also the secret ingredient in Chicken Pesto Pasta and Chicken Pesto Roll-Ups.
Homemade pesto is surprisingly easy and inexpensive to make and fresh tastes so much better than storebought. During the summer months, we keep a steady supply of this fantastic sauce in the fridge and freezer since it stores really well.
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I’m always comparing this homemade pesto to the Costco pesto (which is the best store-bought one I’ve found) and this fresh pesto recipe wins. The lemon juice keeps the color bright and beautiful and adds fresh flavor without needing too much extra salt.
What Is Pesto Sauce?
Pesto is basically a bright green sauce that is made from crushing together basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.
It’s a sauce that originated in Italy, with the term pesto derived from the Italian word “pestare” which means “to crush”. It was originally made using a Mortar and Pestle but we find it’s faster and easier in a food processor.
Ingredients for Basil Pesto
Most of the ingredients needed for this pesto recipe are things you probably already have on hand. If you don’t have basil growing in your garden, it’s best to buy it fresh the day you are making the sauce.
- Basil – use fresh basil leaves. The common basil leaves for pesto are large leaf basil, sweet basil, or genovese basil
- Parmesan cheese – shredded
- Extra virgin olive oil – use the best quality oil you can source
- Pine nuts – these are typical for pesto, but we have substituted with walnuts with great results
- Garlic cloves – we use 2 large cloves
- Lemon juice – use freshly squeezed juice from 1 large or 2 smaller lemons. Do not use lemon juice concentrate.
- Salt & Pepper – can be added to taste
Can I substitute Pine Nuts?
While traditional pesto sauce is made with pine nuts, you can certainly replace the pine nuts with a less expensive nut such as walnuts, or blanched almonds which work great.
Pro Tip: To get the most flavor out of your pine nuts, toast them on a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing often until golden and fragrant then cool before using in the recipe.
What Type of Basil Should I Use?
There are many varieties of basil. A few of the most popular include Italian large leaf (sweet basil), Thai, and lemon basil.
Any of these can be used for pesto but each has a slightly different flavor profile. For a traditional basil pesto flavor, you’ll want to use the Italian large leaf. It’s the basil leaf that most people typically think of as “normal” basil. It’s also referred to as sweet basil or Genovese basil. This is the type of basil sold in most grocery stores.
How to Make Basil Pesto
- Prep Basil – Gently rinse fresh basil leaves and pat dry or use a salad spinner to remove excess water.
- Process Sauce – Place all of your ingredients to a food processor or a high powered blender and process until smooth.
Pro Tip: After blending the pesto, add more salt to taste if desired. Keep in mind that store-bought pesto sauces can be significantly saltier since they are compensating for freshness. Salt also preserves the sauce for longer shelf life.
Serve with
Basil pesto is an easy and healthy summer sauce that adds incredible flavor to a variety of dishes. Of course, there are the obvious uses for basil pesto, like mixing it in with your favorite pasta dish, or as the base for a pizza, but there’s so much more you can do with it!
- Spread on a sandwich for an elevated lunch
- Thin it down with oil or vinegar and make a basil pesto salad dressing
- Marinate or toss with your favorite grilled or roasted veggies.
- Topping for meat – spread pesto over cooked chicken, salmon, pork tenderloin, and of course on medalions of beef tenderloin.
More Homemade Sauces
The flavors and ingredients of pesto and these homemade condiment recipes are way better than storebought. Once you make your own homemade dressings and sauces, you won’t want anything else.
- Tzatziki Sauce Recipe – a healthy sauce you can serve with chicken, grilled veggies, pita chips, gyros and as a raw veggie dip.
- Tartar Sauce Recipe – great with fish and crab cakes
- Horseradish Sauce Recipe – Steakhouse quality horseradish
- Chimichuri Sauce – excellent topping for steak
- Avocado Ranch Dressing – doubles as a dip or dressing
- Caesar Dressing – our go-to creamy caesar
Basil Pesto Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
- 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup pine nuts , or walnuts
- 2 garlic cloves, (large)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, (juice of 2 small lemons)
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Wash and dry the basil leaves.
- Place basil into a food processor, add cheese, nuts, garlic cloves, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth.
- Season with more salt to taste if desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
This is my yearly go to recipe for making big batches to freeze from the basil we grow in our garden. I double the recipe with each batch. The only ingredient I don’t double is the lemon juice and it turns out perfect!
I’m so happy you found a favorite on our blog! Thank you for your lovely review.
