Homemade Pesto alla Genovese🌿

Name: Homemade Pesto alla Genovese🌿
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 40–50g of Basil Leaves; 1–2 Cloves of Garlic; 150ml of Olive Oil; 80g of Parmigiano Cheese; 30g (2 tablespoons) of Pine Nuts or Walnuts; A Pinch of Salt

10 min prepApproximately 10 minutes

Updated 18 Jul 2025

Pesto alla Genovese brings the fresh, vibrant taste of Liguria right into your kitchen. 🇮🇹 Made with fragrant basil, pine nuts, cheese, and olive oil, this classic Italian sauce is perfect not only for pasta but also for grilled meat or fish.
Once I started making it from scratch, I realized homemade really is the most delicious.❤️
And the best part? There’s nothing artificial here—just pure, natural flavor you can truly feel good about.🌿

Ingredients

40–50g of Basil Leaves
1–2 Cloves of Garlic
150ml of Olive Oil
80g of Parmigiano Cheese
30g (2 tablespoons) of Pine Nuts or Walnuts
A Pinch of Salt

How to make it

1/ Prepare the Basil: Wash the basil leaves thoroughly and gently pat them dry using a dish towel or kitchen paper.

2/ Grate the Cheese: Grate the Parmigiano cheese. You can skip this step if you're using pre-grated cheese.

3/ Blend the Ingredients: Place the basil leaves, pine nuts (or walnuts), garlic, and olive oil in a food processor. Blend until you get a smooth paste.

Basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, and olive oil in food processor

4/ Add the Cheese: Add the grated Parmigiano cheese to the paste and blend again until the texture becomes even smoother.

Parmesan cheese and basil sauce in food processor

Season to Taste: Taste the pesto and add a pinch of salt if needed, adjusting to your preference.

Good to know

🌟Handy Tips for Homemade Pesto🌟

⭐️ Make It While the Pasta Cooks: You can prepare the pesto while the pasta is boiling💡 quick and efficient for a busy day.

⭐️ Adjust the Garlic to Taste: Too much garlic can make the flavor sharp or spicy, so feel free to adjust the amount to suit your preference.🧄

⭐️ Try Other Greens When Basil Isn’t Available: No basil? You can still make a tasty pesto using arugula(also known as rocket or rucola) or even carrot leaves as a substitute.🌿

⭐️ Once You Taste It, You’ll Be Hooked!: After discovering the fresh flavor of homemade pesto, I just couldn’t go back. Now, whenever I crave pasta with basil sauce, I make it myself.😊

⭐️Looking for ways to use your homemade pesto?: Try these two delicious pasta recipes using this sauce:
👉 Authentic Pasta al Pesto Genovese with Potatoes and Green Beans 🇮🇹

Pasta Pesto pasta with pesto potatoes and green beans basil leaves in a white bowl potatoes green beans pasta torofie
👉 Chilled Tomato and Olive Pasta with Pesto 🇮🇹