Xanthan Gum Free Basil & Olive Pesto
Fresh basil, briny green olives, bright lemon, and good olive oil ā this pesto is vibrant, punchy, and ready in minutes with nothing more than a food processor. The olives replace the traditional pine nuts, giving the sauce a savory, Mediterranean depth that feels both familiar and a little unexpected. Every ingredient here is naturally free of thickeners and stabilizers, so there's no need to scrutinize labels or swap anything out ā it just works as written. Many store-bought pestos and even some homemade blends sneak in additives to extend shelf life or improve texture, but this one gets its body purely from the emulsification of olive oil with the blended herbs and aromatics. The optional parsley adds a subtle earthiness if you want to round out the flavor, and a final squeeze of lemon keeps everything tasting fresh and alive. Toss it with pasta, spread it on crusty bread, swirl it into soup, or spoon it over grilled chicken ā the uses are practically endless. It stores beautifully in a jar in the fridge, making it one of those sauces worth doubling the moment you realize how fast it disappears.
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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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