What Is Basil pesto and How Can I Use It?

Here's everything worth knowing about basil pesto and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 110 recipes to cook tonight.

What is basil pesto?

h, basil pesto! This vibrant green sauce hails from Genoa, Italy, where it's the king of fresh, no-cook wonders that can transform a simple pasta into a sun-kissed Mediterranean feast. Made from pounded basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan, and olive oil, it's got that nutty, herbaceous punch that's perfect for drizzling over grilled veggies or slathering on crusty bread. Whether you're a newbie in the kitchen chasing "easy homemade basil pesto recipe for beginners" or curious about "traditional Italian pesto ingredients and uses," let's dive in and whip up a batch that'll make your taste buds sing opera.

Chef Tips

Go nuts with nuts: Pine nuts are traditional, but almonds or pistachios add a fun twist for "nut-free basil pesto alternatives" if allergies are in play.
Fresh is key: Use the brightest basil you can find; if it's wilted, your pesto will taste flat. For "vegan basil pesto recipe ideas," skip the cheese and amp up the garlic.
Make it your own: Stir in sun-dried tomatoes for a red pesto vibe, perfect for "creative pesto variations for beginners."

Quick facts

Where to find basil pesto: Basil pesto is usually found in the condiments section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese: 罗勒香蒜
British (UK) term: Basil pesto
en français: pesto de basilic
en español: pesto de albahaca

Recipes using basil pesto

There are 110 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Artichoke Hearts, Basil Pesto & Fried Egg Crostini

Basil pesto, marinated artichoke hearts, fried egg and some hot pepper sauce are topped on a slice of rosemary-olive oil bread.

Good Morning Sandwich

A quick, easy and refreshing sandwich is perfect for a morning breakfast.

Spinach-Miso Pesto Crostini

Spinach-miso pesto crostini, toasted country bread spread with a vibrant umami-rich spinach-miso pesto and topped with sweet roasted red pepper. A light, quick, dairy-free appetizer ready in minutes.

Whitby Queen Scallops - Deliciouslyorkshire

Restaurant and bistro Green’s of Whitby source and promote the very best of foods from the surrounding area. Situated in the busy fishing harbour of Whitby, Rob chooses seafood fresh from the quayside every morning, recently winning one of the food industry’s most coveted awards; Seafood Chef of the Year. Prime local meats and game are also a speciality. The abundance of fresh produce means that the menu changes frequently to offer the best of the day.

Arugula, Artichoke & Cherry Tomato Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette

Peppery arugula salad with marinated artichokes, cherry tomatoes, and basil pesto vinaigrette. Quick, healthy Italian-inspired salad ready in 8 minutes.

Oven-Dried Heirloom Tomato, Basil Pesto & Mozzarella Pizza

Oven-Dried heirloom tomatoes are juicy yet tender, line these yummy bites underneath other topping ingredients in order to prevent from being burnt when the pizza is baked in the oven. There are so many layers of great textures and flavors, you will find all these delicious goodness in every bite of this freshly baked pizza.

Easy Breakfast Tortilla Pizza

This quick, easy and delicious tortilla pizza is made with whole wheat tortilla, basil pesto, fresh vegetables, pickled jalapenos and mozzarella cheese. Perfect for breakfast or brunch.

Basil Pesto, Sun-Dried Tomato Sandwich with Swiss Cheese

Don't feel like cooking up a storm, make this delicious sandwich with store-bought whole wheat English muffin, basil pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and swiss cheese. For extra heat, add a few slices of picked jalapenos.

Broccoli, Mushroom & Sun-Dried Tomato Tortilla Pizza

Make this tortilla pizza for a quick yet delicious lunch or supper. It's spread with basil pesto, sprinkled with mozzarella cheese, topped with broccoli, green bell pepper, mushrooms, onions and sun-dried tomato. Much lower calories and fat, but still tastes yummy.

Pesto, Tomato & Mozzarella Focaccia

Pesto focaccia topped with sliced tomatoes and melted mozzarella, baked until bubbly and golden. A 5-ingredient Italian flatbread pizza ready in 20 minutes.

Pesto Chicken & Pepper Wraps

Easy and delicious chicken wraps are packed with goodness and yumminess.

Poached Eggs Caprese For Two

An Italian twist to Eggs Benedict. Pesto replaces the Hollandaise sauce, mozzarella and tomatoes replaces the ham.

Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Jalapenos

Basil pesto, juicy tomatoes and mozzarella cheese with a little heat from jalapeno make this grilled cheese sandwich taste absolutely delicious.

Basil Pesto & Fresh Tomato Grilled Cheese

Grilled cheese is probably one of the easiest and tastiest foods to make. The warm-oozy cheese and nicely browned bread are just irresistible. You can add whatever you like in the filling between the bread, extra yumminess is always welcomed.

Tofu with Tomato & Mushroom Sauce

Last week, we cooked tofu following this recipe, the tomato and mushroom sauce was very nice and yummy.

