This Basil Pesto with Almonds comes together in minutes and only requires a few common ingredients. It’s a fantastic condiment that can be used in a variety of ways.
Pesto is sooo good. I use it in pasta dishes, on chicken, on seafood, or even as a spread on sandwiches.
You can usually find some pretty tasty prepared pesto at just about any grocery store. But, it’s just as easy to make it yourself. And, when you do that, you can play around with the ingredients.
In this recipe, I switched out the pine nuts (which are traditionally used in pesto recipes) for almonds. Just about any nut will work, really. I just like the idea of using almonds because I almost always have almonds on hand. But, I almost never have pine nuts on hand.
To make this recipe, simply add fresh basil, almonds, parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper to a food processor. Process until the ingredients are broken down. Then, as the processor is on, slowly drizzle in some olive oil. It’s ready in minutes.
The almonds give this pesto great flavor and they also retain just a little bit of their crunch giving it a great texture too.
Try this pesto in my Chicken Pesto Pasta.
Find more of my recipes on TikTok
Basil Pesto with Almonds Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 3 cups packed fresh basil leaves from about 3 oz. fresh basil
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, add the basil, almonds, parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper. Turn on the processor for about 15 seconds to break down the ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the processor.
- Turn the processor on and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until well combined.
- Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Great recipe, works like a charm
This recipe is really easy and delicious! I used sliced almonds and it turned out great.
Turned out great. Good flavor. Will make it again.
I have fresh basil and garlic from my garden and I bought salted almonds today.
I just made this.
Bright fresh crisp lovely Thankyou.
On French bread .
Easy recipe. I toasted the almonds.
Prep time was maybe five minutes.
The outcome…..delicious 😋
Thank you for sharing.
I had almond meal so used that. Delicious!
Amazing recipe ! I use blanched almonds and then roast them before adding them to the blender. Other than that, zero changes.
Delicious! I’ve never used almonds before so it was a welcome taste change.
Love this! Excellent on many things.
I know this sounds weird, but could I use almond flour instead of almonds?
Yummy! I also toasted the almonds and added a few extra garlic cloves. We love garlic! It was so good and easy to make.
Tastes amazing :’).
I roasted the garlic on the barbecue and added it to the pesto recipe and it was out of this world
I had a bumper crop of Italian parsley, so I did 1/2 and 1/2 parsley and basil. Also toasted the almond and added may 2 TBS more of EVOO. Delicious!
I Love this recipe. With so many food allergens it was great to have a recipe that still worked with a substitute. I always have almonds on hand also and was so pleased to know that almonds were included. Dairy is life threatening for me, so I had Daiya Tapioca cheese on hand and it still was a winner. I also loved knowing that a blender or processor works. This was a great flexible find.
Thank you for this recipe. I’ve been using it for years! I like it better than traditional pesto, and it’s cheaper too! Thank you so much for it!
This is an awesome pesto recipe. So delicious!
How long will it stay in the refrigerator?
How long will it last in freezer?
Thanks!
tasty and easy to prepare, will definitely make again!
Since Pine Nuts give me “Pine Mouth” (google it if you are not sure what that is), and my son is allergic to walnuts which I’ve used before, I was excited to find your recipe using Almonds! It was so easy, and I have SO MUCH basil in my garden! Thank You!
Delicious I made it by hand in pestle and mortar gave it a chunckier character
Wonderful! I made it in a blender, but found that I needed to add 1/4 C. water to pulse and get it as smooth as thick peanut
butter. Spread 4 heaping tablespoons onto a large white tortilla and cut it into 8 pieces with a pizza cutter. Yum! Yum!
Think I might make it with Smokehouse Almonds next, and leave out the salt. Great recipe! Thank you!
I cut the garlic by one clove as we are not huge fans of strong garlic flavor. It is yummy! Recommend adding salt after tasting it as the parm is salty and you may want to cut the salt to 1/4 tsp. I also covered it in a think layer of olive oil after packing into a container. This helps it stay tasting fresh and not oxidize or turn dark in the fridge.
Love it ! I grow a lot of basil so I made this and used toasted almonds with sea salt from Costco. I added some lemon juice that others had mentioned and it was wonderful ! Thanks for the recipe. Now I need to look for ideas how to use it.
Came out great! Only change I made was to reduce the amount of olive oil to 5 Tbsp., instead of 8.
Just as smooth and creamy as you could want, with simply less oil..
Also, would highly recommend using the best quality real Italian Parmigiano Reggiano you can find/afford. When I was the cheese buyer at our Coop, people constantly said, ¨Oh, I´ll just use the cheap parmesan from Argentina, pre-ground. Itś JUST for making pesto!”But I would say, You’ve gone to all this trouble, using fresh basil, nuts, etc. – Why not go all the way and use the real Parmigiano, which has a ton more flavor/ounce and will send your pesto over the moon.
I toasted the almonds, with skins on, for 15mins in the oven, added Thai mint- just a handful, and lemon juice – 1tbsp. It is delicious.
THANKS!
This pesto is delicious and so easy to make. I have made it multiple times.
I never knew I could substitute almonds for pinenuts in basil pesto. I just made this pesto and it’s so delicious.
I will never use pinenuts in my pesto again.
can i make this recipe with almond flour, it is already powdered.
This recipe is fantastic! I wanted to thank you for it. I’m not the hugest fan of pine nut pesto, and I always have almonds on hand, so this recipe is perfect for me. Believe it or not, I just made a QUADRUPLE recipe (I had a ton of Basil), and I”m planning on freezing the pesto in cute jars and handing them out at Christmas time as hostess gifts! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
p.s. Sometimes I sub about a quarter or third of the almonds with pistachios — either way it’s delish!
This was so easy and delicious on whole grain pasta! I, too, always have almonds and don’t like to spend the money on pine nuts. I prefer to use roasted nuts and I have made pesto with roasted walnuts as well and it was good too. Thanks for the quick and easy recipe!
Works perfectly every time 😀👍
This turned out great! I used two cups of fresh basil from my plant and a cup of organic kale! Tonight I topped my eggplant with it and I’m going to try it on spaghetti squash and zucchini noodles next! I also added half a lemon.
Was delicious, needed big squeeze of lemon juice too though!
This is just amazing! I’m looking forward to adding it to my zucchini noodles tonight!!!
First time I made pesto with my basil, awesome! Toasted the almonds, just the right taste.great recipe
How long does it last it the refrigerator?
Awesome! I added it to penne pasta, crispy mushrooms sautéed in evoo, and chicken breasts. I also added a splash of lemon juice and crushed red pepper flakes for a kick. Love it!
This sounds like a great recipe. I have rarely met a basil pesto I did not like. I have a question: should the almonds be raw or toasted? Thanks!
I always thought you had to use pine nuts, but I made it with cashews a few weeks ago and it was great. About to try it with almonds as it’s all I’ve got in the cupboard.
I used raw. If you don’t want the skin, soak it in water for 30 minutes and you can easily take the brown off.
I toasted them for 10 minutes on 350.
Worked perfectly!
These photos are gorgeous! Sounds yummy!