15 Pesto Recipes That Will Add Flavor to Pasta, Soup, and More
Find your perfect pesto.
Victor Protasio
There are many things to love about pesto—it’s hearty, easy to make, and can pair with anything from pasta to grilled fish. While a standard Genovese pesto is made with basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, salt, and Parmesan cheese, there are endless ways to adapt this savory sauce. Don’t have basil? Use kale instead. Allergic to nuts? Swap ‘em with seeds such as sunflower seeds or hemp seeds. Basically, there’s a pesto for virtually every occasion and diet. Don’t believe us? Check out this roundup of pesto recipes to find your favorite version of the popular condiment.
Related: 15 Best Rub, Sauce, and Marinade Recipes for Grilling Season
Superfood Pesto
We love this pesto because it’s packed with superfoods, resulting in a healthy condiment that will add depth of flavor to pasta dishes, homemade pizza, and more. This nutritious pesto is made with typical ingredients such as basil, Parmesan, olive oil, and garlic, as well as an abundance of beneficial seeds. You’ll find sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and ground flaxseed, which add nutty, spicy, and buttery flavors.
Universal Pesto
Greg DuPree
For a pesto recipe that works with whatever you're eating, give this recipe a whirl. It’s flexible and calls for herbs or greens, nuts or seeds, garlic, olive oil, and freshly grated hard aged cheese. Whatever ingredients you choose, just be sure to blanch the greens and herbs. This will give your pesto that vibrant green hue, and deliver plenty of flavor.
Pistachio Pesto
This pesto comes from one of our favorite risotto recipes. Here, while the risotto cooks you’ll make a quick pesto sauce using parsley, basil leaves, spinach, and pistachios. By preparing the pesto while the risotto is cooking, you’ll ensure that the herbs and spinach in the sauce stay vibrant, instead of becoming muddied from a long cook time.
Zucchini Pesto
This vegetable-based pesto also comes from one of our favorite pasta recipes. The backbone of the hearty green sauce used here is shredded zucchini and roasted, salted cashews. You’ll also find more typical pesto ingredients such as basil, Parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt.
Pea-Mint Pesto
If you love the refreshing flavor of mint, we guarantee you’ll enjoy this take on pesto sauce. Instead of the typical basil, you’ll find a combination of parsley and mint. This smooth pesto also includes pecorino Romano cheese, garlic, peas, and pine nuts. The peas contribute to the pesto’s bright green color, and give it an exceptionally silky texture as well. Pair it with fusilli so the twisty noodles can soak up every last drop of the sauce.
Broccoli Mint Pesto
Greg DuPree
Don’t have a bag of frozen peas on hand? Use broccoli florets to whip up a savory pesto instead. This take on pesto calls for the aforementioned broccoli, roasted almonds, basil, mint, grated pecorino cheese, garlic, and salt. It obviously pairs perfectly with pasta, but you can also use it as a savory toast topping or drizzle some on top of your favorite vegetable or minestrone soup.
Related: I Tried Making Pesto 3 Ways—The Best Was the Most Basic
Roasted Broccoli Pesto
While you didn’t need to roast the broccoli for the previous pesto recipe, this one calls for the veggie to spend some time in the oven. Plus, you’ll use the florets and stems. By roasting the broccoli, you’ll add a depth of flavor and heartiness to the pesto. Use this scrumptious sauce in any other recipe that calls for pesto. You won’t regret it!
Pesto Genovese (Classic Basil Pesto)
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
The pesto recipes we’ve included thus far have been riffs on classic pesto, but if you’re looking for the real deal that originated in Genoa, Italy, this is the recipe you’ll want to bookmark. For this recipe you’ll use a mortar and pestle to crush basil, garlic, and pine nuts. Once a paste has formed, you’ll add in olive oil and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The result is a basil-forward pesto that’s smooth, creamy, and rich in flavor.
Ramp Pesto
The Spruce / Jennifer Perillo
You can find ramps from mid-spring to early summer. If you happen upon a bunch at the farmer’s market and don’t know what to do with ‘em, make a pesto! In this recipe the ramps stand in for basil. You’ll also need roasted walnuts, freshly grated Pecorino cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
Who says pesto has to be green? This version skips basil altogether (great for when it’s not in season) and uses sun-dried tomatoes instead. The umami-packed ingredient is joined by walnuts, garlic, grated Parmesan cheese, roasted red pepper pieces, olive oil, salt, and pepper. For a little bit of heat, add a pinch of chili flakes. Use this versatile pesto with pasta, spread on sandwiches, as a dip with veggies, or stirred into soup.
Oven-Dried Tomatoes
You don't have to use store-bought sun-dried tomatoes for your pesto. With salt, pepper, herbs, and an oven, you can make your own dried tomatoes in an afternoon. These do require a few hours of low and slow baking, so make sure you have an afternoon or evening set aside for the cooking. We promise you won't regret it!
Garlic Scape Pesto
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
This pesto recipe combines fresh basil and garlic scapes along with pine nuts, fresh lemon juice, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and olive oil. If you’re unfamiliar with garlic scapes, they are the long and curly, tender stems that grow from the center of hard-necked garlic. Fans of garlic are bound to enjoy this take on pesto.
Carrot Top Pesto
Don’t toss out those carrot greens! In this recipe, you’ll use ‘em to make a fresh pesto that goes well with pasta, beans, or even as a solo dip. Elsewhere in this plant-based pesto you’ll find baby spinach, garlic, roasted cashews, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Related: 25+ Easy Carrot Recipes That Taste Delicious
Lemon-Dill Pesto
William Reavell / Getty Images
Ready in just 10 minutes, this zingy pesto is made with dill, plenty of lemon zest, walnuts, garlic, salt, and rapeseed oil. Since this pesto doesn’t call for cheese, it’s vegan and dairy-free. Serve it with any type of grilled, broiled, or steamed fish, or with salmon patties or salmon burgers, smoked salmon, or gravlax.
Kale Pesto
No basil? No problem. This winter pesto recipe uses hearty kale instead, and calls for almonds, shredded Parmesan, lemon zest and lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pair it with pasta, potatoes, and sandwiches for a flavor boost.
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