Proper Homemade Pesto Recipe

I have made pesto plenty of times using my Vitamix machine and I thought it was pretty good. Little did I realize how unprepared I was for the burst of flavor that hit my mouth when I tasted this ground pesto sauce. It has been an hour since I ate it and I still have the full taste of the pesto in the back of my throat! This is THE only way I will ever prepare pesto sauce for my family. Thank you Chef John for introducing us to this revolutionary technique. It almost makes me want to use my mortar and pestle on just about anything...

I have made this recipe a number of times and love it. Since I grow Genovese basil in my basement, I always have a lot of fresh basil available, and usually double or quadruple the recipe. Since I make large quantities, I make this pesto in my 16 cup food processor. To do this, I put the pine nuts, salt, and garlic cloves in the processor, pulse 4-5 times, add add the shredded cheese, pulse a couple more times, add 1/2 the oil, pulse a couple more times, add 1/2 the basil leaves and the rest of the oil, pulse a couple more time, add the rest of the basil, and pulse 3-4 times until everything is integrated. By weight, a large bunch of basil is 1.4 ounces for just leaves and 2.5 ounces for leaves and stems. I have been using just the leaves. Making the pesto with this method is so very good, I don't see how crushing everything manually could make it any better. I use this pesto mixed in pasta and have also used a lot of it in recipes. We love it, so I keep a stock of it in my freezer. It freezes very well.

Pretty good recipe! I roasted both the pine nuts and garlic before mashing. I also used nutritional yeast instead of cheese since I'm dairy-free and added salt and pepper to taste. I used this recipe to make pesto for stuffed challah and used only 1/2 the oil called for so it would be easier to stuff in the dough - it worked perfectly! I'll never make pesto in a food processor again - mortar and pestle all the way!!

Dry your basil, after washing. Otherwise it doesn’t crush right, and slip-slides around the mortar. Argh, ran out of pine-nuts, so used pecans. Took a bit to crush fully, but still delicious! 5 cloves was perfect, not too harsh.

I made with half the amount of cheese because that's all I had. My food processor broke and I do not have a mortar and pestle, but my freshly harvested basil and garlic deserved this. Solution: a small well seasoned cast iron skillet and the flat side of a meat mallet. It's a lot of work but Holy Smokes! Hot and spicy from the garlic and so good! Thank you Chef John!

Oh my , this is good with anything so far I've it matched it with smoked Italian sausage, rotisserie chicken, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, roasted potatoes, roasted tomatoes,; any of these cooked with some Rosemary OMG! All the above ingredients tossed in olive oil and then the pesto brushed on top with toasted Italian bread this is definitely in my top five of well worth the difficulty recipes. Now I've got to buy a better mortar and pestle.

Wow. This was a revelation. I made half a batch because I was alone and my mortar and pestle is small; there was already a fair amount of cursing as I went about making this. It’s really not that much work, even if it feels like it at first; I was surprised at how quickly the basil leaves were pulverized. I ended up putting the garlic through a garlic press into the mortar, because I wasn’t having much success pounding it into a paste. The variety of basil I had might have been spicier than the Genovese type I’m used to--this pesto was SO sharp, and so fragrant! I even pulled the green sprouts from inside the cloves of garlic to keep it from being overpowering. I only used about 1/2 ounce Parmesan and 2 Tbsp olive oil for my half batch; my cup nearly runneth over. I put a few tablespoons of my amazing pesto on penne pasta and inhaled it. I need bigger and better equipment because I want to eat this stuff all summer long.

RIDICULOUS!!! This was ridiculously good!! First time I've ever made pesto and won't make it any other way!! OMG! My 13 year old and husband gave it a "10" (we rate all of my food). I understand that the secret to this amazing recipe is doing it a mortar & pestle. If you do nothing else in the mortar, at the very least add the oil and incorporate it this way as oils tend to get bitter when whipped in a Vitamix or other blender/processer. This is one of the (many) keys to why this is so amazing. Use all of the freshest ingredients available and you'll have yourself some RAVE reviews! I only wish I had a huge mortar!! This was gone in one night with three people eating it. It is amazing on fresh, toasted (wood-grilled preferably) buttered sourdough bread as an appetizer, too! DON'T heat it as it will ruin it. Just mix it into hot pasta or serve on buttered bread. Indulgent!! LOVE!!

Perfect as is... Same recipe my wife has been making for years, although with the cost of pine nuts getting exorbitant she now uses pistachios. But please people, please...no parsley, no kale, no substitute greenery if you want to make delicious traditional pesto.... ,it may be green and creamy ... But it ain't the real thing.

This is a great recipe. I use it often to use up the basil from my aero garden- the more basil the better IMO. I didn't have pine nuts on hand so I used cashews. Also had to add a bit of water to get it blending. Absolutely delicious!

Exactly how my Nonna made it! No lemon and definitely no blanching of leaves. She would substitute the pine nuts with walnuts if she had none. Italians use walnuts in many of their recipes. I make both ways and both are delicious. I even use her well worn mortar and pestle which I think adds a little somethin' somethin'...lol.

I love this recipe. A little sore after all the pounding, but worth every bite. Couldn't find the olive oil recommended though. Thank you Chef John - going to make another batch today with my homegrown basil!

This is a great recipe but beware of you hit the 2x, it does NOT double the basil volume (says 5oz regardless of which quantity you select). I almost made a pesto with what could be considered an unreasonable amount of Parmesan. Made a quick adjustment on the fly to reduce the cheese and olive oil quantities and it was still absolutely delicious.

I have always enjoyed spaghetti with pesto from a jar, but now I can't go back ,this is pure joy and is a new family favourite! I love making it with the wonderful aromas whilst crushing the ingredients, followed by the gorgeous flavours when eating with wholemeal spaghetti! It is now one of my favourite meals!

This was perfection on a plate.

Totally exceeded my expectations.

Sooo much better than pesto made in a food processor. I recently watched an episode of Salt Fat Acid Heat where they were in Italy and made pesto with a mortar and pestle. I knew I had to try it and this was the recipe that I happened upon. I will say that I probably should have used less garlic as it was heavy on that end. It was garlic that I grew and the cloves were probably twice as big as a store-bought clove. Otherwise, perfection!👌🏻

Whew! Today I learned that I am one of those folks who can't handle the truth because this was a bit too spicy and strong for me. I read that adding a bit of water can help tame a strong a pesto and that worked perfectly for me. I actually think that I added too much garlic to begin with which may have contributed to the strength of my pesto but I will definitely make it again as it really is delicious. Thanks Chef John!

Chef John will you marry me? This pesto is simply delicious! What a keeper.

Perfect pesto, though I did add extra cheese since I over grated, otherwise stayed true to the recipe. Can’t wait to use it on a toasted tomato and mozzarella sandwich. Starbux ain’t got nothin on this tommy-mozz.