Mustard Free Basil & Olive Pesto

Total time10 min

Prep time10 min

Cook time0 min

4.5

(20)

Bright, herby, and packed with Mediterranean character, this pesto swaps out the usual pine nuts and cheese for briny green olives that bring a savory depth you won't see coming. The combination of fresh basil, lemon juice, and lemon zest keeps everything vibrant and punchy, while a generous pour of extra-virgin olive oil pulls it all into a silky, spoonable sauce. Store-bought pestos and condiments can be surprisingly tricky territory — many contain hidden mustard or mustard-derived emulsifiers — so blending your own from scratch puts you fully in control of every ingredient. The food processor does the heavy lifting here: a quick pulse to break everything down, then a slow drizzle of olive oil until the texture is just right. A handful of fresh parsley stirred in at the end adds an optional layer of freshness that makes the green color absolutely pop. Toss it with pasta, spread it on crusty bread, or use it as a dipping sauce — this one is endlessly versatile and genuinely hard to stop eating.

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Ingredients

6 servings

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
⅓ cup pitted green olives
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ tsp lemon zest
½ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1–2 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 8–10 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 — about 20–30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, then pulse once or twice more to incorporate.

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