Name: Homemade Walnut Pesto
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Cuisine: Italian American
Ingredients: 2 cups fresh basil leaves; 2 cloves garlic; 1/3 cup walnuts; 1/2 cup grated parmesan; 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1/2 tsp salt

This Homemade Walnut Pesto is a bright, creamy, and flavorful pesto sauce that you can make at home and use in many different recipes. Just grab a few simple ingredients to make this healthy, low carb pesto sauce in your own kitchen.

Above view of homemade walnut pesto in a glass jar with a serving spoon

What do you do with a huge bunch of basil? Make homemade walnut pesto, of course!

The only logical response to buying a massive bunch of basil at the farmers market is making a big batch of homemade pesto sauce. During the summer the basil at the farmers market is an absolute steal. I got a huge bunch for $2.

Then when we got the basil home my girlfriend said, “What are you even going to make with that?” I gave her a look like, “do you even have to ask?” and then proceeded to make my batch of homemade pesto sauce.

Like I said, basil is super affordable from farmers markets in the summer. Another way to cut down on the price of your homemade pesto sauce is to use walnuts instead of pine nuts. The flavor will still be great, but walnuts are much more affordable.

Above view of walnut pesto recipe in a food processor

Make pesto with walnuts instead of pine nuts and save money!

While we’re chatting price I’m going to do a little amazon price comparison for you. You can get a 40oz bag of walnuts on amazon for $20 while a 16oz bag of pine nuts is $26!! You can see that walnuts are a quarter of the price of the pine nuts.

Moral of the story if you are looking to save some money on your homemade pesto sauce, make it with walnuts. This batch of pesto made about 1.5 cups of pesto, but you can easily double this batch and freeze some for later while basil is in season.

If you want to make a big batch of homemade pesto sauce and save it in the freezer, I recommend placing it in an airtight bag immediately after preparing the pesto. The pesto sauce will turn brown when it is left out after being prepared because the cut basil leaves will oxidize. To keep your pesto fresh and green you will want to keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Above view of homemade walnut pesto in a glass jar

What should I eat my homemade walnut pesto with?

I hope by now I have convinced you that you need to make yourself a big, beautiful batch of homemade pesto sauce while basil is fresh and in season. Now that you have your pesto, how are you going to eat it? Truly the possibilities are endless.

As soon as I made my homemade pesto sauce I made some turkey sandwiches and slathered a hefty spoonful of this pesto on the bread. I also at this pesto on some avocado toast with eggs and on a grilled cheese.

Of course you can go the classic route and put this homemade pesto sauce on pasta. I use this walnut pesto recipe to make my Pesto Baked Turkey Meatballs recipe.

Three quarter view of basil walnut pesto in a food processor

How do I make pesto sauce at home?

To make this homemade pesto sauce you will need a knife, cutting board and a food processor. A blender will work, but it will not be as easy as a food processor.

If you only have a blender, be sure to stop while you are blending the pest and scrape down the sides of the container to get an even sauce.

It is very simple to make this homemade pesto sauce. Start by pulling the leaves off your basil stalks until you have 2 packed cups of fresh basil. Then peel 3 cloves of garlic.

Place the basil leaves, garlic, parmesan cheese and walnuts into the food processor. Process until a smooth even mixture remains.

While the food processor is running slowly pour in a stead stream of olive oil. Allow the food processor to continue running until a smooth mixture remains.

You will be left with a bright, fresh homemade pesto sauce. I like to store mine in the fridge in little 1/2 pint jars.

Above view of a bright green walnut pesto sauce in a half pint jar

How long can I keep this homemade walnut pesto in the fridge?

Store this basil pesto sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. The sauce may become discolored as it sits in the fridge, but will still taste good.

Check out these other delicious homemade sauces!

Keep reading to find the whole recipe. As always, if you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments or on Instagram!

Recipe