This Basil Pesto with Almonds comes together in minutes and only requires a few common ingredients. It’s a fantastic condiment that can be used in a variety of ways.
Pesto is sooo good. I use it in pasta dishes, on chicken, on seafood, or even as a spread on sandwiches.
You can usually find some pretty tasty prepared pesto at just about any grocery store. But, it’s just as easy to make it yourself. And, when you do that, you can play around with the ingredients.
In this recipe, I switched out the pine nuts (which are traditionally used in pesto recipes) for almonds. Just about any nut will work, really. I just like the idea of using almonds because I almost always have almonds on hand. But, I almost never have pine nuts on hand.
To make this recipe, simply add fresh basil, almonds, parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper to a food processor. Process until the ingredients are broken down. Then, as the processor is on, slowly drizzle in some olive oil. It’s ready in minutes.
The almonds give this pesto great flavor and they also retain just a little bit of their crunch giving it a great texture too.
Try this pesto in my Chicken Pesto Pasta.
Basil Pesto with Almonds Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups packed fresh basil leaves from about 3 oz. fresh basil
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, add the basil, almonds, parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper. Turn on the processor for about 15 seconds to break down the ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the processor.
- Turn the processor on and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until well combined.
- Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Kelly // The Pretty Bee: Allergy Friendly Eats says
These photos are gorgeous! Sounds yummy!
Rebecca says
This sounds like a great recipe. I have rarely met a basil pesto I did not like. I have a question: should the almonds be raw or toasted? Thanks!
Bilbo says
I always thought you had to use pine nuts, but I made it with cashews a few weeks ago and it was great. About to try it with almonds as it’s all I’ve got in the cupboard.
Daniel says
I used raw. If you don’t want the skin, soak it in water for 30 minutes and you can easily take the brown off.
Mary Jones says
I toasted them for 10 minutes on 350.
Worked perfectly!
Lucy says
Awesome! I added it to penne pasta, crispy mushrooms sautéed in evoo, and chicken breasts. I also added a splash of lemon juice and crushed red pepper flakes for a kick. Love it!
Lesley says
How long does it last it the refrigerator?
David Hess says
First time I made pesto with my basil, awesome! Toasted the almonds, just the right taste.great recipe
Mel says
This is just amazing! I’m looking forward to adding it to my zucchini noodles tonight!!!
anna says
Was delicious, needed big squeeze of lemon juice too though!
Lindsay says
This turned out great! I used two cups of fresh basil from my plant and a cup of organic kale! Tonight I topped my eggplant with it and I’m going to try it on spaghetti squash and zucchini noodles next! I also added half a lemon.
Winni says
Works perfectly every time 😀👍
Lee says
This was so easy and delicious on whole grain pasta! I, too, always have almonds and don’t like to spend the money on pine nuts. I prefer to use roasted nuts and I have made pesto with roasted walnuts as well and it was good too. Thanks for the quick and easy recipe!
Jessica R. says
This recipe is fantastic! I wanted to thank you for it. I’m not the hugest fan of pine nut pesto, and I always have almonds on hand, so this recipe is perfect for me. Believe it or not, I just made a QUADRUPLE recipe (I had a ton of Basil), and I”m planning on freezing the pesto in cute jars and handing them out at Christmas time as hostess gifts! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
p.s. Sometimes I sub about a quarter or third of the almonds with pistachios — either way it’s delish!
francine says
can i make this recipe with almond flour, it is already powdered.
Arlene says
I never knew I could substitute almonds for pinenuts in basil pesto. I just made this pesto and it’s so delicious.
I will never use pinenuts in my pesto again.
Linda says
This pesto is delicious and so easy to make. I have made it multiple times.
Judy says
I toasted the almonds, with skins on, for 15mins in the oven, added Thai mint- just a handful, and lemon juice – 1tbsp. It is delicious.
THANKS!
Deborah Messing says
Came out great! Only change I made was to reduce the amount of olive oil to 5 Tbsp., instead of 8.
Just as smooth and creamy as you could want, with simply less oil..
Also, would highly recommend using the best quality real Italian Parmigiano Reggiano you can find/afford. When I was the cheese buyer at our Coop, people constantly said, ¨Oh, I´ll just use the cheap parmesan from Argentina, pre-ground. Itś JUST for making pesto!”But I would say, You’ve gone to all this trouble, using fresh basil, nuts, etc. – Why not go all the way and use the real Parmigiano, which has a ton more flavor/ounce and will send your pesto over the moon.
donelle kemmer says
Love it ! I grow a lot of basil so I made this and used toasted almonds with sea salt from Costco. I added some lemon juice that others had mentioned and it was wonderful ! Thanks for the recipe. Now I need to look for ideas how to use it.
Paula MacLean says
I cut the garlic by one clove as we are not huge fans of strong garlic flavor. It is yummy! Recommend adding salt after tasting it as the parm is salty and you may want to cut the salt to 1/4 tsp. I also covered it in a think layer of olive oil after packing into a container. This helps it stay tasting fresh and not oxidize or turn dark in the fridge.
Dorcas White says
Wonderful! I made it in a blender, but found that I needed to add 1/4 C. water to pulse and get it as smooth as thick peanut
butter. Spread 4 heaping tablespoons onto a large white tortilla and cut it into 8 pieces with a pizza cutter. Yum! Yum!
Think I might make it with Smokehouse Almonds next, and leave out the salt. Great recipe! Thank you!
Gillian says
Delicious I made it by hand in pestle and mortar gave it a chunckier character
Linda Falk-Czechowski says
Since Pine Nuts give me “Pine Mouth” (google it if you are not sure what that is), and my son is allergic to walnuts which I’ve used before, I was excited to find your recipe using Almonds! It was so easy, and I have SO MUCH basil in my garden! Thank You!
Sarah E. Miller says
tasty and easy to prepare, will definitely make again!
Lianne says
This is an awesome pesto recipe. So delicious!
How long will it stay in the refrigerator?
How long will it last in freezer?
Thanks!
Jessica R says
Thank you for this recipe. I’ve been using it for years! I like it better than traditional pesto, and it’s cheaper too! Thank you so much for it!
Donna says
I Love this recipe. With so many food allergens it was great to have a recipe that still worked with a substitute. I always have almonds on hand also and was so pleased to know that almonds were included. Dairy is life threatening for me, so I had Daiya Tapioca cheese on hand and it still was a winner. I also loved knowing that a blender or processor works. This was a great flexible find.