How To Make Pesto Sauce
Pesto is one of the most flavorful sauces that is really rich and concentrated. The fresh flavors of basil, pine nuts, garlic, creamy and nutty Parmesan cheese and bold olive oil all marry together to make a sauce that elevates any recipes.
- Prep Time: 8 min
- Cook Time: 5-8 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 1 cup pesto 1x
Ingredients
Scale
1 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1 cup baby spinach
3–6 garlic cloves, with the skin on
1/4 cup pine nuts (you can use any nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios, or pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds instead)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Wash and dry the basil, parsley and baby spinach.
- Grate the Parmesan cheese.
- In a dry skillet, toast the pine nuts and the garlic cloves, in their papery skin. When the pine nuts are toasted, remove from the skillet and set aside to cool. Keep cooking the garlic on really low heat until the garlic is soft and the skin is charred and golden on all sides. Cool and then peel the garlic.
- Add the basil, parsley, baby spinach, garlic, Parmesan cheese and pine nuts to a food processor or blender. Mix until finely processed.
- With the food processor/blender running, pour in the olive oil and mix until smooth.
- Store the pesto sauce in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator or freeze for up to 3 months.