Creamy Pesto Sauce
You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make this creamy pesto sauce. Mix it all in a blender and you have a delicious pesto ready in minutes. Use it on pasta, chicken, sandwiches, vegetables, and more!
Servings: 4
Calories: 357kcal
Ingredients
- ¼ cup pine nuts, plus 1 tablespoon of olive oil for toasting *see notes for substitutions
- ½ cup heavy cream *see notes for substitutions
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 cups fresh basil leaves *see notes for substitutions
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ large avocado
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Toast pine nuts in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 2 minutes, until just beginning to brown. If using an Instant Ace cooking blender, set it to the chunky soup mode for 2 minutes. Put 1 tablespoon of oil into the blender and add pine nuts. Press start to have the blender lightly toast and chop the pine nuts.
- Add pine nuts, heavy cream, lemon juice, basil leaves, garlic, salt, and avocado to the blender. Pulse on high speed until mostly smooth, between 45 and 75 seconds depending on your blender.
- Add the olive oil and parmesan cheese. Pulse until incorporated into the sauce, about 45-75 more seconds. For a thinner sauce, add more olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time until it's the desired consistency. For a thicker sauce, add more avocado 2 tablespoons at a time until sauce is thickened to your liking.
- Use immediately on pasta, chicken, vegetables, or sandwiches. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Video
Notes
Creamy pesto will last for 10 days when kept in an airtight container, like a mason jar, in the fridge. The lemon juice prevents the sauce from turning brown on the top, as is common with avocados and basil.
Be very careful not to over toast the pine nuts, as they will become bitter if you do.
Pine nut substitutes: walnuts, cashews, pecans, almonds, pistachios, or sunflower seeds. If you need a nut-free pesto, sunflower seeds are a great option.
Heavy cream substitutes: whole milk + extra avocado or half and half. Milk doesn't whip up or provide the same creamy thickness as heavy cream. You'll need to add an extra avocado if using milk.
Basil substitutes: spinach, kale, watercress and arugula make great substitutes for basil. Use one, a combination, or half basil and half of another. A combination of basil and spinach works really well in pesta.
Nutrition
Serving: 3oz | Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 439mg | Potassium: 260mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1491IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 156mg | Iron: 1mg