Besto Pesto Recipe: Lemon Walnut Basil Pesto (Freezer Tips)

Last Updated on June 29, 2024

Summer and fresh basil go hand-in-hand. But what about once summer is over? Or, when you have too much fresh basil to use all at once? Come learn how to preserve basil with this easy freezer-friendly pesto recipe. Then you can enjoy the taste of summer all year long!

This lemon walnut basil pesto recipe is so delicious that I have lovingly dubbed it “the besto pesto”. It really is the best, IMHO! Packed with fresh basil, bright tangy lemon, hearty walnuts, creamy sharp parmesan, and savory garlic, this pesto recipe hits all the right spots. We love it with pasta, zoodles, eggs, sourdough and more. It’s also easy to customize with various types of nuts or seeds, or make it vegan.

RELATED: Looking for more basil tips? Come learn how to harvest and prune basil to get big bushy plants, how to dehydrate basil in an oven or food dehydrator, or how to freeze basil in olive oil in ice cube trays!

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Ingredients

• Fresh Basil – The recipe below calls for 2 packed cups of fresh basil leaves, but feel free to scale up or down as needed. We generally harvest a huge basket of basil, and make a big double or triple batch of pesto at once.
  
  
• Lemon juice – Fresh-squeezed is best, though organic bottled lemon juice works great too. If you can get your hands on them, Meyer lemons are even better, as they add a touch of sweetness! The addition of lemon is a also great natural preservative, and helps basil pesto maintain a beautiful bright green color. 
  
  
• Parmesan cheese – For a vegan variation, hold the cheese or substitute with nutritional yeast, or even a handful of pistachios or cashews instead. See the amounts below.
  
  
• Extra virgin olive oil
  
  
• Garlic – A few cloves or more, depending on how much pesto you’re making!
  
  
• Walnut halves or pieces. Walnuts pack a ton of flavor and protein at a fraction of the cost of traditional pine nuts, and are more sustainable too! For people with nut allergies, substitute with half the called-for walnuts with hemp hearts instead. Alternatively, swap them out for sunflower seeds. This recipe is also great with pecans!
  
  
• Salt – We prefer to use celtic sea salt.

Instructions

• Wash and prep the basil. You’ll want to use just the basil leaves with little-to-no stems. We find it easiest to lay the basil out on the counter, pluck off the leaves, and toss them into a large bowl of water to soak as we work – which helps to partially clean them. Then we rinse the basil leaves again in a strainer. (Our garden gets really dusty!)
  
  
• In a blender or food processor, combine the ingredients listed below, which makes about one pint or two half-pints of finished walnut basil pesto. We use a Vitamix, which makes a wonderfully smooth pesto!

For every 2 cups of basil leaves (washed, packed, and overflowing cups!) add:

• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (to make vegan substitute with 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, and/or add a handful of raw cashews or pistachios)
• 1/2 cup walnuts (sub with 1/4 cup hemp hearts or 1/2 cup sunflower seeds for those with nut allergies)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil*
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup lemon juice*
• 2 or 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Blend until smooth. Or, pulse if you prefer chunky basil.

*Sliding scale for the amount of olive oil and lemon juice. I generally start on the lower end, adding more while blending until the desired consistency is reached. The amount may also vary depending on how tightly you packed your cups of basil. 

Storage: How long is fresh pesto good for?

Store your finished pesto in an air-tight container with a lid. Fresh homemade pesto is generally good in the refrigerator for about a week. However, due to the hefty amount of lemon juice in this recipe (a natural preservative) we find ours usually lasts a tad longer than that! Do not use if the pesto develops an off odor, flavor, or mold. This pesto recipe cannot be canned.

How to Freeze Pesto

Pesto freezes incredibly well. Simply add it to your favorite freezer-safe containers, such as wide-mouth pint or half-pint jars* or these durable, reusable BPA-free freezer containers. Fill the freezer container to the designated fill line – near the top, with just a little headroom for expansion. Leaving too much empty air space in the container will lead to more freezer burn and off flavors. In mason jars, leave about 1/2″ of head room.

To defrost, take a container of pesto out of the freezer and place it in the refrigerator the day before you wish to use it. Avoid heating the jar unless you intend to use the entire jar at that time. Store in the refrigerator and use within one week of defrosting. 

*Note that only wide-mouth mason jars marked as freezer-safe are acceptable for freezing pesto (or any other food). Other jars with “shoulders” or any type of bend in their sides can easily crack in the freezer.

Ways to Use Pesto

In addition to all the classic ways to use pesto, such as with pasta, pizza, sautéed mixed veggies, or on homemade sourdough bread, we learned a couple pretty tasty ways to use this walnut basil pesto too. One is to add a dollop of pesto mixed with eggs, like you would milk or cheese when whipping up scrambled eggs, or even when making a quiche or frittata. Green eggs, anyone?

Even more, make a killer pesto salad dressing! When we have about a half a small jar or less, we top off and thin down the remaining pesto in the jar with some extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, another squeeze of fresh lemon, maybe a dash of apple cider vinegar – and boom! The result is a pourable, delectable pesto salad dressing. So good.

For more ways to use pesto, check out our Pesto Zoodles recipe, or this cast iron sourdough pizza crust recipe. Besto Pesto takes them to the next level of delicious.

So simple, right?!

And remember, frequently harvesting your basil keeps it coming back even bushier and stronger! Harvest now, and plan to make this a few times this summer. We always do. In all, I hope you enjoy this pesto recipe! If you make it, please report back and let us know how you like it.

Stay tuned for many more quick and easy recipes to use and preserve garden harvests, or produce you pick up at the farmer’s market! As always, feel free to ask questions ~ and spread the love by passing it on.

“The Besto Pesto” Lemon Walnut Basil Pesto Recipe

Nothing says "summer" quite like fresh basil! But what about when summer is over? Or, when you have too much basil on hand to use fresh? This is the perfect pesto recipe to enjoy now, or, freeze to enjoy all year long! Enjoy our nut-free and dairy-free variations if you desire.

4.84 from 62 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Processing Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Dressing, Sauce, Side Dish

Servings 1 pint

Equipment

• Blender, or food processor

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 cups Washed fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup Grated parmesan cheese (Vegan variation: substitute with 1 tbsp nutritional yeast and/or a handful of raw cashews)
• 1/2 cup Walnuts (Nut allergies? Substitute with 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, or 1/4 cup hemp seeds or sunflower seeds)
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup Olive oil*
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup Lemon juice*
• 2 – 3 cloves Garlic, peeled
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Instructions

 

• Wash basil and remove leaves from stems.
• In a blender or food processor, combine all of the ingredients as listed above.
• *Start with 1/3 cup each of lemon juice and olive oil, and add more as needed to reach your desired consistency.
• Blend until smooth.
• Enjoy! Store in the refrigerator, and use within one week.
• Add to freezer-safe wide-mouth jars if you intend to preserve it. Freeze, and use within one year.

Keyword Basil Pesto, Pesto, Vegetarian

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!