Homemade Almond Pesto
There is nothing like homemade pesto! Traditionally, pesto is made from fresh basil, olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, and pine nuts. However, sometimes I don’t have pine nuts, so I replace them with almonds: here is my recipe for Homemade Almond Pesto!
Replace pine nuts with almonds!
Pine nuts are delicious, I love it! However, there are several reasons why I like to replace pine nuts with almonds:
- It’s cheaper ! Almonds are much less expensive per kilo than pine nuts, so it is more economical to replace them with almonds. I therefore reserve pine nuts in general for salads or just to sprinkle on pasta.
- The taste of almonds is sweeter! Almonds, even roasted, have a less pronounced taste than that of pine nuts. The taste of basil will therefore stand out more than with pine nuts.
- Almonds keep more easily. Pine nuts are quite fragile and keep less long than almonds. If, like me, you have almonds at home all the time and only buy pine nuts when you need them, you will certainly be happy to know that you can use these almonds in your pesto!
Moreover, this Homemade Almond Pesto recipe can be perfectly adapted with other type of nuts. Cashews and hazelnuts go particularly well in pesto too.
Toast the almonds or not?
You are free to decide whether you want to toast your almonds first or not. Personally, I use blanched and already roasted almonds (without salt). So I don’t need to toast them first.
If your almonds are not toasted and you want to add a light toasted note to your pesto, you can toast your almonds for a few minutes in a hot pan, without adding fat and stirring regularly. A few minutes are enough.
Recipe ideas with this Homemade Almond Pesto
Find some recipe ideas for using this pesto:
- Homemade Gnocchi with no Equipment
- Garlic Parmesan Bread (replace the garlic and parmesan garnish with this pesto)
- Burrata Sandwich with Pesto and Tomato
Do you have any other ideas? Share it in comment !
Recipe for Homemade Almond Pesto
For about 200 g of pesto you need the following ingredients.
Ingredients
- 50 g of fresh basil leaves
- 80 ml olive oil
- 30 g of parmesan
- 30 g almonds
- 1 clove of garlic
- Salt and pepper
Preparation
Place all the ingredients in a blender and mix until you get a smooth paste.
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Homemade Almond Pesto
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 50 g of fresh basil leaves
- 80 ml olive oil
- 30 g of parmesan
- 30 g almonds
- 1 clove of garlic
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a blender and mix until you get a smooth paste.
