Almonds take the place of pine nuts in this easy-to-make, traditional pesto recipes. Perfect for pasta, pizza, grilled meats and more!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If I had to choose a favorite herb to grown in my garden, it would have to be basil. And one of my favorite things to make with fresh basil is this Almond Basil Pesto.
I often find myself with an over-abundance of fresh basil about this time of year, and that’s when I like to whip up a batch of fresh pesto.
Pesto is so versatile! You can use it as a sandwich spread or pizza sauce, and of course it’s amazing on pasta or grilled chicken.
I’ve had great success freezing pesto too. I put it in small plastic containers and enjoy fresh basil all winter long.
Traditionally pesto is made with pine nuts, but I usually use almonds, since that’s what I’m most likely to have on hand, and they tend to be a bit less expensive.
But you can certainly substitute pine nuts in this recipe if you’re a pesto purist! Either way, you’ll have a fresh, delicious pesto on your hands, with unlimited possibilities for creating delicious pesto inspired dishes.
Ingredients
- Produce: fresh basil, garlic
- Almonds
- Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Almond Basil Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic. chopped
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine the basil, garlic, almonds and Parmesan cheese in a food processor and pulse a few times, until coarsely chopped.
- With the food processor running, gradually add the olive oil until pesto reaches desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper, to taste,
- Store in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to one week, or freeze for up to three months.
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Notes
3 comments
Stephen Craig
Very nice indeed
erika
Since I’m obsessed with cilantro these days, I substituted cilantro for the basil and it was perfect!
Sarah Brock
This looks delicious! I conjured up a kale/pistachio pesto this summer that was pretty tasty- I think I’m diggin the nuts in pesto for some texture- I’ll definitely try this one