Natasha, your pesto recipe is wonderful! It was not too lemony for us at all, but we did add extra garlic. With Canadian Thanksgiving coming up, I am looking forward to trying it various ways with leftover turkey. Great recipe, and easy too!
That’s great, Jane!
Too much lemon in this recipe.
I would suggest putting in tbl at a time to insure its to your liking.
For us 1/4 cup too much.
I did use fresh from a lemon I juiced.
Made this today following the directions. The lemon flavor overpowered the basil so I added more basil. It helped but lemon was still pretty strong. I love the idea of the freshness lemon can bring to pesto so I’ll try it again and just decrease the amount. Thanks for your recipe!
You’re welcome! It wasn;t overpowering for us but feel free to use less lemon next time if you prefer.
Looking to make this soon but have a question. All other pesto recipes say to add the EVOO in slowly but yours adds it with everything at once. Will this not cause the oil to emulsify?
Hi JB, we haven’t had that issue with this process and recipe. I hope you love it!
My GO TO pesto sauce! It’s delicious, I too use walnuts instead of pricey pine nuts. Thank you, sooo good😋
I’m so glad this is your go-to recipe! Thank you for sharing, Lorraine.
Is 1/4 cup lemon juice accurate compared to other recipes only calling for a tbsp?
Hi Sierra, that’s correct! Be sure to use freshly squeezed juice from 1 large or 2 smaller lemons. Do not use lemon juice concentrate.
Thank you Natasha! Just made this pesto and it tastes amazing. I’m going to freeze it and put it in the freeze dryer’s next batch so I can have it long term.
That’s great! You’ll love having this on hand.
This turned out better than I thought!! Thank you Natasha for all your yummy recipes!
You’re very welcome, Traci!
Made mine substituted pepitas for pine nuts ❣️ Delicious ❣️
How long can I keep pesto in the fridge? Or is it better to freeze it?
We keep a steady supply of this fantastic sauce in the fridge and freezer since it stores really well. This will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator but longer in the freezer.
Great recipe. I make many of your recipes as your my go to for most of my recipes. Thank you for all your videos and tips and tricks. This is great!! Love it with the lemon vs without. It needs the acid. I added 3 large cloves of garlic and a lil more sea salt and ground black pepper to suit my taste. Otherwise wala!!!
Hi Lynann! Thank you for the feedback. So glad you loved it!
I love this recipe. Make it all the time and keep a stock in my freezer. I use white wine instead of the lemon and it’s excellent.
Sounds amazing, Denise! I’m glad you love this recipe!
I love pesto but my husband is not a fan of parmesan cheese. (or any “stinky” cheese as he calls it). Is it possible to substitute a different cheese?
Hi Denise! I’m not sure that I have another substitute idea for the parmesan cheese. Feel free to experiment with it.
made this basil pesto today. i used walnuts in place of pine nuts. much cheaper. its outstanding.super easy to put together and lots of flavor. Going to make your basil pesto stuffed chicken breasts for dinner.
That sounds amazing, Jim! Thank you for sharing. I hope you love the recipe.
SO good and easy! How long does it store in the freezer? Thank you!
Hi Ashleigh, we keep a steady supply of this fantastic sauce in the fridge and freezer since it stores really well. This will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator but longer in the freezer.
I made this today as I had lots of sweet basil growing, never liked any of the pestos I’ve tried before and I was going to give this away as a gift, but it’s so nice I’m keeping it. Thank you for changing my mind. I also did it in my Nutribullet which worked a treat.
That’s amazing, Ruth! Thank you for trying my recipe. I’m so glad you love it.
Made this for the second time and it’s absolutely delicious- love the freshness the lemon adds! How long can I keep it in the fridge in a jar? X
Hi Jules! This will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator but longer in the freezer. 🙂
Made your Pesto recipe today with my frozen lemon juice from our tree and fresh basil from our garden, what a fabulous recipe. Only thing I did differently was using toasted walnuts as I didn’t have pine nuts. Your recipes ROCK!
Thanks a lot! We appreciate your good comments and review.
The lemon juice ruined this pesto. I will not add it next time.
Hi Dawn, did you use freshly squeezed lemon juice and not concentrated one? Feel free to reduce it next time.
Made this today with frozen lemon juice from my tree and fresh basil from my garden, used walnuts as I didn’t have pine nuts, absolutely fabulous! Your recipes Rock!
Awesome! Thanks a lot for your good comments and feedback, Corinne.
