Name: Homemade Pesto Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: italian
Ingredients: 30-40 basil leaves; 30 g (~ 2/3c) Romano Cheese; 30g (~1/2c) Parmesan Cheese; 1 clove garlic; Pinch of salt; 200ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 30g (~1/4c) pine nuts

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Authentic Italian Homemade Basil Pesto recipe made with basil, garlic, cheese, pine nuts, and olive oil. This will be your favorite pesto recipe once you try it, no more store bought pesto! Plus you can make it in less than 10 minutes!

homemade basil pesto recipe with pine nuts and cheese

Y’all, I love me some pesto. Luckily I passed down the pesto-loving gene to my three boys. Since they were babies they have gobbled up anything with pesto-veggies, pasta, bread. If I add pesto, they’ll love it! Especially when it’s my very favorite authentic Italian homemade pesto recipe. If you haven’t made this pesto yet, get ready for a treat!

Years ago my husband was stationed in northern Italy and it was an amazing experience. We didn’t have children yet and were able to travel all over Italy and various other spots in Europe in between his deployments. Just looking at those pictures makes me miss it so much…

Anywho, I have a behemoth of a basil plant out on the front porch so I thought it was about time to harvest some basil and whip up some pesto. And of course, I had to blog the recipe since it was given to me by an Italian friend which therefore makes it authentic Italian as well as super tasty! So without further ado:

How to Make Basil Pesto

It couldn’t be easier to make your own homemade pesto. All you will need is a food processor and a few minutes!

Remove the stems from your fresh pesto and add it to the food processor along with garlic, cheeses, pine nuts, and olive oil. Then you simply pulse until you get the desired consistency. I find that after pulsing a few times, about 30 seconds of continuous processing on high gives me the perfect basil pesto!

Basil Pesto Ingredients

fresh basil leaves
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
freshly grated Romano cheese
garlic
pine nuts
olive oil

Tips for this Homemade Basil Pesto

Fresh is best for this recipe, I prefer fresh basil, freshly grated cheeses, and fresh garlic. Pregrated cheeses and jarred garlic can be used in a pinch, however.
Add additional olive oil if necessary to adjust to your desired consistency.
If you can’t find pine nuts, walnuts are an easy substitution in a pinch.
Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired.
Store in an airtight container for up to three days. Pesto will brown if exposed to air so wrap tightly with plastic touching the top surface to avoid discoloration.

You might also enjoy my best Lasagna Recipe (which includes pesto!), Easy Pasta Carbonara, and Mushroom Risotto Recipe.

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