Pesto Sauce

I had a ton of basil that I needed to use up. It doesn't tolerate cold at all, so it's streching it to keep it into October in Minnesota. I was struggling to choose a recipe, so I decided to try three different pesto recipes from this site. In A-typical allrecipes fashion I actually stuck exactly to each recipe so that we could truly judge them fairly. The recipes were Easy Pesto by Rebecca Jane Thompson, Pesto Sauce by Sara, and Simple Garlic and Basil Pesto by FuzzyGreenMonkey. My favorite was Easy Pesto. It had a nice nutty flavor because of the toasted almonds. It's also nice if you don't have much basil on hand because it uses half as much as the other recipes. My husband liked Simple Garlic and Basil Pesto the best, it was my close second. The parmesan cheese and pine nuts really make that recipe. We both agreed that by far our least favorite was Pesto Sauce. It was very bland compared to the other two. I would attribute that to the 1 1/2 cups of walnuts. I would not recommend that recipe at all. It was a fun experiment and the other two recipes will go into my permanant file.

This was incredibly good! I arranged boneless chicken breasts in a 9x13 dish. I coated each breast with the pesto and then layered sliced tomatos on top. Sprinkled on shredded mozzarella and baked. So good!

The proportion of ingredients were perfect! And its a relief to know that the more affordable walnut can be used instead of the rather expensive pine nut without casualty. Thanks.

Mmm...this was very good. The recipe, as written, makes 2 cups. I used 3 cloves garlic instead of 4, and found it was plenty. A bit of lemon juice mixed in will help prevent browning, if you're freezing it.

This recipe was quite good. I absolutely love garlic, but I found 4 raw cloves to be a bit much, and I was surprised. Maybe next time I'll use 2-3. I used toasted pine nuts instead of walnuts. Expensive but worth it. I also added fresh parmesan and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. I'll definitely make this again. I was concerned about the fat and calorie content as listed on the recipe, but when I made this I came out with around 2 cups of pesto. The recipe says 4 servings, but this pesto is extremely rich. On a smaller-sized bowl of pasta I used like 2 spoonfuls of the sauce - not 1/2 cup - so I doubt I consumed anywhere near the fat and calorie content that was listed.

I have loved pesto since I was three and stole a bowl of it off the kitchen table. As long as there is a nut, basil, olive oil, garlic, parmesan cheese and a bit of lemon, it is to die for. The different nuts make whole different tastes, personally, I use walnut because they are so much cheaper. Roasting any nut first in a dry skillet makes the taste even better. I also like to subsitute argula for the basil, and asiago cheese on occasion for a different taste. Lemon basil is good, but sweet basil is the herb leaf that is typically used in pesto sauces. You can make this with less oil, too, and make it a bit better for you- but the extra oil makes it that much smoother. Thanks for the good recipe, Sara.

really great basic recipe. i used pine nuts instead of walnuts for more authentic taste.

This recipe is incredible! It's the best sauce I've ever had in my life. I make it as often as I can. I grow the basil in my garden so it's extra flavorful. I've reduced the oil from 1 cup to 3/4 cup to thicken the sauce a bit, and I use only 2 cloves of garlic, not 4. TRY THIS RECIPE! You will love it!

Very good. I didn't have walnuts; so I used pine nuts. I wanted to make it a little less fattening. In place of the 1 cup of olive oil, I used 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup olive oil.

Good recipe! I halved the amount of oil, and tripled the amount of cheese. Awesome!