Pistachio Pesto
Simple, easy and delicious Pistachio Pesto made with fresh basil, garlic, pecorino cheese and of course, pistachios. This pesto is so quick and easy to make and can be used in so many ways from pizza to pasta.
Servings: 165 g (¾ cup)
Calories: 1088kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted pistachios (70g)
- 1 cup fresh basil (10g)
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ cup Pecorino Romano (30g)
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil (70-90ml)
Instructions
- Put all ingredients and half of the olive oil in a bowl. Blitz using an immersion blender until the pesto has a texture of a thick sauce with some pieces of pistachios throughout. Add more oil as needed.
- Taste for seasoning and add a small amount of salt and pepper as needed.
- The pesto can be stored (covered) in the fridge for up to 3 days but is at its best on the same day it’s made.
Notes
- Variations to try - to add freshness you could use a mix of fresh basil and mint leaves and/or some lemon zest.
- To get a bright green coloured pesto - If you want your pesto to have a bright green colour you will need to remove the skins by blanching them first (see our pistachio cream recipe for how to do it) but you don't need to. Keeping the skins on will give you a darker pesto (just like our photos).
- What pistachios to use - make sure to buy unroasted and unsalted pistachios. Sicilian Bronte pistachios will taste the best but are extremely hard to find outside of Sicily so use what's available to you.
- Blender vs mortar and pestle - there are a few different ways to make the pesto, using a mortar and pestle (more elbow grease needed), immersion blender (our preferred method) or food processor.
- Nutritional information is for the full amount of pesto and not divided into servings.
Nutrition
Calories: 1088kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 104g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 16g | Monounsaturated Fat: 66g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 366mg | Potassium: 775mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 834IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 418mg | Iron: 4mg