Homemade Creamy Pesto Sauce Recipe – This effortless homemade pesto sauce is rich, creamy, and packed with bright summer flavors. Make the creamiest, dreamiest basil pesto sauce in just 5 minutes with only a handful of simple and fresh ingredients!
Creamy pesto is basically regular basil pesto with the addition of heavy cream. This makes the sauce a bit milder but much creamier than regular pesto. You’ll also need nuts (walnuts or pine nuts work well here), fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese.
What Ingredients You Need
The best basil pestos are made with simple, fresh ingredients. This recipe is a great way to use up that abundance of basil you have grown this summer and includes many items you likely already have on hand. A handful of simple ingredients.
Here is everything needed to make our Creamy Basil Pesto Sauce:
- Fresh Basil leaves – the main ingredient for this sauce
- Pine nuts – create a rich creamy texture in the recipe
- Pecorino cheese – or parmesan cheese
- Garlic cloves – you can add as much or as little as you would like
- Lemon zest – It brings a freshness to the recipe
- Extra-virgin olive oil – oil complements the pine nuts creaminess
- Heavy cream – A great combining ingredient
- Salt and pepper – Season to taste
If you don’t enjoy or can’t find pine nuts, you can substitute walnuts, almonds, or pistachios in this easy pesto recipe for a similar mild flavor and great texture.
How To Enjoy This Creamy Pesto
You want to be sure that you don’t cook the pesto sauce directly, as this would greatly change the lovely, fresh flavor. Instead, you either want to incorporate the raw pesto into cooked (and at least slightly cooled) dishes, serve chilled, or enjoy at room temperature.
This vibrant pesto sauce is perfect for serving as a cold dip with seasonal veggies, crackers, pita and/or baguette slices.
It is fantastic as a unique sandwich spread, on both cold cut sandwiches and hot paninis. You can also use this as a creamy salad dressing! Homemade pesto sauce would go great on a spinach or kale salad with bacon and croutons! It would be delicious on this harvest Cobb salad!
We love topping homemade pizzas with creamy pesto for a fun, fancy pizza party night.
And, of course, this creamy basil pesto sauce is excellent with many different types of pasta. Combine with a hearty pasta like fusilli or tortellini, serve warm, or chill and enjoy a refreshing pasta salad.
We recommend you make our fabulous Basil Pesto Chicken Pasta with creamy pesto as an easy weeknight meal this summer! Very tasty creamy pesto pasta recipe.
Yes! You can add a bit of water to the food processor as you are making this pesto. If you are making pasta, you can also add extra water to thin out the sauce. Cook your noodles to al dente and reserve a little bit of the pasta water. Then, in a skillet, add a few spoonfuls of pesto cream sauce to the pan. Heat it up on medium heat and add the cooked pasta to the skillet. Stir and see if you need any pasta water to thin out the sauce a little bit! Add more sauce as needed, too.
I like to use short noodles with lots of curves so that they soak up the creamy pesto! Try using cavatappi, fusilli, rotini, or mafalda pasta!
Yes, this homemade pesto sauce recipe is completely gluten-free! While it is fairly high in fat, it is low carb and can be enjoyed on a keto diet. Try pairing it with your favorite gluten-free pasta or tossed with zoodles!
Store your homemade pesto sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5-7 days!
This recipe does not do well frozen due to the cream in the sauce. Thawing will change the texture of the sauce!
You can store this sauce in a jar in the fridge for up to a week and use it as an ingredient in many different recipes! Besides making pasta, you can use it as a spread on a sandwich, mix it into a salad dressing, use it as pizza sauce, toss it with vegetables, or mix it into sour cream-based dips!
Pesto Pasta Perfection! | Creamy Pesto Pasta Recipe
FAQ
Why is my pesto not smooth?
What to do if pesto is too thick?
How do you fix broken pesto?
Why is my pesto pasty?
What is creamy pesto?
Creamy pesto is basically regular basil pesto with the addition of heavy cream. This makes the sauce a bit milder but much creamier than regular pesto. You’ll also need nuts (walnuts or pine nuts work well here), fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. How Do You Make Pesto Smoother?
Is pesto high in carbohydrates?
Pesto sauce is rich in fiber mainly from basil and excellent quality fats from extra virgin olive oil. This when made at home with the traditional recipe. For store-bought pesto sauce, check the label.
How do you use creamy pesto?
The easiest way to use creamy pesto is to toss it with hot pasta for an easy, comforting meal, but you can also use this sauce as a dip for crudités, spread it on toast and top with an over-easy egg for a luxe brunch, or stir it with cooked cooled pasta and veggies for an summery pasta salad. What Is Creamy Pesto Made Of?
How long does creamy pesto last in a food processor?
If your blender struggles to make things smooth, try using your food processor. How long does creamy pesto last? This creamy pesto sauce will keep well for 3-4 days in the fridge. While it will be safe to eat for several more days, the color will darken a little and it won’t taste as fresh after 4 days.