This basil pesto is so easy and quick to make. Just a few ingredients and you have a bright and fresh basil pesto. This recipe substitutes pine nuts, which can be pricey for sunflower seeds.

I prefer a simple pesto without lemon juice and garlic. However, if you prefer those ingredients in your pesto, I have included the amounts in the recipe card below.

Basil Pesto is traditionally made with toasted pine nuts, which are SUPER expensive. Which makes me want to grow a pine tree so I can harvest the pine nuts from the cones. (yes, pine nuts are harvested from certain types of pine cones).

For my pesto, I substituted pine nuts for sunflower seeds, which add a nice nutty slightly sweet bite to the pesto.

Storage

Fridge – I stored my pesto in the fridge with a paper towel underneath the lid.

Freezer – I divided my pesto into an ice cube tray then I transferred the cubes into a freeze safe bag. Freezing my pesto is another way that preserve, and batch make pesto so that I can have in the colder winter months when my outdoor basil trees are done for the season.

What to make with Basil Pesto?

Here are a few ways that can incorporate this Basil Pesto into your meals.

Pasta

Tomato Sauce

Roasted Vegetables

Read my Herbs Guides: Basil blog post for more information on Basil. Thank for reading this post. Join my email list for notifications when I post new recipes and plant-based content on my blog. Until the next post, keep growing.

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