This homemade basil lemon pesto recipe combines fresh basil, zesty lemon, and a generous amount of parmesan cheese for a fresh and flavorful twist on the classic sauce. It’s perfect for use as a pasta sauce, brushing on pizza, or as a condiment.
Growing up having a grandmother from Italy means you get a front row education on all things Italy! And According to my grandmother, homemade pesto is probably one of the best sauces to have in your cooking repertoire. It’s easy to whip up at any time of year, because of the wide availability of basil, but it’s especially wonderful during peak basil season in the summer.
One of my favorite ways to use pesto is to spread it on simple homemade pizza dough instead of tomato sauce. Of course, you can also slather it on easy crostini crackers or put it in a small dish on the side of a summery burrata caprese salad. And don’t forget the drinks! The lemon in this recipe pairs perfectly with a bubbly limoncello cocktail or a homemade sparkling Italian lemonade!
A note about traditional recipes like Pesto:
Technically ANY sauce can be qualified as being a pesto because “pesto” refers to the way you make the sauce by pounding the ingredients together into a paste-style sauce. Pesto can be made in lots of different ways throughout each region of Italy, but generally speaking, when people say “pesto,” they’re thinking of the version that originated in Genoa, Italy. Like many Italian recipes that are often called “authentic,” pesto can get pretty controversial.
If you speak to a purist, they’ll tell you that you absolutely cannot use lemon in any way, and you have to make pesto by hand with a mortar and pestle (thereby pounding the ingredients together). But again, regionally, recipes change! Not all pestos have basil in them!
While that sounds like a lovely way to spend an afternoon, I have become accustomed to modernities like…electricity…and…appliances. This recipe comes together in the bowl of a food processor so you don’t need elbow grease. And it tastes approximately one million times better than any store-bought pesto you can find!
why this fresh basil pesto recipe works:
🌿 fresh & herbal. The key to this recipe is using fresh ingredients. Using tons of fresh basil leaves means you’ll get the deep, aromatic, and bold flavor from the fresh herbs.
🍋 bright & zesty. This citrus pesto uses BOTH fresh lemon juice and lemon zest, so it packs a double punch of lemon flavor!
🧀 bold & cheesy. Typically, pesto contains less than 1/4 cup of cheese. This recipe contains four-times that. 😅
🛒 ingredients
- basil – use FRESH basil. It matters. Plan to use mostly leaves, as the stems make for a chunkier sauce. I love using leaves from the basil plants in my garden, but you can also use store-bought basil leaves, too.
- parmesan cheese – this recipe has a whole cup of real parmesan cheese, not the powdered stuff in a plastic jar. Make sure to get certified parmesan reggiano for this recipe, not pecorino romano. Parmigiano reggiano is made from cow’s milk, whereas pecorino romano is made from sheep’s milk.
- garlic – this recipe calls for about 5-6 cloves of fresh garlic. Just know, I often add more. I am a proud #garlicgirl, and not afraid of it. If you are also a #garlicgirl, please, please message me on social media, and let’s discuss it. I love connecting over a mutual adoration of garlic!
- lemon – the best way to create lots of flavor is to layer it in. So, we’re using lemon in two forms: freshly squeezed juiced and fresh lemon zest. This adds a bright note to the sauce that helps highlight the flavors of the basil and parmesan.
- pine nuts – pine nuts add a delicate nutty flavor to the pesto. The high fat content of pine nuts also helps bind together the other ingredients of this sauce.
- extra virgin olive oil – a high quality extra-virgin olive oil is essential for binding the ingredients in this recipe together and creating a smooth and creamy texture.
- salt & pepper – kosher salt is used to help balance out the flavor, but much isn’t needed thanks to the saltiness of the parmesan cheese. Freshly ground black pepper adds a nice bit of spice and warmth.
🍳 instructions
Prep the ingredients.
Toast the pine nuts over medium-low heat until they are golden brown in color. Allow them to cool while you prep the other ingredients.
Wash and dry a lemon, then zest it before slicing it to juice it into a food processor.
Add your ingredients to the food processor.
Add peeled and roughly chopped garlic to the food processor.
Add in the cooled toasted pine nuts, then pulse the food processor until the ingredients combine to form a paste.
Add in your salt and pepper, to season the mix.
Add in your basil leaves. You may need to add in half, pulse the processor, then add in the rest.
Blend to incorporate.
Add your parmesan cheese while the food processor is incorporating the basil leaves. You don’t need to grate it, you can roughly chop it and let the food processor do the rest!
Slowly stream in your olive oil to help emulsify the mixture, so it comes together.
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Store & serve.
💡tips & tricks for getting it right
🍽️ serving tips
- freeze your pesto – if you want to store your pesto longer-term, you can portion it into ice cube trays and then freeze it. I love making a double batch and freezing some pesto cubes for later use.
