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Home » Recipes » Cooking Style » Seasonal Cooking » Summer Recipes

Basil Pesto with Almonds

Published: Sep 21, 2020 by Terri Gilson · Modified: Aug 12, 2022 · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links · 3 Comments

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pin with text at the top and photo of basil pesto with almond in a black dish with almonds, basil, garlic and lemon surrounding the dish

Fresh basil is like nothing else in this world! And if you are lucky enough to still have some in your garden, you’re going to want to make this Basil Pesto with Almonds.

basil pesto with almond in a black dish with almonds, basil, garlic and lemon surrounding the dish

Quick and simple to make, pesto with almonds is healthy, delicious and makes a great sauce for pastas and pizza, a spread for bagels and sandwiches, as well as a great mix-in for dips, salad dressing and meatballs. This recipe is especially popular in summer, but perfect any time of year.

Jump to:
  • 🥘 Ingredients
  • 💭Top Tip
  • 🔪 Instructions
  • 🍽Equipment
  • 🌡️Storage
  • 👪 Serving Size
  • 🔢WW Points
  • 💭What to do with pesto
  • 🌿Fresh Basil Recipes
  • ⭐ Reviews
  • 📋 Basil Pesto with almonds recipe
  • 📋More Sauces and Spreads!

I had so much basil this summer and it was heavenly! Surprisingly it did well this year, considering it got beaten up by hail a few times, in addition to my neglect. Plants usually come back to my place to die so I’m even more grateful when they thrive in spite of me! 

fresh basil in a pot with other herbs

Thankfully I picked most of it before an early frost finished off the rest of it. 

A friend gave me this basil pesto recipe almost 20 years ago. However, the original recipe contained pine nuts, as do most traditional pesto recipes, and I made a few other changes to it as well. And although I love pine nuts, they are expensive. Plus, once I buy them I end up having them forever (or until I make pesto again) and they usually end up going stale. Making a pesto recipe without pine nuts was the perfect solution!

🥘 Ingredients

And since I always have almonds on hand, replacing the pine nuts with almonds seemed like a great plan. I was surprised at how Almond Basil Pesto recipe doesn't really taste that much different than pine nut pesto. In fact, I actually like it better. It's also so much more convenient and economical.

homemade basil pesto in a jar with lemon, garlic, basil and almond

For this pesto without pine nuts recipe, you'll also need a handful of ingredients:

  • olive oil *extra virgin olive oil is best
  • raw almonds
  • fresh basil
  • fresh lemon juice
  • water
  • garlic cloves
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • parmesan cheese

*see recipe card for quantities

💭Top Tip

If I have a lot of almonds, I'll keep them in the freezer - they last longer and stay fresher!

🔪 Instructions

Homemade basil pesto sauce is really easy to make. You simply throw everything in the food processor and blend until smooth! It really is that easy! And it's so much tastier than buying it. 

🍽Equipment

You'll will need a food processor for this easy almond pesto recipe. A juicer also comes in handy too (affiliate links).

basil pesto with almond in a black dish with almonds, basil, garlic and lemon surrounding the dish

🌡️Storage

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. These ingredients do not stand up to freezing.

👪 Serving Size

This basil pesto without pine nuts recipe makes 12 servings. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.

🔢WW Points

This recipe is 4 WW points on my plan. You can bring down the points by using fat-free parmesan cheese. Although this is not a low point food, it's worth it and you can take comfort in the fact that you are getting healthy fats.

💭What to do with pesto

One of my favorite things to do with pesto is to eat it with warm pasta! You can eat it on any type of pasta, but I prefer to use spaghetti noodles. Homemade pesto sauce and pasta makes a great quick meal!

pesto on spaghetti noodles with more pesto (in black container in background)

Here are some other ways to use basil pesto:

  • eat it on eggs
  • eat it on chicken breasts
  • put it in meat balls (beef, chicken or turkey) Try my Healthy Turkey Pesto Meatballs with Creamy Lime Ginger Sauce
turkey pesto meatballs on rice with mixed vegetables, on a black plate
  • mix it into dip
  • mix it into salad dressing
  • spread it on a sandwich or bagels
  • put it on pizza (replace your sauce)
  • bake it into bread
basil almond pesto on bagel with a jar of pesto in the background

Honestly, this went sooo fast in our house that I didn't even get to eat it beyond the pasta and sandwich spread. And I had big plans for it. Well, there's always next year....

🌿Fresh Basil Recipes

And if you're looking for more ways to use fresh basil, try it in my Easy Greek Pasta Salad Recipe, my 4 Ingredient Caprese Salad Skewers and my Caprese Sheet Pan Chicken Breast (shown below)!

Caprese Sheet Pan chicken breast recipe | #chickenbreastrecipe, #ovenbakedchicken

So, if you have fresh basil on hand and are looking for easy recipes, then I highly recommend you make this Pesto Basil with Almonds. And even if you didn't grow any basil, it's definitely worth the trip to the grocery store to get some!

⭐ Reviews

Did you love this pesto without pine nuts recipe? If so, please leave a 5 star rating and comment below!

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basil pesto with almond in a black dish with almonds, basil, garlic and lemon surrounding the dish
Food Meandering Logo

📋 Basil Pesto with almonds recipe

This Basil Pesto with almonds is made without pine nuts. It's healthy, delicious and makes a great sauce for pastas and pizza, a spread for bagels and sandwiches and a great mix-in for dips, meatballs and salad dressing. It's also quick and easy to make, as well as more economical and convenient than using pine nuts.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: almond, basil, pesto, without pine nuts
Special Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 117kcal
Author: Terri Gilson
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Prevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

food processor

Ingredients

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • ½ cup raw whole almonds
  • ⅔ cup fresh basil leaves
  • 1 whole lemon, juiced (use all the juice from the entire lemon)
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth.
  • Add to pasta, sandwiches, dips etc... Keep refrigerated.

Notes

*Please see post content for important recipe information and tips!
Nutrition Facts
📋 Basil Pesto with almonds recipe
Amount Per Serving (2 tbsp)
Calories 117 Calories from Fat 108
% Daily Value*
Fat 12g18%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 110mg5%
Potassium 45mg1%
Carbohydrates 2g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 58IU1%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 28mg3%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoon | Calories: 117kcal (6%) | Carbohydrates: 2g (1%) | Protein: 1g (2%) | Fat: 12g (18%) | Saturated Fat: 2g (13%) | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 110mg (5%) | Potassium: 45mg (1%) | Fiber: 1g (4%) | Sugar: 1g (1%) | Vitamin A: 58IU (1%) | Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) | Calcium: 28mg (3%) | Iron: 1mg (6%)
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review below!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sue

    September 25, 2020 at 4:00 pm

    What a fabulous idea. I hear you about the pine nuts going stale. We always have almonds on hand for snacks so this makes so much sense. Now if I could just grow basil like you!

    Reply
  2. lynn coyle

    October 04, 2020 at 12:42 pm

    How many points and how much of the recipe is considered a serving?

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      October 04, 2020 at 2:55 pm

      Hi Lynn,
      It's 4 WW points on blue for about 2 tbsp! I've added that to the recipe now.
      Thanks,
      Terri

      Reply

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I'm Terri, a passionate home cook and baker, an award-winning recipe developer and a busy working mom that is trying to eat healthy and fit everything into not enough hours in a day! My mission is to share not only my recipes, cooking hacks and tips with you, but also my secrets to successful weight maintenance.

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