Fresh Basil Pesto with Walnuts

Here is the best way to make fresh basil pesto with walnuts. Walnuts are a great replacement for pine nuts when making pesto sauce.

 Makes 1 cup

One Cup of Fresh Basil Pesto with Walnuts

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Can I make pesto with walnuts?

Yes, you can. This traditional recipe for Italian pesto sauce does not use kale, spinach, or any other leafy green vegetables not in the classic recipe. I prefer to use walnuts in place of the more traditional pine nuts. The first time I made this sauce I had a hard time finding pine nuts. The ones I finally found were old and rancid. As I mentioned in Trail Mix with Fruit and Nuts, I generally keep walnuts on hand all of the time. Walnuts are considered an acceptable substitute for the pine nuts. If you can find some good pine nuts, by all means use an equal amount in place of the walnuts.

In the recipe for Angel Hair Pasta, Pesto, and Chili Salsa, I used commercial pesto from the grocery store because I was out of this fresh pesto. For me the biggest problem with store bought pesto is that sometimes they use way too much garlic. This can make it difficult to enjoy the subtle flavor of the basil. If you have a copy of The Joy of an Empty Pot cookbook, you will find the original recipe on page 14.

Ingredients in basil pesto:

Ingredients for fresh basil pesto with walnuts.

2 cups fresh basil leaves, firmly packed
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons chopped flat Italian parsley
2 Tablespoons walnut pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions on how to make pesto:

1. Wash and drain the fresh basil and Italian parsley. Combine the 2 cups fresh basil leaves, 2 cloves minced garlic, 3 Tablespoons chopped Italian parsley, 2 Tablespoons walnut pieces, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender.
2. Pour the 1/2 cup olive oil over the ingredients in the blender.
3. Whirl in the blender for one to two minutes. You will have to stop the blender occasionally and scrape the sides of the container.
4. When the ingredients in the blender have become a smooth paste, then pour them into a medium sized bowl.
5. Add the 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese to the ingredients in the bowl.
6. Gently stir in the Parmesan cheese.

1 - Combine the fresh basil, garlic, Italian parsley, walnuts, and salt in a blender.

2 - Pour the olive oil over the ingredients in the blender.

3 - Whirl ingredients in blender for one to two minutes

4 - Pour ingredients from blender into medium size bowl.

5 - Add grated Parmesan to blended basil in bowl.

6 - Gently stir the Parmesan cheese into the basil.

You can store fresh basil pesto with walnuts in the refrigerator for about one week. As you can see, I prefer to store the pesto in a wide mouth half-pint canning jar with a plastic lid. The wide mouth makes it easier to use a large spoon for serving the pesto.

Fresh basil pesto with walnuts in half-pint canning jar.

Can I freeze this homemade pesto?

Absolutely! Freezing is the best way to store homemade pesto for a long period of time. You can store pesto in the freezer for up to 6 months. The frozen pesto will taste just as good as when it was fresh. The basil pesto can be stored in the half-pint wide mouth jars mentioned earlier, or you can use these one-pint square plastic containers, which is what I prefer. A single one-pint plastic container will hold two batches of this pesto.

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Fresh Basil Pesto with Walnuts

Here is the best way to make fresh basil pesto with walnuts. Walnuts are a great replacement for pine nuts when making pesto sauce.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Keyword basil, Italian, Parmesan cheese, pasta, pesto

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 8 of 2 Tablespoons each

Calories 165 kcal

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, firmly packed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tablespoons flat Italian parsley, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons walnut pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Wash and drain the fresh basil and Italian parsley. Combine the 2 cups fresh basil leaves, 2 cloves minced garlic, 3 Tablespoons chopped Italian parsley, 2 Tablespoons walnut pieces, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender.

2. Pour the 1/2 cup olive oil over the ingredients in the blender.
   

3. Whirl in the blender for one to two minutes. You will have to stop the blender occasionally and scrape the sides of the container.
   

4. When the ingredients in the blender have become a smooth paste, then pour them into a medium sized bowl.
   

5. Add the 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese to the ingredients in the bowl.
   

6. Gently stir in the Parmesan cheese.
   

7. You can store fresh basil pesto with walnuts in the refrigerator for about one week. As you can see, I prefer to store the pesto in a wide mouth half-pint canning jar with a plastic lid. The wide mouth makes it easier to use a large spoon for serving the pesto.
   

Recipe Notes

• You can store fresh basil pesto with walnuts in the refrigerator for about one week. As you can see, I prefer to store the pesto in a wide mouth half-pint canning jar with a plastic lid. The wide mouth makes it easier to use a large spoon for serving the pesto.
• Can I freeze this homemade pesto? Absolutely! Freezing is the best way to store homemade pesto for a long period of time. You can store pesto in the freezer for up to 6 months. The frozen pesto will taste just as good as when it was fresh. The basil pesto can be stored in the half-pint wide mouth jars mentioned earlier, or you can use these one-pint square plastic containers, which is what I prefer. A single one-pint plastic container will hold two batches of this pesto.