Walnut Pesto
This bright, bold, creamy walnut pesto recipe makes a great all-purpose pesto for pasta, pizza, and more.
Calories: 218kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup shelled walnut pieces
- 3 large garlic cloves or ½ cup chopped garlic scapes
- 6 gently packed cups fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese
Instructions
- Toast the walnuts in a small, dry pan over medium heat until they are fragrant and a little darker brown than they started out (3 to 5 minutes).
- Let cool slightly and pour into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment.
- Add the garlic scapes or cloves, basil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice and pulse just until a thick paste forms. Stop to press any stray or stubborn basil leaves into the whirling action of the blade as necessary.
- With the motor running, pour the olive oil through the feed tube in a slow stream. Transfer pesto to a mixing bowl and stir in the grated cheese.
Video
Notes
- If you don't have a food processor, you can use a mortar and pestle or a mezzaluna. This is actually a more traditional method of pesto making, but it takes a lot longer.
- This pesto keeps well tightly sealed in the fridge for up to a week due to the acid content. You can cover it with a thin layer of olive oil for extra protection against oxidation.
- You can also freeze it! It keeps for up to a year. I sometimes freeze the whole batch in a pint-size takeout container. Or freeze it in ice cube trays (and then transfer to a sealed container or zip-top bag) to use in smaller portions.
- For a vegan pesto, you can omit the cheese or swap in a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast.
- Check out the post above to learn all about substitutions.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/4 cup | Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 2.7g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22.7g | Fiber: 0.7g