Best Homemade Basil Walnut Pesto

Basil Walnut Pesto is an interesting variation of a very popular sauce recipe called Pesto that is prominently used in the Italian cuisine. Traditionally Pine Nuts are used to make pesto but I have given it a slight variation by adding walnuts which are easily available. Here is how to make it.

Italian food, a good film/series on the TV and a glass of wine, that’s how I want my every weekend to be! Haha.

Well, who doesn’t love a big bowl of pasta with a freshly made sauce? I can never say no to it!

And therefore when I crave for good Italian food, I always make sure to make the sauce at home, instead of using the store-bought ones.

The taste of fresh pasta sauces is different altogether and flavor it brings to the main dish is delicious. 

I make many sauces at home, but the latest one to join the bandwagon is this Basil Pesto With Walnuts.

You must have heard of the pesto, but the traditional one uses pine nuts.

Here, I have given it a little twist by adding ingredients that are easily available and tastes as delicious as the traditional one. 

So, next time you are planning to make a Pasta, then definitely use this Basil Walnut Pesto.

I would assure you, that you will make it again and again. 

Here are some more Sauce recipes that you can try for your Continental Recipes – Homemade Pizza Sauce, Best Bechamel Sauce, Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce, Yum Yum Sauce, and Chinese Schezwan Sauce.

What is Basil Walnut Pesto?

Pesto is an Italian sauce made using fresh basil leaves, parmesan cheese, pine nuts and a layer of olive oil.

This sauce can be used in many ways like making pasta, topping for chicken or fish, sandwich spread, open toast spread and marinade for grilling.

Since pine nuts are a little difficult to source in India, I substituted them with walnuts and came up with this delicious Pesto recipe.

As I love basil, I have prepared this Basil Pesto with Walnuts, but you can go ahead and experiment with flavors by adding spinach, arugula or kale along with basil to make your own variations.

This Basil Walnut Pesto is

• Easy to make
• Quick to make
• Versatile
• Can be made vegan by skipping adding parmesan cheese
• Flavourful
• Healthy

Storage Suggestions

This Pesto made with basil and walnuts can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week in an airtight container.

If you want to increase the shelf life of Basil and Walnut Pesto, you can freeze it.

Either freeze in an airtight container or in a freezer bag. 

To freeze in freezer bags, firstly freeze the pesto in an ice cube tray.

Once frozen properly, freeze it in the freezer bags. It stays good for about 6 months.  

Pro Tips by Neha

Use the freshest of basil and good cheese and olive oil to make the pesto.

Since it requires only a handful of ingredients, it’s very important to use the best.

Do not make pesto in a blender or a mixie. It will become paste-like.

The correct texture of the pesto is slightly coarse.

You can use your food processor to make it.

In fact, in olden days, people used to make it in a mortar and pestle or chop it using their knife until all the ingredients came together and then lastly added olive oil to the finely minced ingredients.

If Parmesan Cheese is not available, you can just skip it but do not add any other cheese.

You can experiment with various greens to make the pesto. Although Basil is traditionally used, arugula, kale, carrot greens, etc are great choices too.

You can also play around with the nuts of your choice.

Try adding almonds, pistachios, pine nuts instead of walnuts.

Traditionally pinenut was used to make pesto, but after experimenting with various nuts, I have realized that they give their own delicious flavor to the pesto.

Tools required to make Walnut Basil Pesto

You will need a good food processor to make pesto. Never try to make it in a blender.

How to use Basil Walnut Pesto?

Already tried and loved this recipe? Now wondering how to use it? Well, give a read to my Pesto loaded recipes such as:

One-Pot Pesto Chicken, Roasted Bell Pepper Basil Pesto Pasta, and in case you really love the recipes made from avocado then you must, must, and must try Creamy Avocado Pesto because it would turn out wonderful as well!

Use it to make Pasta or you can even make a Pesto Pizza using the sauce.

Use it to marinate the chicken, fish or prawn in grilled dishes.

You can also use it as salad dressing, an open toast spread or even as a sandwich or a roll spread.

I like to slather it on toasted bread and top with an egg for a yummy breakfast.

Top your hummus with some pesto for a change in flavour. 

What can I use instead of basil in Pesto?

The base ingredient for pesto is basil which is a very mild herb.

By replacing the basil with any other herb will not make it pesto but any other dip.

You can replace half of the basil with baby spinach though, to keep the flavour of pesto intact.

What nuts are best for pesto?

Traditionally pine nuts are added in basil, but you can easily replace them with others like peanuts, almonds, cashew, macadamia, hazelnut, pistachios etc.

Even seeds like sunflower seeds or melon seeds will work great as the replacement.

Step by Step Recipe

Add basil leaves in the food processor.

Add the remaining ingredients.

Blend until everything comes together.

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Basil Walnut Pesto Recipe

It is an interesting variation of a very popular sauce recipe called Pesto that is prominently used in the Italian cuisine. 

4.75 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Basics, Sauce

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 132kcal

Author: Neha Mathur

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• 2 cups Basil Leaves
• 1/4 cup Walnuts
• 3-4 Cloves Garlic
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (Grated)
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Plus more if needed)
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice

Instructions

• Add all the ingredients in the jar of a food processor and pulse to blend everything.
• Keep in mind to not make a paste of the ingredients.
• In between blending, keep scraping the sides of the blender using a spatula.
• Add some more olive oil if required while blending.
• It is best to use pesto freshly made but you can store it in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Notes

Use freshest of basil and good cheese and olive oil to make the pesto. Since it requires only a handful of ingredients, it's very important to use the best.

Do not make pesto in a blender or a mixie. It will become paste like. The correct texture of pesto is slightly coarse. You can use your food processor to make it. In fact in olden days, people used to  make it in a mortar and pestle or chop it using their knife until all the ingredients came together and then lastly added olive oil to the finely minced ingredients.

If Parmesan Cheese is not available, you can just skip it but do not add any other cheese.

You can experiment with various greens to make the pesto. Although Basil is traditionally used, arugula, kale, carrot greens etc are great choices too.

You can also play around with the nuts of your choice. Try adding almonds, pistachios, pinenuts instead of walnuts. Traditionally inenut were used to make pesto, but after experimenting with various nuts, I have realised that they give their own delicious flavour to the pesto.

Nutrition Facts

Basil Walnut Pesto Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 132 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Fat 13g20%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 2mg1%

Sodium 67mg3%

Potassium 51mg1%

Carbohydrates 1g0%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 455IU9%

Vitamin C 2.2mg3%

Calcium 71mg7%

Iron 0.5mg3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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