Basil Pistachio Pesto

This Basil Pistachio Pesto is an ode to fresh summer flavors. Made in less than 30 minutes using basil leaves, toasted pistachios, fresh garlic, Parmesan, and extra-virgin olive oil, you can use your pesto in a pistachio pesto pasta, as a pizza base, or for an amazing punch to eggs, soups, or sandwiches.

Read on to learn all the tips and tricks for making pesto. Or just grab your food processor, hit that Jump to Recipe button and let’s make pesto just like your nonna would have made if she had a food processor!

Ingredients

Basil is an annual plant with many varietals grown around the world. Genovese basil is the basil typically used for pesto alla Genovese, but you can use purple basil or other basil varietals for this pistachio pesto to play around with flavor.

While pine nuts are traditional in pesto alla Genovese recipes, they’re becoming more scarce and expensive because of destruction of pine forests. This basil pistachio pesto recipe uses pistachio because they’re listed only as “near-threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

Please take the time to toast your nuts. Toasting, whether in pesto or in baking (like in this coffee and walnut cake) really brings out their flavor.

And always taste nuts to make sure they aren’t rancid. If you use lots of pistachios in your cooking and go through them quickly, you can store them in a cool, dry place. Otherwise, you’ll want to freeze your pistachios for longer shelf life.

Variations and substitutions

• Add a tablespoon or two of pecorino romano in addition to the Parmesan.
• Use a different basil other than Genovese basil or a combination of basil varietals.
• Out of season, make a winter pesto like arugula spinach pesto. Though not traditional in pesto, here I’d add a bit of lemon zest or juice to brighten up the flavor.
• Make it richer and add a few tablespoons of butter like Marcella Hazan.

Recipe tips and tricks

To make pesto, tear off the basil leaves where the thick stalk joins the leaf. You’ll want even the tiniest leaves, but throw away or compost the stems and any flowers or black or brown bits.

Pesto alla Genovese originates from the Italian port city of Genoa (also Genova). Pesto comes from the Italian word “pestare,” meaning “to pound” or “to grind.” While pesto is traditionally made with a mortar and pestle, using a food processor saves time and effort.

How to use pistachio basil pesto

The most common way to serve pesto is definitely over pasta. The traditional pasta shape served with pesto is trenette, a long ribbon-like pasta similar to linguine. Personally I think this pistachio basil pesto works perfectly with every pasta.

Here are a few other suggestions for what to eat with pesto:

• use in a pasta salad like this orzo pesto salad.
• make some homemade pizza dough and use this basil pistacho pasta as a base.
• make a creamy pesto dressing for salads.
• roll it in a babka or bread dough.
• start chicken breasts in a cast iron skillet. When you flip them over, top with pesto and shredded mozzarella cheese!
• spread on your favorite sandwich bread.
• stir into eggs, a frittata or quiche.
• add to soups like this easy 4 ingredient potato soup.

Recipe FAQs

Related pasta recipes

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