Homemade Pesto Sauce Recipe

Recently while at a friend’s home for dinner, I ate an excellent meal of ravioli with pesto.  The combination of basil, garlic and Parmesan cheese was superb, and I was very impressed when she told me she had made the Pesto herself.  I left her house that night with a jar of the sauce, a large container of olive oil, a bag of walnuts, and Carole’s promise to give me her basil plant since she would be relocating soon. She assured me it was simple to make pesto and it only required a few ingredients, but I wasn’t so sure.  This stuff tasted way too good to be easy!  But I’m always up for a challenge, so I decided I’d give it a try and find out for myself.

By the time the basil plant reached its new home on my back patio a week later, I had already done the research on this wonderful sauce.  Most pesto recipes you find online are very similar, containing pine nuts among other ingredients, but I chose to make a couple of changes for my pesto sauce. Pine nuts can be expensive, and since I already had walnuts on hand, I chose to use only walnuts in my sauce. I also decided to add a blend of Parmesan and Asiago cheeses to take my pesto up a notch.  It turned out awesome, and I can’t wait to share it with you today.  The recipe, that is…because I’m keeping this amazing pesto for myself!
Here are the ingredients you will need for this Homemade Pesto Recipe:

5 cups of Basil
1/2 cup of Walnuts
1 1/2 cup of Olive oil
1 cup Parmesan and Asiago cheese blend
9 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Black Pepper

You really are going to be amazed at how simple it is to make this great tasting sauce!

The first step is to place the walnuts and chopped garlic into the food processor and process until minced.

Next, add the salt, pepper, basil leaves, olive oil and cheese, and blend until smooth.

That’s it.  Can you believe it?  Isn’t that so simple?  This recipe will make about 4 cups of this wonderful sauce.  It is important to store your pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin layer of olive oil on top.  Air destroys pesto’s beautiful color, so be sure to recover it with olive oil after each use to keep it fresh and tasty.

This stuff tastes so much better than traditional store bought pesto!  It tastes great served over pasta, spooned onto baked potatoes or spread onto freshly baked bread. I hope you’ve enjoyed this simple pesto recipe and will give it a try for yourself.  Your taste buds will thank you!

Shared with:  Treasure Box Tuesday, Moonlight & Mason Jars