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5 from 1 vote

Pistachio Pesto

This recipe replaces the traditional pine nuts in pesto with a unique flavor… pistachios! Make this recipe for a nuttier, slightly sweeter pesto recipe that pairs well with pasta, pizza, proteins, and more.
Course pasta, sauce
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Calories 1077kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fresh basil
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 1 tsp Garlic
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ cup pistachios with no shells, unroasted, unsalted

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients (including pistachios) into a blender and blend. Add more olive oil incrementally if the pesto needs to be thinner.

Notes

Recipe copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational or personal use only. 
  • 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. This is worth splurging on for a great recipe. 
  • 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 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, almonds, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, or anything else that sounds delicious 
  • You can make the pesto with a mortar and pesto for a more traditional texture, but if you want a thinner texture, a blender is a great way to prepare it. 
  • You can preserve pesto by freezing it. If you want to freeze individual portions (to add to a serving of pasta, etc) you can freeze the pesto in an ice cube tray. After frozen, pop the pesto cubes out and store them in a plastic bag. 
  • 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.  

Nutrition

Serving: 1recipe | Calories: 1077kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 110g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 74g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 1568mg | Potassium: 524mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2857IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 422mg | Iron: 4mg