This recipe replaces the traditional pine nuts in pesto with a unique flavor… pistachios! Make this Pistachio Pesto recipe for a nuttier, slightly sweeter pesto recipe that pairs well with pasta, pizza, proteins, and more.
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I learned quickly while in Italy that pistachios on the menu is an instant “I’ll order that” from me. I love the nutty flavor and richness that they add to any menu item, including (and certainly not limited to) a pistachio version of this Arancini that I had in Sicily.
Pistachios will always be one of my favorite flavor additions, so I knew that I had to try them out in a pesto! This Pistachio Pesto swaps traditional pine nuts in my Easy Pesto Recipe for pistachios, creating a nuttier, slightly sweeter flavor that pairs beautifully with pasta, pizza, and proteins.
Why Make this Recipe
- Simple and Easy: Ready in just ten minutes with a food processor or blender!
- Flavor Upgrade: Pistachios add a naturally sweet, buttery flavor you won’t get from pine nuts.
- Versatile: You can easily switch up the amount of garlic or lemon, or adjust the texture to make this sauce that’s perfect for pasta, pizza or marinating meat!
Key Ingredients to Make this Recipe
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Basil: Use fresh basil leaves for this recipe.
- Parmesan Cheese: I use high quality, freshly grated parmesan cheese. It should be grated finely so that it looks like snow and melts perfectly into the sauce. This is worth splurging on for a great recipe. You could also use pecorino romano cheese, though that has a stronger and more salty flavor.
- Lemon Juice: I use a freshly squeezed lemon, but you can also use prepackaged juice if preferred
- Pistachios: Choose unroasted, unsalted pistachios without shells. If you are having a difficult time finding these, you can use roasted pistachios. The key here is no additional salt. If you have too much, use the remaining for this Italian Pistachio Cookie Recipe (my favorite recipe on the blog!)
Tools
- Blender/Food Processor
Recipe Variations
There are certainly other additions or swaps you can make to this recipe to give it even more pizazz. Take a look at the following suggestions to personalize the recipe to your taste.
- Vegan: Skip the parmesan and use nutritional yeast instead
- Garlic Lover: Add an extra clove or two!
- Burst of Freshness: Add a little extra lemon juice or some zest from your lemon.
- Spicy: Add red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne
- Herb Blend: Mix basil with parsley or arugula
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Place all your ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until coarsely chopped.
Step 2: Blend until the mixture reaches your desired consistency, slowly adding olive oil one tablespoon at a time.
Step 3: Adjust your sauce by adding more olive oil, lemon juice or garlic as needed.
How to Reach the Right Consistency
The right consistency for your homemade pesto sauce is completely up to you but here are a few tips to help:
- Thick: For a thick sauce you can spread on a sandwich, use less olive oil
- Medium: For a sauce that’s perfect for mixing with pasta, blend until smooth but maintain some texture
- Thin: For sauce you can drizzle over salads or pizza, add a little extra olive oil or a splash of water
Common Mistakes When Making Pesto
Pesto without pine nuts isn’t difficult to make, but it is easy to make some common mistakes! If you’re having trouble getting your pesto just right, take a look at these mistakes and what likely caused them:
- Using salted pistachios will make pesto too salty. Be sure your pistachios are unsalted!
- Adding too much oil too quickly will give you a greasy texture. Add it in slowly.
- Over-blending turns paste too smooth and dull. Leave some texture.
- Skipping acid. Lemon balances the richness of the flavors.
Expert Tips
- If you want some extra lemon flavor, you can zest the lemon peel into the pesto as well
- If you don’t like pistachios, you can use walnuts (like in this Walnut Pesto Recipe), almonds, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, or anything else that sounds delicious
- Toast your pistachios for even deeper flavor.
- You can make the pesto with a mortar and pestle for a more traditional texture, but if you want a thinner texture, a blender is a great way to prepare it.
- Don’t over blend. A tiny bit of texture in pesto is ideal.
- For the most vibrant color, blend your nuts and cheese until smooth and add your fresh basil last to avoid overblending it.
Recipe FAQs
You can store your pesto in a glass jar with an airtight lid on it. The pistachio pesto will stay good in the fridge for 3-5 days.
When it is time to serve, you can heat it up in the microwave, leave it out until it comes to room temperature, or serve it cold.
If you want to freeze a large portion of pistachio pesto, you can do so in a glass jar with an airtight lid on it. This will stay good in the freezer for up to 9 months.
You can also freeze the pesto in small, individual servings. For this, pour the pesto into an ice cube tray and allow the individual cubes of pesto to freeze. Once frozen, remove them from the tray and put them in a plastic bag in the freezer. Take out individual servings when necessary.
If your pesto tastes too olive-oily, allow it to rest for a few minutes before serving. When olive oil warms up, its taste gets a lot stronger. A room temperature pesto on warm pasta will be a great combo if you don’t like a strong olive oil taste. Your olive oil does add some flavor to your sauce, so be sure and choose a high-quality one.
There are so many things that you can use pistachio pesto for! Some great options include:
Gnocchi
Creamy Pesto Pasta
Pasta Salad
Pizza
Basil Pesto Chicken
Scrambled Eggs
Bake into Bread
So Much More!!
Did you enjoy this recipe for Pistachio Pesto? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
- Instant Pot Pasta with Palomino Sauce
- Easy Pasta Sauce Recipe
- The Best Vodka Sauce Recipe
- Fata (Spicy Tomato Sauce) from Eritrea
- Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe
If you tried this Pistachio Pesto Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Pistachio Pesto
Equipment
- Food Processor/Blender
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp minced garlic or 1 clove garlic
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp olive oil, have more on hand to thin the pesto if desired
- ¼ cup unroasted, unsalted pistachios with no shells
Instructions
- Add all ingredients (2 cups fresh basil, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, ½ lemon juice, 1 tsp minced garlic or 1 clove garlic, ½ tsp salt, ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup unsalted pistachios) into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add more olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time if you’d like the texture of your pesto to be thinner. I personally added another 2 tablespoons or so.
- Serve on pasta, chicken, seafood, or sandwiches. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Basil: Use fresh basil leaves for this recipe.
- Parmesan Cheese: I use high quality, freshly grated parmesan cheese. You could also use pecorino romano cheese, though that has a stronger and more salty flavor.
- Lemon Juice: I use a freshly squeezed lemon, but you can also use prepackaged juice if preferred
- Pistachios: Choose unroasted, unsalted pistachios without shells. If you are having a difficult time finding these, you can use roasted pistachios. The key here is no additional salt. If you have too much, use the remaining for this Italian Pistachio Cookie Recipe (my favorite recipe on the blog!).
- If you want some extra lemon flavor, you can zest the lemon peel into the pesto as well
- If you don’t like pistachios, you can use walnuts (like in this Walnut Pesto Recipe), almonds, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, or anything else that sounds delicious
- Toast your pistachios for even deeper flavor.
- You can make the pesto with a mortar and pestle for a more traditional texture, but if you want a thinner texture, a blender is a great way to prepare it.
- Don’t over blend. A tiny bit of texture in pesto is ideal.
- For the most vibrant color, blend your nuts and cheese until smooth and add your fresh basil last to avoid overblending it.
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