Absolutely love everything about Natasha’s Kitchen! Every recipe seems amazing and easy to make. I keep saving… need to cook too; can’t just watch and enjoy her terrific presentations and sense of humor..although they charge up my day and make me smile! Thank you..
Aww, thank you for the kind words! I’m so glad you love my recipes.
Natasha, you are truly an inspiration! I can’t wait to give this recipe a try next time I get my hands on some fresh basil. 😋
Hi Corinne! Thank you! So glad that I could be an inspiration! I hope you love the recipe.
What would you suggest in your Pesto recipe to replace nuts?
Would I be able to just omit nuts and still have a good pesto?
( I can’t eat nuts 😔)
Thank you.
Hi J! The nuts actually make up a large portion of this recipe so you might consider replacing them. I have not tested an alternative or omitted them but here is what one of my readers said, “I leave out the nuts and I use half basil and half Italian flat-leaf parsley that I grow myself. Really good! I don’t miss the nuts at all.” I hope that helps!
Overall pretty good, but I found there was a little too much lemon juice.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Bre!
I want to make your recipe as gifts. Does it need to be refrigerated or just sealed tightly. What do you recommend?
Hi Mary, I hope this its helpeful, here is what one of our readers wrote “To freeze, I fill up ice trays with the pesto, let them harden, & then put the individual cubes in a ziploc bag. Works great!!”
Forgot to mention I made it my Nutribullet . Came out super smooth and well blended ❤️
That’s great to know. Thank you for sharing.
I was short on fresh lemon juice so had to only add a bit less than 1/4 cup. Added a little water to thin and only one clove of garlic. OMG! Wanted to eat it with a spoon! Will get to the store to get more lemons to make this with the rest of the basil in my garden!
Thank you!
Thank you for the feedback, Patti! I’m so glad you loved it. 🙂
I did the same as you and agree! Took it to a party and it was a big hit!
This is my first time making pesto. It turned out pretty well. I just have to find additional things to serve with it. 😊 Thanks for sharing your recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Sheila!
Just made this and love the way it came out! The lemon adds a great fresh flavor! Delicious! Qs… What is the serving size for the nutrition facts provided? Was it for the 1.5 cups or a smaller portion? Thanks so much!
Hi Meghan, this recipe makes a total of 1 1/2 cups pesto and serves 8 peple, so the serving size will be one of the 8 servings.
Hi Natasha- first off, LOVE your recipes- thanks for teaching me how to cook!!
Also- I tried this recipe (yum!) but didn’t have pine nuts so I used pistachios. OH MY GOSH- it was life altering. We are going to plant an entire garden of just basil next year to freeze pistachio pesto for year round yum!
That’s wonderful, Annie! I’m so glad you loved this recipe. Thank you for the great review.
Recipe was perfect. I splurged on 1/2 cup of pine nuts ($7) which seems essential in this recipe. Can’t wait to make some pasta now!
Hi Paula! Thank you for the wonderful review, so glad you’re enjoying this recipe. We love it on pasta! 🙂
I made your pesto today with basil from my garden. It came out so good. I was spooning it into my mouth. Tonight I’ll make my hubby a white pizza with your pesto.
That sounds delicious! Enjoy. So glad you loved this recipe.
Delicious! I make your chicken Marsala recipe and it’s my husband’s favorite dish so I thought I’d try your pesto. It didn’t disappoint! I want to start making more of your recipes. Thank you for sharing them.
Love that you’re enjoying the recipes!
1/4 cup lemon juice is really a lot, and I love lemons. I would cut back to juice of 1/2 lemon next time.
I think I’ll do the same. It’s a little tart, but still very good.
Lemon juice. Ahh nope! I add 1 tsp whipped cream cheese when I am blending everything together. Love my pesto on top of Homemade Raviols
I made the Pesto Sauce. It is delicious! Have never used Pesto before in recipes, but we love it. Today, added a bit to Mayo and had it on chicken sandwich. THANK YOU! Love so many of your recipes!
Hi Bonnie, that’s so nice to hear! Thanks a lot for sharing your experience trying this recipe. We’re so glad that you enjoyed it!
Great recipe for fresh homemade style pesto. Perfect taste and textures. The fresh squeezed lemon is the kiss on top.
It’s the best when it’s homemade and I’m so glad you loved it too, Mary Ann!
Too lemony for me. I had to counter with more basil and Parmesan. I have also learned to is a small amount of almond meal in place of pignoli or walnuts.
