Low Sugar Basil & Olive Pesto
Bright, herby, and packed with Mediterranean flavor, this pesto is a pantry hero you'll want to keep on hand at all times. The combination of fresh basil, briny green olives, and a double hit of lemon ā both juice and zest ā creates a sauce that's bold and complex without a single drop of added sweetener. That matters more than you'd think, because plenty of store-bought pestos sneak in sugar or sweetened flavor enhancers to balance acidity, leaving you guessing about what's actually in the jar. Here, every ingredient earns its place: the olives add a savory depth that replaces the need for pine nuts, while good extra-virgin olive oil ties everything together into a silky, spoonable consistency. A quick pulse in the food processor is all it takes, and the optional parsley gives you a slightly fresher, greener finish if you want it. Toss it with pasta, spread it on flatbread, swirl it into soup, or use it as a dipping sauce ā this one is endlessly versatile. Clean, real ingredients and zero compromise on flavor.
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Learn more āIngredients
6 servings
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- ā cup pitted green olives
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Ā½ tsp lemon zest
- Ā½ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- Ā½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1ā2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the basil leaves, green olives, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 8ā10 times until the mixture is coarsely chopped and the garlic is broken down.
- 2
With the processor running, pour the olive oil in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube, processing until the pesto is smooth with a few flecks of texture remaining ā about 20ā30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, then pulse once or twice more to incorporate.
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