Spinach Basil Pesto

196 Reviews

Prep: 20 min
Ready In: 20 min

“This sauce is perfect for freezing in an ice cube tray. I just pop out a couple of cubes from the freezer and add to a pasta dish for a quick and easy meal. The Parmesan cheese can be omitted and added after thawing. Pour any pesto you aren't using immediately into an ice cube tray, cover with plastic wrap, and store in freezer.” - by Dianne

Adjust Servings

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Metric US

Original recipe yields 12 frozen cubes

Directions

Blend the spinach, basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a food processor until nearly smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary. Drizzle the remaining olive oil into the mixture while processing until smooth.

Nutrition

Amount Per Serving (24 total)

Calories
67 cal
3%

Fat
6.6 g
10%

Carbs
0.8 g
< 1%

Based on a 2,000 calorie diet

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Reviews (196)

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131

Valentine de Villefort

Aug. 14, 2009

"How delicious! I have never made pesto sauce before, so this was my first attempt and it was exquisite! Finding at the last minute that I did not have pine nuts, I looked up on the internet to find a ..." See moresuitable substitute, and finding almonds were appropriate (and I had them) I used almonds. They cut up beautifully in the food processor and I have some left over which I am going to freeze for another treat some summer evening! I highly recommend it!"

109

HUGSMOMMY

Mar. 10, 2010

"This was fantastic! This was my first attempt at homemade pesto, and I will never be buying that nasty stuff in jar again. It is so fresh and all the flavors come together beautifully. I used 3 cloves..." See more of garlic because of previous reviews, but I don't think the extra clove would have been too much. I guess it depends on the strength of your garlic. I also used fresh parmesan, which I think is crucial to the taste of the pesto. I served it with gnocchi and shrimp. I don't have ice cube trays, so I divided the leftovers into little pesto "cookies" on waxed paper, put them in the freezer and then wrapped the frozen pesto in plastic wrap and then put them in a freezer bag."