Pesto sauce is an aromatic traditional sauce of Italian cuisine, made with basil leaves, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese as the main ingredients. This sauce goes really well with various pasta and chicken recipes. Although you can get pesto sauce from the local supermarket. However, making it from scratch means all control is in your hands. You can adjust the consistency of homemade sauce as per your choice, also you can add substitutes of ingredients as per convenience.  The delicious homemade pesto sauce can be used in making pesto chicken pasta.

Asma Asad

Asma Asad

Hi! I am Asma Asad, I am a content writer working with stepshowto.com as an author. I am here to share delicious, authentic, and healthy recipes from cuisines worldwide. I hope you will love to recreate these lush recipes.

Total time

0hr 7m

Cuisine

Italian

Servings

6 person

Calories

220

Level

Easy

ingredients

  • Fresh Basil Lives 2 cups

  • Pine Nuts 4 tbs

  • Garlic Cloves 2 pcs

  • Lemon Juice 4 tbsp

  • Olive Oil 8 tbs

  • Salt to taste

  • Black Pepper Powder to taste

  • Parmesan Cheese 1 cup

Directions for Making Pesto Sauce

Step 1 Roast Pine Nuts

Firstly, take a pan and put it over the stove at medium-low to low flame. Once the pan is heated enough, add four tablespoons of pine nuts and roast them for 2 minutes. Then turn off the flame and put the roasted pine nuts aside for later use.

roast Pine nuts

Step 2 Rinse and Dry Basil Leaves

Secondly, take 2 cups of fresh basil leaves and rinse them under tap water twice. Then let them dry by putting them on a paper towel or you can use a salad spinner to dry the basil leaves. Once leaves are dried set them aside for later use in making pesto sauce.

roast Pine nuts

Step 3 Peel Garlic Cloves

Then take two garlic cloves and then peel the skin of the garlic using a knife. Make sure your safety and Don't cut your hands.

roast Pine nuts

Step 4 Squeeze Lemon Juice

Now take two small lemons and cut them into two halves. Then remove the seeds and squeeze their juice for pesto sauce.

roast Pine nuts

Step 5 Shred Parmesan Cheese

Then take a block f parmesan cheese and shred it with the help of a grater. You can use store brought shredded parmesan cheese.

roast Pine nuts

Step 6 Put All Ingredients in Food Processor

Then take a food processor and add roasted pine nuts, basil leaves, garlic cloves, lemon juice, shredded parmesan cheese, salt pepper, and olive oil in it.

roast Pine nuts

Step 7 Blend to Make Sauce

Then turn on the food processor and blend all the items for 4- 5 minutes o until mixture becomes smooth enough. This Pesto sauce is ready to serve or you can store in fridge.

roast Pine nuts

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Tips and precautions

  • You can use walnuts or almonds to substitute for pine nuts while making sauce.
  • You can also add fresh spinach leaves to the sauce for a bright green color.
  • To make a traditional Italian pesto sauce, you can use mortar and pestle for crushing ingredients.