Basil Pesto | How to Make and Freeze
You got to love the aroma, flavor, and color of basil! Better yet, you got to love what you can make from it……BASIL PESTO! If you grow basil in your garden, or if you know someone who does, NOW IS THE TIME to harvest it and make some green goodness.
This is one of the first plants in the garden to be affected by the cold. It does not like cold temperatures. So, to avoid the disappointment of going out to pick a bunch of basil and finding it all black and killed off (like I have before), pick it and make pesto. Another delicious dish I love to make that has basil in it is this yummy bruschetta.
I like to save at least one plant, to bring in the house. You can’t make a batch of pesto with just this one plant, but I like to pick a few leaves here and there and give it a good whiff or throw a few leaves on a sandwich. It does make an attractive house plant too.
Let’s get back to making pesto. It is very easy and only takes a few ingredients. Freezing the pesto will allow you to have this fresh and flavorful sauce all winter long.
Basil Pesto Ingredients
- 1/3 C olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 C fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
- 1/4 C pine nuts or walnuts
- 1/3 C Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
1. Wash basil leaves.
2. Add olive oil, garlic, and basil to a food processor or blender. Push the leaves down firmly.
3. Add remaining ingredients in the order listed and process.
4. Pulse and scrape down the side as needed to get it all blended thoroughly and to the desired texture.
Basil Pesto Freezing Instructions:
You can freeze in small pint-size jars or for single servings for making soups or dressing freeze in ice cube trays.
Small ice cube trays work well for small batches of soups or if you tend to need more pesto, freeze in these BIG ice cube trays.
Pour the pesto into trays and cover with freezer wrap and place in the freezer.
Once it is frozen, plop the individual frozen pesto squares into a freezer bag and label.
Enjoy!
So, get out in your garden or the local outdoor market and get some basil before it’s gone for the summer, and MAKE BASIL PESTO! Now you can have this flavorful, aromatic sauce year-round. Just plop one or two of the frozen cubes into soups, pasta sauces, freshly steamed vegetables, or spread on a mozzarella sandwich. YUM, YUM!
If you have a great recipe using pesto or basil, please share it with us.
Basil Pesto
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This basil pesto is chuck full of flavor and aroma that you can freeze and enjoy all year round.
- Prep Time15 min
- Total Time15 min
INGREDIENTS
- 1/3 C olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 C fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
- 1/4 C pine nuts or walnuts
- 1/3 C Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
Wash basil leaves.
Add olive oil, garlic, and basil to a food processor or blender. Push the leaves down firmly.
Add remaining ingredients in the order listed and process.
Pulse and scrape down the side as needed to get it all blended thoroughly and to the desired texture.
Freezing Instructions:
You can freeze in small pint-size jars or for single servings for making soups or dressing freeze in ice cube trays.
Small ice cube trays work well for small batches of soups or if you tend to need more pesto, freeze in big ice cube trays.
Pour the pesto into trays and cover with freezer wrap and place in the freezer.
Once it is frozen, plop the individual frozen pesto squares into a freezer bag and label.
Enjoy!
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Jan Howell
Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.
4 Comments
I made this yesterday for my grandson. I had an abundance of basil growing in my herb garden. It turned out fabulously!! I froze it for my grandson but seriously could not stop scraping out the blender to eat every last morsel, it was so good. I did add another clove of garlic and a bit more salt. It was perfect!!
Wonderful. I wish we could have access to the basil in our garden all year. Glad you were able to freeze some!
I’m a little confused with the instructions. Steps 5 and 6 seem to be a repetition of steps 3 and 4?
Yes, steps 5 and 6 are just repetition. I have edited the post. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.