Basil Pesto, Roasted Pepper, Sun-dried Tomatoes & Portabella Mushrooms Pizza

Homemade pizza dough with roasted bell peppers, fresh mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, easy to make and tastes good.

Basil Pesto Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Give your grilled cheese a deliciously modern twist by spreading tasty basil pesto on the bread, topping fresh tomato slices and mozzarella cheese.

Grilled Summer Vegetable Pizza with Basil Pesto & Feta

Grilled pizza is absolutely flavorful, grilling develops the smokey flavor, and crispy texture on both the vegetables and the crust. This easy grilled pizza is spread with basil pesto as the base, topped with grilled fresh summer vegetables and feta cheese, yum, yum!

Veggie Matzo Brie

A low-fat veggie matzo "brie" without the high fat brie cheese.

Pesto Chicken Florentine

Extremely rich combination of chicken, spinach and creamy pesto sauce. Serve with crunchy bread and romaine salad.

Basil Pesto, Artichoke Hearts, Sun-dried Tomato & Roasted Bell Pepper Pizza

Instead of pizza sauce, used basil pesto, and the combination of the toppings worked deliciously well together. Cheddar and parmesan really added tons of yummy cheesiness, which was absolutely delicious with the toppings.

Basil Pesto, Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato & Spinach Sandwich

Make your own delicious sandwich by using these a few fresh ingredients, and it is so quick and easy!

Pesto Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato, Arugula & Fresh Mozzarella

This was the side-dish my mother-in law made for Easter dinner, and my favorite. Freshly homemade pasta was mixed with basil pesto, sun-dried tomato, arugula and chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese. It was so delicious and flavorful. Here it is...

Basil Pesto, Oven-Dried Cherry Tomato & Mozzarella Taco Pizzas

These individual taco pizzas are loaded with flavors. Spread with basil pesto, topped with juicy yet chewy, and sweet oven-dried cherry tomatoes, and shredded mozzarella. After baking, they come out cheesy, juicy and delicious!

Twice Baked Potatoes with Gouda & Pesto

Twice baked potatoes are always welcome on the dinner tables. They are packed with deliciousness, and quite versatile to make. Such as these twice baked potatoes with gouda and pesto, definitely tummy pleasers.

Open-Faced Sandwich with Tomato, Mozzarella & Basil

Quick and easy sandwich made with ripe tomato, fresh basil leaves and mozzarella cheese.

Cheesy Green Garden Pizza

Fresh vegetables on top, spread the pesto evenly on the pizza dough, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of the vegetables, great combination for a garden pizza.

Pesto Pasta Salad

Quick and easy to make, and it was delicious. A great side dish or a vegetarian main.

Tomato, Cucumber & Lettuce Sandwich

Refreshing and packed with goodness. This easy sandwich is a great breakfast to start up a new day or a quick-fixing lunch.

Mediterranean Stuffed Sweet Baby Peppers

These cute and fresh baby peppers are stuffed with a mixture of ricotta cheese, toasted walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, basil pesto and black olives. Roast them in the oven, they come out cheesy, oozy and absolutely tasty. Serve these cute yet yummy peppers as an appetizer that everyone will love and enjoy.

Chicken Pesto Vegetable Stir-Fry with Fettuccine

Quick, easy and delicious! An ideal supper on a busy week day.

Basil Pesto Cherry Tomato Pizza

Simple fresh flavors that marry perfectly together make this eye-pleasing personal pizza juicy and fresh. For the photo we used our own fresh pesto and made our own pizza crust from scratch, heck we even ground the flour ourselves in our flour mill. In a hurry? No worries, use a pre-made pizza shell and prepared pesto for delicious fresh pizza in a flash.

Spinach & Feta Pita Bake

Fantastic! Very easy and quick, perfect for a light dinner or healthy appetizer. Low-fat, low-sodium and delicious.

Angel Hair Pasta With Shrimp

A simple and succulent pasta dish that is the perfect meal to enjoy while watching the evening news.

Asparagus Basil-Pesto Lasagna

This is the best lassagna I have ever tried, basil-pesto definitely gave the whole lasagna tons of tasty flavor, also used low-fat milk and cheese, reduced the amount of fat, but the sauce was still creamy, asparagus was tender-crispy between the layered creamy stuffed noodles.

Sun-Dried Tomato, Olive & Basil Pesto Flatbread

The other day while we were watching Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen, chefs were making flatbread, basically like pizza, just different shape, which really made my craving for pizza come back to life. Then start making this sun-dried tomato, olive and basil pesto flatbread, and it was so good...

Easy Mozzarella, Sun-Dried Tomato & Pesto Quick Bread

Cheesy, moist and very flavorful. The combination of mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil pesto make this delicious bread. The bread itself tastes absolutely divine.

Artichoke, Leek, Potato & Garlic Soup

Love artichoke? Love leek? Love Potato? Love Garlic? Or Love them all? You should try this soup, it was so quick and easy to make, and it was so smooth and creamy without any milk or cream; and the soup tastes very refreshing and light, enjoy this yummy and guilt-free recipe, it can be served warm, at room temperature or chilled!