Homemade Basil Pesto (Food Processor)

Homemade Basil Pesto is an easy recipe and one you should have on hand for pasta dishes, pizza and grilled meats. And using a food processor means the sauce takes just 5 minutes to come together. There's a couple secrets we'll share to make the most out of your homemade pesto.

There's not much better than basil, garlic and parmesan cheese, hence why this classic Italian sauce is so popular. It's a vibrant sauce and adds tons of flavors to pasta dishes and pizzas, and we love it as a dip for fresh bread or cut vegetables. All you need is fresh basil, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, garlic, pine nuts and olive oil. We like to add a bit of fresh parsley to add some bulk to our pesto (don't worry, it doesn't take away the taste of basil). And we have a couple tips to keep that sauce a vibrant green color.

Ingredients that Matter

• Fresh Basil. A couple cups of fresh basil is all you need for this recipe. And you can absolutely use tender stems (plenty of flavor in those stems, so don't waste them). Be sure to give the basil a rinse and dry well before adding to the food process.
• Parmesan Cheese. Tangy and creamy parmesan cheese pair really well with fresh basil, and a little goes a long way. We like just ½ cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese in our pesto. And opt for freshly grated instead of pre-grated store bought parmesan (that stuff sometimes has additives to keep it from clumping).
• Garlic. Like parmesan, we want a bit of garlic flavor in our pesto as it's a classic combination. We like just one clove of minced garlic in our pesto, but use more if you are a big garlic lover.
• Fresh Parsley. Add a small handful of parsley to our pesto is a trick we learned working in restaurants. The idea is fresh parsley adds plenty of herb flavor, bulks up the sauce, but doesn't detract from the basil flavor. It's not required, but we add a good handful just about every time we make homemade pesto. Give it a try!
• Pine Nuts. These little seeds of pine trees (also called pignoli) are rich and fatty and so delicious. You only need about ¼ cup to get that richness into this pesto sauce, and that's good because pine nuts can be expensive!
• Lemon Juice. All of these ingredients are rich! That's where a hit of acid comes in handy. Just one 1 tablespoon helps cut through the richness and saltiness of the other ingredients.
• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. The sauce is finished with extra-virgin olive oil, which pulls the herbs, cheese and nuts together into a cohesive sauce. Extra-virgin olive oil adds a nice fruity flavor, which we like in our pesto, but regular olive oil works well too.

How to Make Basil Pesto in a Food Processor

Add to the base of a food processor rinsed and dried basil (leaves and stems), grated parmesan cheese, minced garlic, pine nuts, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Pulse ingredients until finely chopped, about 15 pulses. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the food processor.

While the food processor is running, slowly drizzle in extra-virgin olive oil through the food chute and puree until smooth. Scrape the edges as needed.

How to Maintain Pesto's Green Color

There is one big culprit to vibrant green pesto turning a bland dark green color, and that is oxygen. Luckily there are a couple methods to help maintain pesto's vibrant green color.

1. If making a big batch of pesto and you want to maintain its color for several days, try blanching the basil and pesto. It may seem weird to add the fresh herbs to boiling water before pureeing into pesto, but this step can help maintain the herbs' green color. Simply add to boiling water for 10 seconds then immediately transfer to a big bowl of ice water and chill. Squeeze out all the water then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
2. In addition to blanching the herbs, you can also cover the finished sauce in a layer of olive oil. This helps protect the sauce from oxidizing (it's not a perfect solution, but it will help). Simply add enough oil to cover the pesto completely then place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the oil. 

Homemade basil pesto should keep well covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days, especially if you followed the previous steps. 

Can you freeze basil pesto? Yes! But, it will inevitably lose some of that nice green color. Here's a tip: Add pesto to ice cube trays, cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze. Then remove from ice cube trays and place in a freezer safe zip-top bag and you have little blocks of ready-to-use frozen pesto!

Serving Suggestions

We love homemade basil pesto on pasta, especially our Easy Tuna Pesto Pasta recipe! It's also delicious on pizzas and grilled meats. Try adding a spoonful to this Perfect Seared Shrimp with Garlic and Herbs Recipe.

Or try serving a bowl with fresh cut vegetables for a healthy(ish) snack.

Recipe

Homemade Basil Pesto (Food Processor)

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• Author: Adam Dolge
• Total Time: 5 min.
• Yield: ¾ cup 1x

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Description

There isn't much better than homemade basil pesto, especially when it comes together so quickly in a food processor. We like to add a big handful of fresh parsley to bulk up the sauce, along with some fresh lemon juice to cut through richness of the pine nuts and parmesan cheese.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 cups lightly packed fresh basil, leaves and tender stems
• 1 cup lightly packed fresh parsley, leaves and tender stems
• ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• ¼ tsp. table salt
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

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Instructions

1. Wash and dry basil and parsley. Transfer to the base of a food processor and add parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pulse until finely chopped, about 15 pules, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil through the food chute until well incorporated. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days (see note).

Notes

• Adding a big handful of fresh parsley adds bulk to the pesto without taking away the flavor of the basil.
• If you want to maintain the vibrant green color, consider boiling the herbs for 10 seconds, immediately transferring to a large bowl of ice water, and squeezing dry before adding to the food processor. This helps seal the green color.
• To store, add a thin layer of olive oil on top of the pesto then a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the oil. This should help maintain the color.

• Prep Time: 5 min.
• Cook Time: 0 min.
• Category: sauces
• Method: blending
• Cuisine: Italian