Homemade Walnut Pesto

Homemade walnut pesto is an amazing fresh and vibrant Italian sauce that can be added to pasta, meat or used as a dip.  This walnut pesto recipe my version of pesto without pine nuts and it has all the other traditional Italian ingredients like basil olive oil and parmesan. This easy homemade pesto is the perfect summer sauce or addition to any pasta.

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Total Time: 10 minutes

About this walnut pesto (pesto without pine nuts)

Traditionally basil pesto is made with basil, parmesan cheese, garlic and olive oil and pine nuts. This pesto recipe with walnuts is my favorite way to make pesto. I think using walnuts to make make pesto tastes so much better than using pine nuts.

You can also use almonds or pecans if you do not have walnuts available or opt for the traditional pine nuts.

Another reason why I love making pesto without pine nuts is I am not a fan of the flavor of pine nuts. They are also very pricey and not always easy to find.

Ingredients needed

• Fresh basil.
• Parmesan.
• Olive oil.
• Vegetable oil.
• Walnuts toasted.
• Lemon
• Kosher salt

You may be wondering why we are using some vegetable oil in this homemade pesto. Many Italians will use a little vegetable oil since it has a very mild taste and helps thin the pesto.

We do use olive oil for the flavor and a little vegetable oil for a thinner consistency. It is the best of both Worlds.

How to make this easy walnut pesto

• Add all of your ingredients to a food processor.
• Mix until they begin to come together and form a pesto.
• Taste for seasoning and add any salt or pepper as needed.

Very simple. All of the work to make this easy pesto is done in the food processor.

You are merely pulsing the ingredients in the food processor until you get the right smooth consistency.

Customizing this recipe

One of the great things about making homemade walnut pesto is that you can customize it to your own taste. Just like I did here, I prefer walnuts to pine nuts so I made a pesto without the pine nuts.

You can also go heavier or lighter on the garlic, olive oil or other ingredients in the pesto that you make.

The only thing you want to make sure you do when you adjust the ingredients is make sure you achieve the right consistency at the end. Somewhat thick and not runny is the ideal pesto consistency.

Once you try out this easy homemade pesto, you can start experimenting with other types of pesto. From sun dried tomato pesto to arugula and spinach pesto. There is no wrong way to make this amazing Italian staple.

It is all about using fresh and delicious ingredients and what you have on hand. Italian cooking is all about not wasting anything.

How to use this easy homemade pesto

Pesto is used by the Italians in many different types of dishes. The traditional way of adding it to pasta like in my pesto pasta is what most of us know of and it tastes amazing.

Pasta is not the only way to use pesto. Some other ways to use this walnut pesto that I love are listed below.

• Served over chicken or fish
• As a dip for vegetables
• My favorite way to eat pesto is to serve it in a big bowl with some good Italian crusty bread to dip in it.
• You can also use it as a topping for your soups like Italian Minestrone to add a punch of flavor.

How to store homemade pesto

You may be wondering how long will this pesto last or what is the best way to store it. Here are my favorite tips:

• If you do have leftover pesto, the best thing to do is place it in a jar and drizzle a little olive oil over the top (to keep it from drying out).

• Drizzling olive oil over the top of your homemade pesto keeps the pesto fresher longer and prevents the fresh herbs from turning brown.

• To store your homemade pesto, after drizzling olive oil over the top, just place it in the refrigerator covered for up to one week.

Pairing Ideas

Some of our favorite recipes to serve with this walnut pesto:

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