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Making your own authentic Italian basil pesto is so easy and there’s no cooking involved. You’re going to love the fresh taste of this creamy pesto sauce and how much better it tastes than anything from the grocery store. This pesto genovese recipe is an uncooked cold sauce makes a delicious pasta sauce, condiment, or dip. Homemade pesto is one of the best ways to use your fresh basil from the garden.
This simple pesto recipe only calls for 6 ingredients and it shows you the traditional pesto making method used by Italians for many years. Make your own fresh pesto alla Genovese and enjoy the incredible flavour.
Why You’ll Love This
- Easy: This recipe involves little more than combining the ingredients using a marble mortar and pestle. There’s no cooking and no fiddly steps.
- Fresh Flavours: This creamy pesto sauce recipe boasts the most incredible fresh flavours, superior to anything you would experience if using canned pesto instead.
- Versatile: Pesto is always great served with pasta but that’s only one way to use your perfect pesto. It’s also amazing spread on bread or toast or you can use it as a component in risottos, for example.
Authentic Italian Basil Pesto Ingredients
Garlic, salt, pine nuts, fresh basil leaves, parmesan cheese (parmigiano Reggiano), and olive oil are the only ingredients you need to make this creamy pesto sauce. The end flavour should be well-balanced and truly delicious.
Pesto is originates in Genoa, which is located in the northern Italy in the Liguria region. Traditional basil pesto is named after the pestatura, which is how it is made. The basil leaves shouldn’t be ground roughly, so the marble mortar and pestle are turned in a circular motion so that the leaves are torn rather than cut.
While not the traditional way, some people like to add a small amount of fresh squeezed lemon juice to bring out the basil flavour.
How to Make an Authentic Pesto Recipe
For more detailed instructions, with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
- Combine the salt and garlic: Mix these ingredients together with a mortar and pestle.
- Add more ingredients: Add the pine nuts and then the basil, bit by bit.
- Finish the pesto: Mix in the cheese and olive oil.
Substitutions and Variations
There are various substitutions and variations you might like to try when making authentic pesto. Watercress or kale instead of fresh basil would also result in a bright green creamy sauce. Throw in some avocado or make tomato pesto if you want.
Basil pesto recipes often call for pine nuts, but you can easily substitute walnuts, sunflower seeds or cashews. Basil is a strong herb for some and a little goes a long way. You can mellow out the pesto by substituting half of the basil with fresh baby spinach leaves or even some parsley. You can also swap the parmesan for pecorino romano cheese or fiore sardo (pecorino cheese) or another Italian hard cheese.
What to Serve with Pesto Recipes
The most popular way to enjoy an authentic Genovese pesto recipe is to toss it with hot, cooked pasta such as trofie pasta. Other options to consider include using it as a spread in an Italian chicken sandwich in place of butter or mayo or adding some globs of fresh pesto on top of homemade tomato soup, to add Italian flair. It is also great served on warm fresh bread, as a sauce for vegetables, on pizza or on top of vine ripen summer tomatoes and fresh mozzarella.
Storage Directions
Pesto isn’t a condiment or sauce you make a portion at a time, so what’s the best way to store pesto recipes and how long will it stay fresh?
Store: Fresh basil pesto will keep for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge. I like to add slick of olive oil on top to prevent oxidation and browning if I’m not using the pesto right away.
Freeze: If you prefer to freeze pesto, the best way is to divide the basil between the holes in an ice cube tray. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the top. Once frozen, you can transfer them into a freezer bag or freezer safe airtight container. Another method worth knowing if you want to learn how to freeze basil pesto sauce is simply keeping it in a small sealed jar, as long as you want to thaw the whole thing later. This uncooked cold sauce will keep for about 4 months if frozen.
Authentic Italian Pesto Recipe FAQs
The herbal, nutty, creamy taste of pesto makes a delicious pasta sauce, condiment, or dip. Try it spread over fish or chicken before baking it, or serve it as a dip with your favourite crackers, toast or breadsticks.
Yes you can, if you want to save time or you don’t have a marble mortar and pestle like this one or even a wooden pestle. I advise pulsing the nuts and basil rather than trying to make your Genovese sauce recipe completely smooth, because a little texture works well with this traditional recipe.
Basil Pesto Recipe
Authentic Italian Basil Pesto – Pesto Genovese
Ingredients
- 3 Cloves garlic
- ½ Teaspoon sea salt , flakes
- 1 Tablespoon pine nuts
- 50 leaves fresh basil, chopped
- ⅓ Cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- ½ Cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add sea salt flakes and garlic cloves to a marble mortar and crush into a paste.
- Next, add the pine nuts and crush.
- Add basil leaves 1 tablespoon at a time. Use the mortar to crush into a paste. Continue adding basil until all leaves are used.
- Add the grated parmesan and grind into paste.
- Add in the olive oil and mix until incorporated. Place into a sealable container or glass jar.
Notes
Nutrition
Authentic Italian basil pesto is an easy, delicious recipe and pesto sauce is really quick to prepare. All you need are 6 simple ingredients to make a tasty homemade pesto. Plus a few minutes to combine the ingredients. It freezes well making it a great sauce to have on hand.
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
I’m second generation Italian from the hills of Genoa and I like your recipe but I have a problem with recipes for pesto. In my nearly 70 years of making this, first using a huge mortar and pestle and then a blender, I have never had pesto with pine nuts, not in my home town of San Francisco or in Genoa. I’ve had it elsewhere and it tasted odd to me. I’m not saying not to use it but try it without and save your money if you like it. In Italy I had it with an obscene amount of butter, I tried it at home.and also tried it mixed with parsley. I prefer it plain and never with salt or lemon but we use 4-6 cloves of garlic! Another use is a base for minestrone. Either way, manga miei amici!
I will have to try it like this. I am sure the extra garlic is delicious.
We had no idea making homemade pesto was so easy. It tasted great too. We had some with pasta and some on a chicken sandwich and still have some left.
Simple, and so delicious. My new go-to Basil Pesto recipe!
I usually just use storebought pesto but I decided to try homemade and I’m glad I did! This was so good!
So easy and tasty. I mixed it in with shredded chicken for a delicious sandwich filling.
This really is the most authentic pesto I’ve had outside of Italy! While it’s delicious on pasta, I really love it on fresh bread to fully enjoy the taste!
This pesto was easy to make and absolutely delicious! I enjoyed mine on fresh toasted French bread as an appetizer. I will definitely make it again!
Love this pesto! Freezes so well too.