I’ve shared pesto recipes on the blog before, but never the no-frills combo I throw together when I want a simple pesto sauce and am feeling uncreative. The past few weeks I’ve been prepping a batch of this go-to pesto at the beginning of the week to have on hand for zoodles, breakfast skillets and other suitable meals I put together (I seriously put it on almost everything). 
Back-to-Basics Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put everything in a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. When you use leftovers, you may need to stir in a little extra olive oil to get the consistency right.
If you want to get fancy with your pestos, I’ve got these fun variations in the archives:
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- Lemon Hemp Seed Pesto Sauce (Dairy-Free)
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- Avocado Pesto Sauce
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- Pecan Pesto
Enjoy your weekend! I’ve got a couple birthday parties I’m looking forward to tonight and a long run to tackle on Sunday. Should probably do my taxes as well, but if history is any indication, those will be put off until April 14th … 😉
Hey there! I'm Nicole, a group fitness instructor, healthy lifestyle blogger (you probably figured that one out by now) and Certified Personal Trainer living in Boston, MA.
I have never ever made pesto before. Thank you for this no frills recipe. :]
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This recipe looks absolutely amazing!
Connie | Sponsored by Coffee | Etsy
Yum!
I love having simple go-to recipes for sauces and spreads! Thanks for an easy recipe to quickly liven up my next batch of zucchini noodles
You had me at pesto. I make mine with pistachios and use nutritional yeast. It’s AMAZING.