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You are here: Home / Special Diets / Vegan / Basil & Pistachio Pesto

Basil & Pistachio Pesto

6th April 2015 - By Michelle Minnaar
This post may contain affiliate links.

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Give your food a healthy kick with a dab of this homemade pesto. It’s even vegan friendly!

Bread and Pesto

Before an Italian nonna hounds me with the intention of clobbering me with the handle of her pasta roller, I’d freely admit this isn’t an authentic pesto recipe. The latter would contain pine nuts instead of pistachios and if you check out the recipe below, you’ll notice that parmesan cheese is missing. Vegans use nutritional yeast instead of cheese. It still tastes fabulous though!

Herbs and Nuts in a Froothie

Preparing pesto is a doddle. Simply place all the ingredients in a food processor or Froothie and give it a blitz to your desired consistency. If you’d like the mixture to me sloppier, add more oil. Tweak the recipe to suit your taste.

Herbs blended in food processor

Apparently, there is a difference in taste depending on which method you use. The traditional way is with pestle and mortar and if you have the time give it a go. For those of us who are rushed off our feet on a daily basis, modern day machinery will just have to do.

Bread with Cream Cheese and Pesto

Embarrassingly, I’ve let fresh herbs go to waste more than I can count. It’s a shame because it needn’t be the case. It takes five minutes to make a batch of pesto and do you want to know a little secret? You can freeze the stuff. In this case I froze little portions in an ice tray and afterwards put them in a resealable bag in the freezer, which proves to be especially handy when I just need one or two portions.

You can freeze pesto

The beauty of freezing ingredients is that the subzero temperature locks in the freshness. So when the time comes to thaw, the produce will be in just as good condition as before it was frozen. This is what Dr. Oetker Ristorante conveyed mid-March 2015 when it constructed a pizzeria comprising 34 huge blocks of ice, using 3,400 litres of water outside Liverpool Street station in London. In their own words, “freezing pauses fine ingredients at the peak of perfection and suspends them there until the moment you’re ready to enjoy them”.

Pesto Cubes

So you made a big batch of pesto. Don’t know what to do?

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  • Nigellissima: Instant Italian Inspiration
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  • Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen

Vegetarian starter

21 Ways to Use Pesto

  1. Mix it with pasta.
  2. Mix it in with rice.
  3. Spread it on meat.
  4. Make a dip, by stirring it into mayonnaise or yogurt.
  5. Use it in a sandwich.
  6. Instead of using a tomato base on your pizza, use pesto.
  7. Garnish your soup.
  8. The secret ingredient of a salad dressing.
  9. Top your omelette or scrambled eggs with pesto.
  10. Bake it in your bread.
  11. Toss cooked vegetables in it.
  12. Make great little canapés like I did: Slices of bread slathered with cream cheese and topped with pesto. Alternative: Smear baguette slices with pesto and top with mozzarella slices.
  13. Potato mash with a twist.
  14. Use it as a marinade.
  15. Use it in a stew, it goes spectacularly well with chicken.
  16. If you have stale bread lying around, blend it with pesto to make breadcrumbs and top fish with it.
  17. Stir it into couscous.
  18. Add it to your meatball or burger patty mixture.
  19. Mix it with butter.
  20. Spoon it onto corn on the cob.
  21. Instead of butter use pesto to enjoy with baked sweet potatoes.

Vegan Pasta Dinner

Did I miss anything? What is your favourite way to use pesto?

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Bread with Cream Cheese and Pesto

Basil & Pistachio Pesto


★★★★★

4.9 from 8 reviews

  • Author: Michelle Minnaar
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
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Description

Can you make pesto with pistachios? Yes! Check out this UK-based pistachio pesto with basil recipe that is vegan and utterly delicious. You won’t regret it!


Scale

Ingredients

  • 250ml (1 cup) shelled pistachios, natural and unsalted
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 60g (2oz) basil, washed
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 125ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
  • season to taste

Instructions

  1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until desired consistency.
  2. Place in fridge or freeze in portions.

  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Blending
  • Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: pistachio pesto, uk pesto recipe, basil and pistachio pesto recipe

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. nazima says

    6th April 2015 at 9:27 pm

    ahh I love pesto. Though have to admit don’t make it as often as I should mainly because I always overlook the idea of freezing it – which I will do. I made some wild garlic pesto last year that I’d really like to repeat. Nice tips on what to do with pesto. SO versatile!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. nazima says

    6th April 2015 at 9:27 pm

    ahh I love pesto. Though have to admit don’t make it as often as I should mainly because I always overlook the idea of freezing it – which I will do. I made some wild garlic pesto last year that I’d really like to repeat. Nice tips on what to do with pesto. SO versatile!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Kirsty Fox says

    6th April 2015 at 9:35 pm

    I use pesto when I make a pizza.

    Reply
  4. Kirsty Fox says

    6th April 2015 at 9:35 pm

    I use pesto when I make a pizza.

