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Basil Pesto with Walnuts

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Simple Basil Pesto with Walnuts, a rich sauce that can be eaten with bread and crackers or tossed onto cold or hot pasta or any protein to complete a meal.

Basil Pesto with Walnuts - The Foodie Affair

Basil Walnut Pesto

How are your gardens doing? My little window sill has been the perfect sunny spot for mint and basil.

In fact, both herbs grew like crazy for being in such confined pots. I transplanted the mint to my courtyard where I have half of a wooden wine barrel that I use for a garden among some flowers.

Wish the little mint leaves luck!

Herbs that rely on my green thumb don’t always make it because I often forget an essential ingredient to a flourishing garden….water!

It seems that the plants that are plopped in my kitchen get watered as soon as they look a little droopy.

I can’t ignore them since they are right above the sink where the dish washing happens!

Basil Pesto with Walnuts - The Foodie Affair

Pesto With Fresh Basil

The basil was looking vibrant and smelt full of flavor, so instead of replanting it I thought I better use it up while it’s so fresh!

Pesto finger licking full of delicious flavor, it’s healthy, and easy to make using simple ingredients.

All you need is cheese, basil, olive oil and nuts. Traditionally pesto is made with pine nuts, but I make mine using walnuts.

California Walnuts sent me a gorgeous supply of walnuts and lucky for me the timing was perfect to use in this pesto sauce!

For this recipe I used a 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts, so I will have more tasty recipes coming to use up the rest of those walnuts.

Basil Pesto with Walnuts - The Foodie Affair

What To Serve Pesto Sauce With

Basil Pesto with walnuts can be served like a dip on crackers or bread, and it can also liven up any pasta dish.

In addition to a simple sip, pesto sauce is also delicious with fish and chicken.

Basil Pesto with Walnuts - The Foodie Affair

I have several other dishes that you can use this pesto for. Be sure to check out these recipes:

Pesto and Parmesan Popovers

Parmesan Popovers in a muffin pan right out of the oven

Tortellini Pesto Salad

Tortellini Pesto Salad in a brown pyrex bowl.
Healthy and simple Basil Pesto with Walnuts, a rich sauce that can be eaten with bread and crackers or tossed onto cold or hot pasta.

Basil Pesto with Walnuts

Yield: 1 cup
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Simple pesto sauce made with fresh basil blended with walnuts. Super versatile sauce from a dip to a condiment on protein dish.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups basil, packed
  • 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 1/2 cup parmesan-reggiano cheese
  • 3- 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Put the basil and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor (or any high powered blender). Pulse until the leaves and nuts are broken down. Add the garlic and cheese and blend until incorporated into the basil mixture. You may need to stop the blender and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula a couple of times.
  • Slowly add the oil while the processor is on to emulsify. Add salt and pepper to taste.
    • Nutrition Information:
    Yield: 8 servings Serving Size: 1
    Amount Per Serving: Calories: 196Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 173mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 4g

    Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.

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    © Sandra Shaffer
    Cuisine: American / Category: Sauce
    Homemade basil pesto made with walnuts. Simple recipe to use as a dip or over a protein or pasta dish.
    Hugs Sandra Signature

     

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Cindi Bachtel

      This pesto is so fun and easy to make. I love using the walnuts. My family really couldn’t tell the difference.

      Reply

    4. Ronda

      My basil did not do well this year but my mint on the other hand is a different story. I’ll be pinning this for next year when I hope to have a bumper crop again.

      Reply

    11. Aunt Bee

      I love pesto so much! I craved it during my first pregnancy! I haven’t had pesto with walnuts before! Your photos are stunning and I can’t wait to try this recipe! <3

      Reply

    17. Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life

      Gorgeous photos! We make pesto all the time and basil and walnuts is our old standby. You can’t go wrong with that combo. All of the farms here are having problems with downy mildew so no one has it anymore. And my plants aren’t looking so good either. It was a disappointing basil season. 🙁 At least we got quite a bit packed away in the freezer before the end.

      Reply

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