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.”

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MOST HELPFUL

Reviewed: Apr. 24, 2012

I used a cup of raw almonds and half a cup of sunflower seeds instead of the expensive pine nuts. Toasted 'em then ground 'em. Still spectacular. This recipe is a keeper. :)

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Reviewer:

Acey

Reviewed: Apr. 7, 2012

I used only the ingredients listed, I didn't experiment and add a bunch of stuff and then try to rate your recipe. The taste was very nice, everyone liked it. It was as good as any pesto I've had at restaurants. Next time I'll toast the nuts before I add them. Four stars is only because I couldn't get the basil to "paste" in my blender. I ended up adding everything just to get it to blend. It could just be my blender. I'll try adding the basil in slowly next time.

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Reviewer:

Cooking Dad

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Sarasota, Florida, USA

Reviewed: Mar. 7, 2012

Excellent!

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Native Heart

Reviewed: Mar. 3, 2012

I like this recipe, and it worked well with the substitutions I had to make. I had no nuts, so I ground up a half cup of oats and added an extra TBS of oil. It tasted surprisingly good, and I hardly noticed the lack of nuttiness thanks to the Parmesan.

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Reviewer:

Laite19

Reviewed: Feb. 13, 2012

I have made this repeatedly over the past few years and am just now getting around to rating. As it stands, the recipe is maybe a three-star, but with a tiny bit of modification, it becomes much better. I add LOTS more garlic, some seasoned salt, and more parmesan. It's a good starting point, then play around with it until you're satisfied. I have found this freezes well in ice cube trays for future use. I have also poured a thin layer of olive oil over the top and frozen in a plastic container with good results, but I don't typically need a large amount all at once.

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Jennifer W

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Jan. 27, 2012

This is the first time I have made pesto from scratch. I loosely followed the recipe I toasted the pine nuts, omitted the brazil nuts, used 4 cloves of garlic (which was a bit too strong so I'll reduce that next time to just 2), and lastly I didn't measure the oil but poured it in the blender until it was the consistency I wanted.

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may2mac

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Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Denver, Colorado, USA

Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2012

good. froze in ice cube trays. can't taste spinach.

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Reviewer:

tryanythingoncemom

Reviewed: Nov. 22, 2011

Very good, straight-forward classic pesto recipe.

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Reviewer:

OmegaDale

Reviewed: Sep. 8, 2011

I made this recipe tonight with fresh basil from my garden. It was very good, the only thing I did different was sprinkle with a 1/2 tsp. salt and I omitted the brazil nuts. Made enough for dinner and some for another night. Thanks for the recipe, I always wanted to make homemade pesto.

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Reviewer:

over easy

Cooking Level: Professional

Home Town: Tampa, Florida, USA

Living In: Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Reviewed: Aug. 22, 2011

This is the 2nd year I made it, and it is fantastic. I did not use the chili powder as my kids can smell and taste that from a mile away, I find that using 2 TBSP of the fresh garlic gives it enough zing. Toast the pine nuts and have omitted the other nuts. I have frozen it in the ice-tray and then moved to a freezer zip-lock bag. I served it with grilled chicken strips on top of fresh pasta and my guests and family could not stop slurping it! When you sautee the chicken strips or just after you removed the pasta from the boiling water, add 3 cubes of the pesto and it will melt within minutes.

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