When I make my pesto I use roasted cashews they give it a kind of sweet addition.
I actually used 3/4 C. Grated Parmesan and it was too much. So I would use maybe 1/2 C if using grated, rather than shredded as indicated in recipe. But otherwise tasty.
Absolutely the most scrumptious thing ever with fresh basil from my garden I plan to add some chicken and angel hair pasta and heat it up . We are always looking for easy beatable meals to make when on our sailboat Yay for another easy scrumptious one! Thanks so much!
You’re very welcome, Cindy! So glad you enjoy this pesto.
The perfect combination of ingredients. However, we added extra salt, pepper, and garlic for our household tastes.
Hi Julie! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for sharing with us! 🙂
I used your recipe but substituted organic raw cashews instead of pine nuts. I also used 4 cloves of fresh garlic from my garden and my garden basil! So delicious It was hard to stop eating it by the spoonful! Thank You. And the lemon is very much needed for freshness and keeps the pesto from darkening as much.
You’re very welcome, Bonny! I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe. Thank you for sharing your experiment. 🙂
I used this pesto recipe yesterday for the first time as I grew basil in my garden this year and had an over abundance. I didn’t want to waste it. I loved the recipe, it was easy to make and freeze in ice cube trays. I had it with zoodles for lunch today and it was very tasty. I used fresh squeezed lemon juice in the recipe and didn’t find it was too over powering. When I first tasted the pesto in raw state, thought the basil was a little on the bitter side. When I added it to my zoodles and heated, everything came together. Will definitely keep this recipe for future basil crop. Totally enjoyed. Thank you.
So glad to hear that, Donna! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
08-14-2022 I made this today – my first time to attempt pesto with freshly picked basil from my garden. I’ve used recipes from Natasha’s Kitchen before and once again, could not be happier that I chose her Pesto recipe. It’s wonderful! I made a double batch and am able to retain some for eating fresh and freeze the rest in 12 2.5oz silicon ‘ice cube’ tray for later. Thanks Natasha for sharing your expertise!
You’re so welcome, Colleen! I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try.
I just made this pesto & it is deliciously addictive. How long will it last in the fridge & can I still freeze it with the cheese in?
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Sue! This will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator but longer in the freezer. 🙂
You’re right Natasha, this is delicious & really easy to make!
So glad you enjoy this recipe, Kathy. 🙂
I have a question? please if anyone can answer. my first time making this with my garden basil. Do i toast the pine nuts? will it be adding flavor and alot of recipes dont call for the lemon….what is difference
Hi Francine. I put in my recipe notes a pro-tip: to get the most flavor out of your pine nuts, toast them on a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing often until golden and fragrant then cool before using in the recipe. The lemon is a great addition to this pesto’s flavor profile. I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Thank you for sharing. I have an abundance of basil and didn’t know what to do with it. I read your recipe and now I can wait to try it.
You’re welcome! I hope you love this recipe.
I use hemp seeds and sometime hemp seeds and walnuts instead of pine nuts which makes this pesto very healthy.. sometime I add sun-dried tomatoes…this pesto is delicious served on fingerling potatoes…
Sounds good, thank you for sharing that with us, Monique!
I harvested a lot of basil and need to use it. How long will this stay fresh in the fridge?
Hi Cathryn, this will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator but longer in the freezer. 🙂
Are you able to can this? If so would you use a water bath or would it have to be a pressure canner?
Hi Susan, I haven’t tested canning this yet to advise.
I freeze mine in snack bags. Defrost and use at room temperature. I use on chicken paninis and pasta.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
Hi. How long can the pesto be kept in the fridge? Sorry if this was already asked!
Hi Deanna. This will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator but longer in the freezer. 🙂
delicious as written and can’t wait to share with my family!
I hope they love it too!
I prepared this today exactly as directed…FANTASTIC! Will delete all other pesto recipes and suggest this to my friends. Thanks for posting Natasha! ❤️
So glad you enjoyed this, Kate! Thank you for the review and for sharing my recipe 🙂
Great recipe with easy-to-follow instructions. I’ll be making pest again soon because my basil is going nuts. Thx for sharing.
You’re welcome! Enjoy 🙂
Love this recipe. I grew my own basil this year and already it has taken over the garden. I made this pesto recipe and it is delicious. I spread some pesto on french bread with bruschetta. It is such a game changer. Love all your recipes.
So glad to hear that, Mary. Thank you for the review.
