Peanut Free Basil & Olive Pesto
Bright, herby, and punchy with briny green olive flavor, this pesto is a serious upgrade from anything you'd find in a jar at the grocery store. Traditional pesto recipes often call for pine nuts or other tree nuts, but this version skips them entirely ā relying instead on pitted green olives to deliver that same rich, savory depth without any nut-related concerns. The olives bring a subtle saltiness that plays beautifully against the fresh basil, while lemon juice and zest keep everything tasting vibrant and alive. A slow drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil in the food processor is the key step that brings it all together into a silky, spoonable sauce. Optional parsley adds a slightly earthier note if you want to stretch the herb flavor even further. Toss it with pasta, spread it on crusty bread, or spoon it over grilled chicken ā this one is endlessly versatile and comes together in just a few minutes of hands-on effort.
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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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