- add it to pizza, bread, or pasta – use this sauce instead of seasoned tomato sauce on top of your fresh pizza dough, fold it into your other bread recipes like homemade focaccia, or use it in pasta recipes like pesto and ricotta pasta!
- use in other recipes – add a few spoonfuls of this pesto into your favorite recipes that would benefit from the taste of basil and lemon, like this easy marinated mozzarella appetizer!
ℹ️ troubleshooting tips
- stream the oil in slowly – pouring the oil in a slow and steady stream helps the mixture to emulsify and incorporate together into a sauce without separating later.
- store-bought basil – Check the basil quantity of your packages. You’ll likely need 2-3 store-bought containers, as they’re typically 2-3 ounces each and contain lots of stems. For this recipe, I tested using three 2-ounce packages, yielding 4 ounces of leaves, or about 4 cups of basil, lightly packed.
- just the zest – be sure to only grate the zest of your lemon using your microplane grater, not the bitter white pith, which can negatively impact the taste of your pesto.
♻️ customize your pesto
- roasted garlic – use roasted garlic instead of fresh for a sweeter, deeper garlic flavor in your pesto.
- walnuts – if you don’t have pine nuts on hand, I’ve made this pesto with walnuts too.
- nut-free – for a pesto that doesn’t use any nuts you can make a sunflower seed pesto dip!
🧰 equipment needed & storage tips
- food processor – a food processor is essential for making this pesto recipe. It easily blends all the ingredients into a smooth and creamy sauce.
- storage jars – I like to store my pesto in smaller 4-ounce jars, but you can also store it in a larger mason jar or other airtight container.
- spatula – the silicone spatulas from Gir are perfect for scooping your pesto and portioning it out. As a bonus, they do not absorb color or odor.
🫙 storage tips
On average, your pesto will last 1-2 weeks when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
To help preserve the bright green color of your pesto, top pesto with about 1/4 inch of olive oil! This layer of olive oil creates a barrier between the pesto and the air, which slows oxidation. That’s what turns your vibrant green pesto into an unappetizing shade of brown.
If you’re looking to store your pesto longer term, you can always freeze it in ice cube trays!
💬 q+a
Homemade pesto can be stored for up to two weeks without turning in the fridge, as long as you cover the top with a thin layer of olive oil, or plastic wrap, to keep the air from oxidizing the basil. You can also freeze your pesto for longer storage.
If your pesto is bitter, there is a possibility that the olive oil or pine nuts you are using have gone bad or turned rancid. Be sure to taste a little bit of olive oil and one of the pine nuts once toasted to ensure they’re still of good quality.
If you make this recipe, please leave a review in the comments and a star rating!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Easy Homemade Basil Lemon Pesto Sauce (with Parmesan)
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Equipment
- 1 food processor
- 1 spatula
- 4 4 oz jars
Ingredients
- 150 g parmesan cheese 1 cup, roughly chopped
- 95 g basil leaves, trimmed from stem approximately 4 cups, packed. About three 2 oz packages from the store.
- 50 g olive oil 1/4 cup
- 40 g pine nuts 1/4 cup
- 35 g garlic 5 – 6 cloves
- 1.5 ounces lemon juice from one lemon
- 2 g lemon zest 1 tsp, from one lemon
Instructions
- Toast 40 g pine nuts (1/4 cup) over medium-low heat in a saucepan until golden brown. Allow them to cool completely.
- Add 35 g garlic cloves (5-6 cloves), 1.5 ounces lemon juice (from one lemon), 2 g lemon zest (1 tsp), and cooled pine nuts to a food processor and pulse until a paste forms—about 60 seconds.
- Add 90 g basil leaves (4 cups, packed) and pulse, stopping to scrape down the food processor when needed, until the basil leaves are all roughly chopped.
- Add 150 g parmesan cheese (1 cup, roughly chopped) and pulse for 30-60 seconds.
- With the food processor running, slowly stream in 55 g of olive oil (1/4 cup), or until your desired pesto consistency is reached. For a chunkier pesto, use less oil. For a smoother, more liquid consistency, you can add more olive oil.
- Divide pesto in 4 oz jars about 2/3 full, and leave about half an inch for topping with olive oil. This will create a barrier and keep your pesto fresher longer!
Notes
Nutrition Information
The information provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition facts calculator and actual nutrition facts may vary.
I love how much cheese this recipe has! Most other pesto recipes have a tiny amount of cheese and I love parm. I also added a lot of garlic and the flavor was out of this world the best pesto I’ve ever had, but I did need to chew gum later lol garlic breath
Love love this recipe! The addition of the lemon adds such a fresh burst of flavor! We make pizza Friday nights and this was the perfect addition.