I’ve always loved pesto, but my husband…..not so much. He thinks the taste is a little strong and never seems to excited when dinner involves pesto. I decided to try my hand at making my pesto with walnuts instead of pine nuts to mellow and the flavor and I have to say that it was a big success!
This recipe is very simple and fairly inexpensive, especially if you grow your own basil like we do. You can make just enough for one meal or make a bunch and freeze it to use later. If you like pesto, I think you’ll really enjoy the earthiness that the walnuts bring to this recipe. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Just gather up your ingredients and you’re ready to roll!
- ½ cup walnuts
- 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 6 cups fresh basil leaves
- ½ lemon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ cups olive oil
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- Place the Parmesan cheese in the food processor and process for 30 seconds.
- Add walnuts and garlic to food processor and process for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add in basil, the juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper.
- With the food processor still on, stream in the olive oil until the pesto reaches your desired consistency. You may use a little more or less olive oil.
- Use immediately for a spread or a sauce on pasta. Or store in the refrigerator or freezer to use at a later time.
I hope you like the new recipe card I have on the blog now. It should make printing and using recipes much easier.
Have a great day!
Lindsay Wilkes is the owner and designer behind The Cottage Mama. She creates timeless, vintage inspired sewing patterns for children’s clothes. She is also a fabric designer for Riley Black Designers / Penny Rose Fabrics, author of the book ‘Sew Classic Clothes for Girls’ and can be seen teaching nationwide and online in her video series ‘Lessons with Lindsay’ sponsored by Baby Lock Sewing and Embroidery machines.
Hi! Can this be frozen for three months? Also, once thawed, what is the shelf life if stored in the refrigerator?
Your new website looks beautiful! It’s easy to read, visually appealing, and inspires me to be creative! 🙂
Hi, Elena
You can indeed freeze pesto for three months. Once out, the shelf life is rather short because the basil oxidizes — maybe a day or so, unless you pour an oil coat on as I state below for freezing.
The ratios here are great, but depending on your basil, you probably will want to use a little less oil (may 1/4 cup less). Then when you put your pesto in whatever container you are freezing in, use the excess to pour a thin coat on top. Cap and freeze. The oil prevents the basil from oxidizing while frozen.
Just made a batch! It’s great, and gorgeous! Popped it into my silicon muffin tin to freeze for this fall and am going to go get more parm to make another two batches! This was really easy and my house smells amazing. I was wondering if you had an idea of how long this might last in the freezer. I’m vacuum sealing it after it’s frozen and sticking the half cup portions in the deep freeze.
Hi, Amanda. Wondering how that worked out, vacuum sealing?