Olive pesto has an amazing flavor and is a delicious pairing for any pasta recipe! Whip it up in just minutes and store excess in the freezer for later!
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Olive pesto is an incredible sauce you didn’t know you needed. With a nice green coloration and subtle garlic and nuttiness, you can have a great batch of sauce to apply to almost anything.
With this olive pesto, you can make pesto sauce pasta or even spread it over a slice of baguette bread to create a little bruschetta appetizer. Just add some nice tomatoes to the top and you’re totally covered for a great game day or dinner party snack!
You can also use this olive pesto to create a nice sauce for chicken breasts or as a spread inside of a sandwich. The options for how you can use this sauce are pretty unlimited, just use a little creativity and try something new. You never know what amazing pairing you can create if you don’t try.
Making this olive pesto is pretty easy, which is just another great reason to try the best pesto recipe ever- simple, delicious, and versatile, dare I say more?
With it being made inside of your food processor, it doesn’t dirty up many dishes either (put another score tally mark in the win column for this pesto sauce!)
How to Make Olive Pesto
- In a food processor combine your olives, nuts, and parmesan cheese.
- Blend everything together until it is nice and smooth.
- Slowly add in the oil while pulsing the mixture and consistently checking on the consistency of the mix so that it is coming along well. You want it to be the same (or close to) the same thickness of a smoothie. You may not need to use all of the oil, so it’s important to do this slowly and carefully to make sure that you don’t overdo it.
- Add in salt (to taste). If you plan on making this pesto sauce for multiple recipes, you may not want to add too much salt until you actually use it in a recipe so that you can adjust the seasonings to taste later.
- Serve a few tablespoons of this pesto sauce over warm pasta or freeze it in ice cube trays for later use.
How to Store Pesto Sauce
To store your homemade olive pesto sauce, you’ll want to keep it in a covered container inside of your fridge. Examples of containers include Tupperware, mason jars with lids and rings, or inside of a zipper topped bag.
How Long Does Pesto Sauce Last?
Your homemade pesto sauce can be expected to last up to 5 days in the fridge if you kept it properly stored. For longer storage solutions consider freezing the pesto sauce.
How Long Does Pesto Last in the Freezer?
Frozen pesto lasts up to 12 months in the freezer, making it perfect for uses all year long. So go ahead and portion it out in an ice cube tray, freeze solid, and then transfer to a freezer-friendly zipper topped bag and keep it frozen until you’re ready to use them.
How to Use Frozen Pesto
Now that you have frozen cubes of pesto sauce you’ll want to find a bunch of incredible recipes to use them with! Don’t despair, it’s pretty easy to get your pesto to go from blocks of ice to delicious in a dish.
Simply take a cube or more of your pesto sauce and place it into a small bowl. Allow it to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to thaw, or place the bowl in the microwave and heat it up in 10-second intervals, stirring between each round.
Once your pesto has completely thawed you can use it in any recipe that you want without fail.
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Olive Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups olives (kalamata, green, or both)
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup nuts (see note)
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ⅓ cup olive oil (or enough to bring pesto to desired consistency)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a food processor (see note), combine olives, nuts, and parmesan.
- Blend until smooth.
- Gradually add oil, pulsing and checking consistency frequently. It should be about the consistency of a smoothie. Don't add it all at once, you may not need it all.
- Add salt to taste - I usually add a little less than I normally would and then make the final seasoning alterations when it is combined in whatever I'm serving it with (pasta, sauce, etc).
- Serve a few tablespoons over warm pasta (see note) or freeze in ice cube trays for later use. It also makes a great addition to sandwich spreads, creamy sauces, or bread!
Alli
Such a unique and delicious pesto recipe!