recipe reviews for:

Simple Garlic and Basil Pesto

“This recipe is something that you can make quickly and easily using a blender. Everything you need is easy to find in your local supermarket. This paste is great for putting on or in meat and pastas, or with cottage cheese in stuffed pasta shells. Once I start making this, the orders from friends and family keep coming in. For best taste, pesto should be heated up in the meal it's being prepared with.”

SORT REVIEWS BY:
DATE
RATING
MOST HELPFUL

Reviewed: Oct. 14, 2007

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.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
165 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

SYNEVA B

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 13, 2007

I thought this was pretty outstanding, and the friends I served it to thought the same.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

IMGolfnut

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Johnston, Iowa, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 12, 2007

This is perfect. I've already made 8 batches! The chili powder is such a great addition, adding zip but no noticeable flavor. (try adding a few dashes to a tiny spoonful if you're reticent; you'll see!) Less oil has worked fine as well, as well as fewer pine nuts when I was short. I haven't yet, however, used the Brazil nuts. ***TIP: I have heard that pesto should not be frozen with the cheese in it; it makes one of the ingredients rancid. Freeze and add cheese later.***

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
67 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

joy-of-jesus-smileymom

Home Town: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 6, 2007

Very tasty and loved doing this in the blender instead. I would cut back on the olive oil just a bit next time.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Renee

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Sep. 30, 2007

This was a very easy recipe and very tasty. I did however make a few changes. I cut the Extra virgin olive oil in half, a whole cup made the pesto very oily. I eliminated the brazil nuts and the chili powder. I added a little extra parmesan cheese which added good flavor. I also added salt and pepper. Don't forget to toast the pine nuts.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Diva Dawn

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Sep. 19, 2007

This was great! The chili powder was a great addition for a nice zing. I omitted Brazil nuts, added a dash of lemon juice and a bit more garlic and it was fabulous!! Served it as an appetizer at a dinner party and it was gone in minutes!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

LMWHEEL

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Sep. 13, 2007

This recipe was pretty good. I added more pine nuts, none of the other nuts, and more garlic. Next time I will add more basil.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

ironchefjill

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Sep. 1, 2007

yum -easy and simple. I followed the other reviews about not adding so much olive oil and once it was done, I added a little bit of heavy cream. Delicious!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

SMEGS1018

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Succasunna, New Jersey, USA

Living In: Hackettstown, New Jersey, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Aug. 20, 2007

Thank you so much for this recipe! I made a large batch and froze all of it in an ice cube tray. I put the cubes in a ziplock and froze. Yesterday I thawed some and used to put on brochutto for my daughter's 21st birthday Italian dinner party. Again, thank you.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Carrie

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Loveland, Colorado, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Aug. 1, 2007

I omitted the brazil nuts and chili powder. Also added salt and pepper. Didn't measure the olive oil either. Just added it until I liked the consistancy. With these modifications, this is a fantastic traditional pesto.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
6 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

valleygirl

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Weslaco, Texas, USA

Living In: Austin, Texas, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 25, 2007

Good recipe. Easy ingredients (except the Brazil Nuts) make it easy to do when you get the gumption. Good flavor, though next time (and there will be a next time) I'll add maybe some pepper or more garlic or something. It just wasn't a strong enough pesto.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

LYNNERIE

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: West Allis, Wisconsin, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 19, 2007

This is delicious!! Very easy and super yummy! Just used pine nuts and added extra garlic as we are garlic lovers. Made in the food processor this was a great sauce to use for pasta, sandwiches, or even as a pizza topping.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
5 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katherine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 14, 2007

I can't say the 4 stars are for this recipe exactly, since we made some heavy modifications. We had no pine nuts and my husband ate the last of the almonds, but I had basil to use up, so he suggested using tahini instead of the nuts. I wasn't sure about that, but it turned out pretty tasty! I made a 1/2 batch and used about 1/3 c. tahini and a little less than 1/2 c. olive oil, and 3 cloves garlic. Also added a pinch of salt and about a tablespoon of lemon juice. The pesto had a really rich flavor and was delicious with eggs.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

JHUBB

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jul. 13, 2007

Good. Your average pesto sauce. I halved the oil because 1 cup seemed like way too much; I'm glad I did. I also didn't use brazil nuts, but made up the difference with more pine nuts. And I used roasted garlic and was heavy handed with the parmesan.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

DC Girly Girl

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Living In: Columbia, Maryland, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jun. 23, 2007

delicious! I doubled the garlic and added salt. Can't imagine this without salt. It's a good basic recipe. I think I might add more parmesan cheese next time. I'll definitely make this again.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
5 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

SMARIGOLD717

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: New York, New York, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jun. 16, 2007

I used this as a base but I went wild with my own stuff after it seemed too oily. I may not have used enough basil. Anyway, good stuff nonetheless! Thanks!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

pammieo

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jun. 12, 2007

Before I tried this recipe, I was a "red" sauce type of guy. This Pesto is simply amazing! Added bonus: Everything fit inside my Mini-Prep processor - so no need to dirty the large one.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Sommerjam

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: May 31, 2007

Liked this recipe a lot. I did find, however, that the pesto I made was a little thick for the dish I was making. (I had a heck of a time trying to mix it into pasta.) Maybe more oil, or a little water would have helped. Tasted great though! I put chicken on top of the pesto pasta, and it was a hit at dinner time!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
5 users found this review helpful