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About a week ago, I picked the rest of the yellow pear tomatoes and basil from my garden. I just love growing my own produce and herbs! They taste so good and are great additions to a salad. I wanted to use up the rest of my basil before it wilted and was no longer fresh.
I didn’t want this fresh garden herb to go to waste!
My produce drawer contained about half a bag of baby spinach…
That’s when I was inspired to make some homemade pesto! This pesto is easy and is ready to eat in less than 15 minutes. It tastes great mixed with your favorite type of pasta, added to a grilled cheese sandwich or spread on some crackers. It is a delicious and healthy addition to any meal or snack.
Grab your food processor or blender and let’s get cooking!
The Ingredients
- Basil
- Spinach
- Lemon
- Olive Oil
- Almonds – Pesto is usually made with Pine Nuts, but I had Almonds in my pantry so that is what I used. Walnuts are also a tasty, and cheaper, substitution for Pine Nuts.
- Garlic, Garlic – I didn’t have any fresh garlic available, but I ALWAYS have this seasoning in my pantry. It is a go to seasoning for me and means I spend zero time peeling, mincing or chopping garlic. You can read more about this all natural seasoning here.
- Parmesan Cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
The Recipe
Here you will find the recipe I followed to prepare the pesto. As I mentioned above, I substituted Almonds for the Pine Nuts. I rarely purchase Pine Nuts as they are expensive, but I ALWAYS have Almonds or Walnuts in my pantry. My mother-in-law makes her pesto with Walnuts and it is delicious. I remember reading an edition of Food Network Magazine, one that focused on Pesto, and it described how Pesto can be prepared with any combination of greens and nuts. If you use Almonds or Walnuts, you do not need to toast them. I found the Pesto to be flavorful without toasting the nuts.
No Peeling and No Mincing Garlic?!
The recipe I followed called for 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced. Ever since I discovered this seasoning, I never purchase fresh garlic. This seasoning is one of Tastefully Simple’s TS EatWell products, which means it contains NOTHING ARTIFICIAL! No artificial flavors. No artificial colors. No artificial preservatives. No MSG. No artificial sweeteners. No hydrogenated fats. In other words, nothing fake! So, you can feel good about using it in place of fresh garlic in any of your favorite recipes. It is a pantry staple in my house!
The Preparation
I put the Almonds in the food processor first. I pulsed the Almonds for a few minutes until they were chopped. This way they processed easier with the rest of the ingredients. I added all of the other ingredients and pulsed away. I started with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and slowly added more until the Pesto combined well and was a spreadable consistency.
Time to Snack!
I pulled some of my favorite crackers out of the snack cabinet and spread some pesto on a few crackers. I topped the pesto off with half of a yellow pear tomato from my garden. Look at that vibrant green Pesto and the bright yellow tomato! I know, I know….It looks too pretty to eat!
Oh
my
goodness!
I was in snack heaven!
So flavorful!
So healthy!
So easy!
What is your favorite pesto recipe? Share your favorite recipe in the comments below!
this looks delicious! I’ve never made anything with pesto before so I’ll have to try this out!
You definitely need to try this! It is a great addition to pasta with chicken and cherry tomatoes. You can also mix shrimp with the pesto and pasta.
This sounds so good! My husband even looked over to see what I was reading and exclaimed “PESTO!”
Will absolutely be making this soon and using it for my pasta..mmmmm.
That’s great!! It is very good on pasta. I am glad to hear your husband was excited you were reading about Pesto.
Ah I just made homemade pesto with basil, almonds and parsley a couple weeks ago! I’ll have to keep this recipe handy for next time!
Yum! I bet that Pesto was yummy too! That’s what I love about it so much, you can mix up the greens and nuts once you have the basic recipe down.
This sounds like a nice, healthy, easy snack! I drink almond milk, and am a fan of almonds, so this is right up my alley!
We drink Almond Milk too and I love Almond Butter. Almonds are a great source of Calcium, which is why I started drinking it more than Cow’s Milk. It was very easy to make. As a SAHM with an 11 month old, I need quick, easy and healthy!
This sounds absolutely delicious!!! My son loves spinach so much so I think that he’ll love making this with me!
I’m so glad your son and you will enjoy making this together 🙂 I am a spinach lover as well and am always looking for ways to use it other than salads!