    Reply
  5. Heather Haigh says

    6th April 2015 at 10:27 pm

    I love pesto as a pizza topping.

    Reply
  6. Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours says

    7th April 2015 at 7:45 am

    I made a very similar pistachio pesto last year. Love the addition of lime in yours, and I think I’d be tempted to put the nutritional yeast in!

    Reply
  7. Jo of Jo's Nursery says

    7th April 2015 at 9:04 am

    Lots of lovely ideas for Pesto here. Great photos too. I must try it!

    Reply
  8. Tracey Peach says

    7th April 2015 at 10:12 am

    On Fresh Crusty Bread xxx

    Reply
  9. Kate @ Veggie Desserts says

    7th April 2015 at 10:20 am

    I LOVE the sound of pistachio pesto – despite Nonna’s traditions! And that is a great list of ideas for pesto.

    Reply
  10. Tracy Nixon says

    7th April 2015 at 10:42 am

    I love it with chicken, pine nuts and pasta!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  11. Tracy Nixon says

    7th April 2015 at 10:42 am

    I love it with chicken, pine nuts and pasta!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  12. Sarah (@tamingtwins) says

    7th April 2015 at 2:55 pm

    I didn’t know you could freeze pesto! Every day’s a school day. Beautiful photos, I must try pesto in my Froothie soon.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  13. Jen says

    7th April 2015 at 5:04 pm

    I love pesto, I’m also bad at letting herbs go to waste, need to get in the habit of whizzing up and freezing as pesto as it’s so versatile.

    Reply
  14. Jen says

    7th April 2015 at 5:04 pm

    I love pesto, I’m also bad at letting herbs go to waste, need to get in the habit of whizzing up and freezing as pesto as it’s so versatile.

    Reply
  15. Suzanne Jackson says

    7th April 2015 at 5:20 pm

    Haven’t been too adventurous with pesto, sadly. Usually just have it in tagliatelle with tuna and mayo or as a pizza base. 🙂

    Reply
  16. kellyjo walters says

    7th April 2015 at 6:21 pm

    on pasta

    Reply
  17. kellyjo walters says

    7th April 2015 at 6:21 pm

    on pasta

    Reply
  18. Holly E says

    7th April 2015 at 6:46 pm

    I love pesto on baked cheese bread.

    Reply
  19. laura banks says

    7th April 2015 at 7:15 pm

    my hubby makes something involving scallops but not sure what he does

    Reply
  20. Kim M says

    7th April 2015 at 8:20 pm

    Love it to perk up a pizza

    Reply
  21. mad sad says

    8th April 2015 at 2:07 pm

    me too I love pesto on baked cheese bread

    Reply
  22. Kavey says

    9th April 2015 at 9:54 am

    Your photos just pop, beautiful fresh green!

    Reply
  23. frances hopkins says

    10th April 2015 at 8:07 am

    On pasta x

    Reply
  24. Claire Davies says

    12th April 2015 at 8:52 am

    I use it when I make quiches and pizzas – pesto is so versatile I always have a jar in the cupboard or fridge!

    Reply
  25. Natalie Crossan says

    14th April 2015 at 10:17 pm

    with pasta 🙂

    Reply
  26. Abi says

    17th April 2016 at 4:47 pm

    Very delicious recipe and very simple to make

    Reply
  27. Renil M. George says

    1st October 2017 at 2:44 pm

    i love italian food,

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • michelle says

      21st October 2017 at 10:43 pm

      Me too 🙂

      Reply
  28. RoyS says

    8th May 2018 at 4:09 am

    I love your pesto recipe here ~
    However 60 g. of basil is not 30 oz. ~ It’s closer to 2 ounces ~

    <3

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • michelle says

      8th May 2018 at 12:35 pm

      Thanks so much for pointing out my typo, Roy. All fixed!

      Reply
  29. Elizabeth says

    30th May 2019 at 1:44 am

    Delicious flavor! Our pesto came out pretty thick though.

    ★★★★

    Reply
  30. Donna says

    14th July 2019 at 5:20 pm

    I see the kcal count as 168…is this for the whole recipe…or just a serving of the 8 servings? What measurement for a serving would it be? Thank you for any insight…This looks ‘beyond’ yum…This ‘greedy gourmet’ in Lyon, France really appreciates your creativity…love that it is dairy-free as well! Bravo!

    Reply
    • Michelle Minnaar says

      15th July 2019 at 9:55 am

      Hello fellow, Greedy Gourmet!

      The calorie count stated is per portion. I’ve started using new nutritional analysis software and recalculated the values, so it is now serves 10 at 176 kcal per portion. Weight-wise, the pesto weighs around 435g, divided by 10, which makes it just below 45g per portion. I would say a serving size is around 30ml (2 tbsp), because of the sauce’s density.

      Hope that helps!

      Reply

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