I lost my pesto recipe, so I was guessing at memory. I decided to check Pinterest and found your recipe. I love it, even better at the one I always used. It is creamy and delicious. The lemon was something I never tried. It just gives it a bit of a twist. I Love it and thank you for sharing.
Yes, it does, I’m glad you didn’t skip the lemon. Thank you for your great review and feedback, Patricia!
Do you toast the walnuts too if you substitute? I’m not familiar with this. Thank you!
Hi Cassie, you may use already toasted walnuts or toast them.
Delicious! Made it todY for mozzarella grilled cheese sandwiches. Amazing! Tha KS for making me look so good.
I’m so glad you love it, Donna! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Made as directed and it was too lemony and watery. Hoping it sets up more in the fridge and that the lemon mellows out a bit.
Hi Milia! I’m sorry to hear that. Did you use freshly squeezed lemon juice or concentrate? I do not recommend using juice from concentrate and in total it should be 1/4cup but you can reduce the amount next time if that is too much.
Cannot go wrong with your recipes! Love this easy to make pesto. I usually freeze the leftover so it doesn’t go bad in ziploc bags. Thank you so much!
So glad you enjoy them, Dunia!
When we open the jar of basil and begin to use, will what’s left in the jar immediately begin to brown similar to an avocado or apple?
Hi Linda, yes this does start to go brown the longer it sits but keeps its color better if you freeze it.
I have a question, I want to freeze this. Do you use less oil when freezing? And then add it back in when you use it?
Hi Melanie, we freeze it with all the original ingredients without any issues. I hope that helps!
i think i did something wrong. mine did NOT turn out so green and i packed it tight.
Hi Maggie, did you make sure to use fresh basil leaves? Also, using a different variety might affect the color and also how long it sits in the refrigerator. Lastly, make sure not to try cooking the sauce since heating will cause the green to dull.
Can you substitute Romano cheese for the Parmesan. I like the flavor better. This is first year I am growing my own basil.
Thank you!
Hi Denise, I haven’t tried that but one of our readers did and shared this “So good! I used Romano cheese cause it’s all I had, but my mom uses feta as it’s yummy too.” I hope that helps!
I want to make this when my family and I go on vacation but I don’t want to bring my food processor, can I use an immersion blender and get the same results?
Hi Hope! I think it will work just fine. The smaller blades may result in more of a “fine” paste.
Made this tonight and sooooo good. I am not a pesto person, probably because I’ve only had the jarred stuff. This has changed my mind. Definitely keeping this recipe and making again.
So glad to hear that, Theresa! I’m happy you found this recipce.
What is a substitute for:
3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese In the Basil Pesto Recipe?
And not another cheese.
Thanks!
Hi Carole, I’m not sure that I have another substitute idea if not cheese. Feel free to experiment with it.
Am I allowed to skip the pine nuts? Because I have tree nut allergies
Hi Edward, I saw this comment shared by someone else “I leave out the nuts and I use half basil and half italian flat leaf parsley that I grow myself. Really good! I don’t miss the nuts at all.” I hope that helps!
I use sesame seeds in place of pine nuts and it tastes awesome.
Do you remove the skin of walnuts before adding them for the sauce?
Hi Yan, we did not remove that, no. We shelled or purchased shelled walnuts.
I tried the recipe and it was delicious… thx awesome recipe
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Paromita!
This is a good recipe just as written. Great way to use up most of the garden basil prior to end of season frost. Freeze in ice cube trays, then store in bags / containers in freezer to use during cold months.
Hi Rusty! Yes, this freezes really well! I’m glad you gave this a try!
Thank you for posting this comment. I didn’t want to make the recipe unless I could store what I didn’t use.
I leave out the nuts and I use half basil and half italian flat leaf parsley that I grow myself. Really good! I don’t miss the nuts at all.
Hello Jeannine, glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your review.
Made this pesto this morning I used my blender and I love it!!
Yum! I’m so glad you loved it, Michelle!
Question…do you use fresh parm that you shred, or parm that was you buy in the plastic containers? I think that they measure differently.
Hi Karen, we used shredded for this recipe, but I bet freshly shredded will be equally if not more delicious.
I use the Joy of Cooking recipe, which is identical except for the lemon juice. I’ll give this one a try next time. What do you feel freah lemon 🍋 juice adds?
Sounds good, you can give that a try! Please let us know how you liked it.
I tried your pesto the best one I have tasted yet I used walnuts instead and liked the lemon juice better flavor
Thank you for your awesome recipes
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Theresa!