Nitrate & Nitrite Free Garlic Parsley Fresh Pesto
Fresh parsley takes center stage here, blended with toasted pine nuts, creamy ricotta, garlic, and good olive oil into a vibrant, herbaceous sauce that feels both rustic and a little luxurious. The color alone — that deep, grassy green — is enough to make you want to spoon it over everything in sight. Because every ingredient is whole and unprocessed, you never have to second-guess what's actually in your sauce the way you might with jarred or packaged alternatives that can sneak in unwanted additives. Toasting the pine nuts first is a small step that pays off big, coaxing out a warm, nutty depth that keeps the pesto from tasting flat. The ricotta is the real surprise — it gives the finished paste a soft, almost pillowy body that sets this version apart from a standard oil-heavy blend. It comes together in minutes with a food processor and works beautifully tossed with pasta, spread on crusty bread, or dolloped alongside roasted vegetables.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, loosely packed
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- ⅓ cup fresh ricotta
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
- ½ tsp salt, or to taste
Instructions
- 1
Toast the pine nuts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about 3–4 minutes. Watch closely, as they can brown quickly. Transfer immediately to a plate and let cool for 2 minutes.
- 2
Add the garlic cloves to the food processor and pulse 5–6 times until coarsely chopped.
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