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This Pesto Dressing is so delicious you'll want to use it on everything. It's bursting with flavor from fresh basil, pine nuts, cheese, and lemon. No store- bought pesto comes close! And, even better, it takes only 5 minutes to make.
We use this easy pesto dressing in many recipes, including Pea Pesto Spinach Salad, Orzo Pesto Salad, and Mediterranean Tortellini Pasta Salad. Fresh lemon juice not only adds bright flavor, but it also prevents the pesto from browning. So, you can keep extra in the fridge for different meals throughout the week.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Easy: Only 6 ingredients and 5 minutes to make.
- Better than store bought: This fresh homemade pesto has the best flavor. No store-bought pesto comes close.
- Versatile: Tastes great on salads, pasta, sandwiches, pizzas, veggies, and more.
- Resists browning: This pesto recipe contains lemon juice, which naturally prevents the pesto from browning. And, follow our storage tip for keeping your pesto green for even longer.
- Freezer friendly: You can easily scale up the recipe and freeze extra pesto.
Ingredients (and substitutes)
You only need 6 ingredients (plus salt and pepper) to make the best homemade pesto dressing. Here's what you need:
- Basil: Fresh basil is key for pesto. You want to use the leaves, not the stems.
- Pine Nuts: Pine nuts (or pignoli) give pesto a slight nutty flavor. They also add creaminess to the dressing from their natural oils. Toasting pine nuts for a couple minutes helps enhance their flavor. But, if you're time crunched, you could skip this step. Although not traditional, you could substitute pine nuts for blanched almonds, walnuts, or cashews.
- Parmesan: Grated cheese gives pesto savory, cheesy flavor. We recommend grating your own cheese, because pre-shredded cheese often has anti-caking ingredients added to prevent clumping. Instead of Parmesan, you could substitute another hard Italian cheese, such as Asiago.
- Lemon Juice: The secret ingredient to the best pesto dressing! Fresh lemon juice adds brightness and acidity. And, if your pesto has been sitting in the fridge for a bit, stirring in extra lemon juice helps perk up the flavors.
- Garlic: We prefer fresh garlic in pesto, but you could substitute garlic powder.
Find the recipe card below for the complete recipe, including all ingredients and instructions.
Wondering what to make with basil (besides peso)? Check out these recipes for Gluten Free Tomato Tart, Zucchini Pappardelle, Thai Hot and Sour Soup.
How to make (step-by-step photos)
You'll be surprised how easy it is to make your own pesto at home. In fact, it's ready in 5 minutes. Here's how to make this recipe:
Find the recipe card below for the complete recipe, including all ingredients and instructions.
Tips
- Use lemon juice or olive oil to thin: If you're craving a thinner pesto dressing, add a splash more lemon juice, olive oil, or water. It's easier to start with a thick dressing, then thin it to the consistency you prefer. (Although, we rarely find that it needs thinning).
- Toasting pine nuts isn't absolutely necessary: Gently toasting pine nuts—before using them—results in better flavor. But, if you're in a rush, it's okay to skip this step! Your pesto will still taste delicious using raw pine nuts instead.
- How to keep pine nuts fresh: Pine nuts are rich in oil. So, that oil can go rancid quite quickly. You can keep pine nuts fresh by storing them in an airtight bag in the freezer. Freezing (or refrigerating) helps extend the shelf life of most nuts.
- Grating Parmesan: To quickly grate a bunch of Parmesan, use your food processor! This is a tip we also share in our cookbook. Before making the pesto in the food processor, use it to grate the cheese first. That way, there's no need to clean the food processor in between.
- Traditional Parmesan isn't vegetarian: Parmigiano Reggiana DOP is made with animal-derived rennet, so technically it's not vegetarian. If you need a vegetarian-friendly cheese, look for "microbial enzymes" instead of "rennet" on the ingredients list.
Serving suggestions
This Pesto Dressing is delicious with salads such as:
- Spinach Pea Pesto Salad: This easy and flavor-packed salad is always a winner.
- Easy Orzo Pasta Salad: Just 15 minutes to make this Caprese-inspired salad!
- Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad: This hearty vegetarian pasta salad is great for summer meals. It makes the best meal prep lunch too.
You could also use this easy pesto sauce on:
- Bowls: Make a colorful and healthy grain bowl with a spoonful of pesto dressing.
- Pizza: Use the pesto as a sauce for homemade pizza. (We share an EPIC pesto pizza recipe on page 117 in our Evergreen Kitchen cookbook).
- Pasta: Not surprisingly, this pesto dressing works great in pasta. This White Bean Pesto Pasta recipe mixes it with white beans for more protein.
- Roasted Veggies: Drizzle over roasted broccolini, air fryer cabbage, butternut squash, or even crispy breakfast potatoes.
- Eggs: Drizzle pesto over silky scrambled eggs, soft boiled eggs on toast, or even swirl it into baked egg bites.
Recipe FAQ's
Pine nuts will result in the most traditional tasting pesto. But, you could substitute another nut instead. For example: walnuts, blanched almonds, or cashews.
The lemon juice in this pesto dressing recipe helps prevent oxidization (browning). We also recommend pressing a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pesto before sealing the container. Or, you can drizzle the whole top surface with olive oil. The goal is to reduce the exposure to air (oxygen), which is what causes unsightly browning.
You can freeze pesto in a freezer-safe bag or container. Alternatively, if you want to freeze small portions of pesto, you can put them in ice cube trays.
You can keep pesto in the fridge for up to 1 week. Or, freeze for up to 6 months.
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📖 Recipe
Pesto Dressing
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts (see note 1)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1½ cups fresh basil leaves (tightly packed, about 2.5 oz/70 g)
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (see note 2)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Toast pine nuts: Add 3 tablespoons pine nuts to a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until nuts are golden brown and fragrant, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.
- Combine: In a food processor, combine toasted pine nuts, 1 clove garlic, 1½ cups fresh basil leaves, ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper. Pulse until a smooth paste forms. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Use immediately or store in fridge (see note 3).
Notes
- Pine nuts: We prefer pine nuts for the most traditional flavor. But, in a pinch, you can substitute pine nuts with chopped blanched almonds, cashews, or walnuts. Pine nuts are rich in oil so can go rancid quite quickly. To keep them fresh, store in the freezer in an airtight freezer bag.
- Parmesan cheese: You can swap another hard Italian cheese (such as Asiago). If you need a vegetarian cheese, look for a cheese that lists "microbial enzymes" rather than "rennet" on the ingredients).
- Storage tips: Extra pesto can be stored in a resealable container. The lemon juice in the pesto helps to slow down oxidization (browning). But, it also helps to press a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the surface of the pesto, before covering with a lid. Or, cover the surface of the pesto with more olive oil instead. Refrigerate pesto for up to 1 week. Or alternatively, freeze for up to 6 months.
- To thin dressing: If you want a looser dressing, you can thin it with more lemon juice, olive oil, or even water. We prefer to start with a thick dressing, then thin if needed (but we rarely find this necessary).
- Yield: Makes about ¾ cups pesto. Nutritional estimate assumes 2 tablespoons of pesto per serving, but use as much or as little as you'd like.
- This recipe was originally published Sep 13, 2018 as part of our Pea and Pesto Salad recipe.
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