Skip to content

Top Navigation

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Recipes
  • Cooking 101
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
SUBSCRIBE
Pin FB

Explore Cooking Light

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 31-Day Healthy Meal Plan

      Our 31-day calendar of meals and tips shows you how to cook more and love it with fun, family-friendly meals that come together quickly and deliciously. Read More
    • Dinner Tonight: Quick and Healthy Menus in 45 Minutes (or Less)

      Hundreds of delicious recipes, paired with simple sides, that can be on your table in 45 minutes or less. Read More
    • Our Favorite Healthy Air Fryer Recipes

      Who ever said that chicken wings, doughnuts, and pizza couldn't be healthy? Read More
  • Recipes

    Recipes

    See All Recipes
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Drinks
    • Recipe Makeovers
    • Quick & Healthy
    • Diabetic
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Cooking Light Live
  • Cooking 101

    Cooking 101

    See All Cooking 101
    • Essential Ingredients
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Meet the Chef
    • Cooking Resources
    • Budget Friendly
    • Smart Choices
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living

    Healthy Living

    See All Healthy Living
    • Weight-Loss
    • Health
    • Fitness
    • Home
    • Travel
    • Nutrition 101
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Recipes
  3. Pesto Recipes

Pesto Recipes

July 20, 2016
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Credit: Photo: Alison Miksch Styling: Lindsey Lower
Pesto is a traditional no-cook Italian sauce with main ingredients of basil, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese, all crushed together with a mortar and pestle. Using a food processor takes the hard labor out of the recipe, and alternating the main ingredients results in many varieties of pesto. Versatile and simple to make, pesto is a great way to add color and a gourmet touch to a home-cooked meal. Keep a batch around to season pasta, vegetables, and sandwiches. Use it as a sauce, a spread, or a dip—the possibilities are endless!
Start Slideshow

1 of 10

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Zucchini Pesto With Crudités

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Zucchini Pesto With Crudités

Serve this summery zucchini pesto on a platter with colorful veggies. The cooked zucchini is delicious on its own (try it as a spread) and even better blended with almonds, fresh herbs, and cheese. Garnish with a little extra cheese, if desired.

1 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 10

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Miso-Sesame Pesto

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Miso-Sesame Pesto

In this recipe, traditional Italian pesto takes a detour through the continent of Asia, swapping in peanuts for pine nuts, toasted sesame oil for olive oil, and miso and fish sauce for Parmesan.

2 of 10

3 of 10

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Blanched Pesto

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Blanched Pesto

This approach makes pesto that's less grassy and intense than raw basil versions, with rounded, balanced flavor. It's good to use a mellow, mild olive oil here so it doesn't detract from the fresh herbs. If you don't care for the hot taste of raw garlic, you can take the edge off the cloves by blanching them along with the basil. We use sunflower seed kernels here because they are far less expensive than the pine nuts traditionally used, and their flavor is similarly rich and sweet. If you have pine nuts already on hand, feel free to use them instead.

3 of 10

Advertisement

4 of 10

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Classic Pesto

Credit: Photo: Oxmoor House
View Recipe: Classic Pesto

This flavorful pesto recipe is made from the freshest ingredients: garlic, pine nuts, and basil. Classic pesto goes well with pasta, pizza, bruschetta, and can be added to soups or omelets. Make extra batches so you'll have enough to last awhile.

4 of 10

5 of 10

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Green Pea Pesto Crostini with Prosciutto

Credit: Photo: Brie Passano
View Recipe: Green Pea Pesto Crostini with Prosciutto

Offering a bright pop of color and requiring next to no prep time, these tasty little toasts are equally ideal for special spring gatherings and casual afternoon snacking. You can assemble them up to 45 minutes before serving and they won't sog out.

5 of 10

6 of 10

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

View Recipe: Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

Wait a sec... pesto should be green, right? Not this basil bowl! Roasted red pepper gives this pesto an earthy umami flavor. Pair it with grainy, toasted pine nuts and Parmesan for a nutty finish.

6 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 10

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Favorite Pesto

View Recipe: Favorite Pesto

Even kids can be convinced that this pesto rocks. If you’d like to make it a few days ahead, place the pesto in a small container and pour a layer of olive oil over it before refrigerating. The oil acts like a sealant and helps keep the green color of the pesto. Just be sure to scrape off the oil before serving.

7 of 10

8 of 10

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Sicilian Pesto

Credit: Photo: Randy Mayor
View Recipe: Sicilian Pesto

Pesto may seem like the most obvious use for basil, but this version has a Sicilian twist. In Sicily, the locals spice things up with crushed red pepper and chopped tomatoes. We bet you'll love their saucier version.

8 of 10

9 of 10

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Parsley Pesto

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner
View Recipe: Parsley Pesto

No-Cook! A nice twist on traditional basil pesto, this version uses flat-leaf parsley for a fresh, herbal flavor. Great on pastas, bruschetta, pizzas, and sandwiches, this pesto is just as versatile as the classic.

Pantry Checklist:

  • Flat-leaf parsley
  • Toasted pine nuts
  • Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • Extra-virgin olive oil

9 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 10

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Dandelion Greens

Credit: Photo: Alison Miksch Styling: Lindsey Lower
View Recipe: Dandelion Greens Pesto

Drizzle this edgy, bitter pesto over summer tomatoes, whole grains, or scrambled eggs. For a milder version, use more basil or spinach.

10 of 10

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 10 Zucchini Pesto With Crudités
    2 of 10 Miso-Sesame Pesto
    3 of 10 Blanched Pesto
    4 of 10 Classic Pesto
    5 of 10 Green Pea Pesto Crostini with Prosciutto
    6 of 10 Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
    7 of 10 Favorite Pesto
    8 of 10 Sicilian Pesto
    9 of 10 Parsley Pesto
    10 of 10 Dandelion Greens

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Cooking Light

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    MeredithCooking Light is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Cooking Light may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Cooking Light. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.cookinglight.com

    View image

    Pesto Recipes
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.