Our Favorite Pesto Recipes
20 Delicious Pesto Recipes That Everyone Will Enjoy
Need more pesto recipes in your life? We got you.
Born in Northern Italy—Genoa, specifically—pesto is an iconic pasta sauce made with just a few fresh, simple ingredients. The classic Italian pesto is made with fresh basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, a splash of lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Where once it was made by crushing together the raw ingredients with a mortar and pestle, these days, most people use a food processor. Making a homemade pesto sauce is easier than you think, but you can still pick up some tasty store-bought pesto sauces like DeLallo Simply Pesto® Sauces.
What we love most about pesto sauce is how many ways you can use it. More than a pasta sauce, pesto is an incredible condiment with a fresh and fragrant flavor ready to brighten sandwiches, wraps, salads, pizzas and soups with a generous drizzle. Pesto sauce can be used to create creamy dips, dressings and marinades. Just a spoonful or two can add a burst of herbaceous flavor to just about anything. We love making up our pesto sauce in advance and storing it in ice cube trays, so that we always have homemade pesto on-hand.
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Made with just 4 ingredients, this easy pasta with pesto recipe is straight out of a dream. Pillowy potato gnocchi come together in a smooth herbaceous cream sauce.
Shop Ingredients: Potato Gnocchi | Traditional Basil Pesto | Grated Parmesan
Keep it classic with this simple pesto recipe featuring the best store-bought pesto sauce and linguine. Pesto pasta like this makes a great side dish, entrée accompaniment or light meal.
Shop Ingredients: Linguine Pasta | Traditional Basil Pesto | Imported Granino Cheese
Brushing pizza dough with basil pesto is an easy way to add some fresh, herby flavor to your homemade pizza creations. Use leftover chicken or pick up a rotisserie chicken for a quick and easy weeknight recipe.
Shop Ingredients: Pizza Dough Kit | Traditional Basil Pesto | Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Chopped Garlic
This pesto recipe proves that healthy, good-for-you meals can taste great too. We love the added oomph that pesto sauce brings to grain bowls like this one.
Shop Ingredients: Acini di Pepe Pasta | Traditional Basil Pesto | Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Pitted Calamata Olives | Grated Parmesan Cheese
You may never go back to un-toasted gnocchi once you try this one. Made with just 5 ingredients, this gnocchi pesto recipe is done in just 15 minutes. Talk about a weeknight dinner idea!
Shop Ingredients: Potato Gnocchi | Traditional Basil Pesto | Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Grated Parmesan Cheese
Go green with this pesto pasta recipe. Starring hearty, whole-wheat pasta alongside a cast of healthy green ingredients like sweet peas and broccoli rabe, this unforgettable pasta dish is sure to be a hit at your dinner table.
Shop Ingredients: Orecchiette Pasta | Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Traditional Basil Pesto
What’s better than stuffed pasta? How about an easy stuffed pasta recipe of cheesy ravioli sautéed in an incredible buttery pesto sauce.
Shop Ingredients: Traditional Basil Pesto
Sometimes you CAN have your cake and eat it too. That creamy Italian rice dish you love is super simple to make with our Quick Cook Risotto. We set off this risotto with savory pancetta, nutty Parmesan cheese and fragrant basil pesto.
Shop Ingredients: Quick Cook Cheese Risotto | Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Traditional Basil Pesto
You’re sure to be the talk of the picnic with this creamy and colorful macaroni salad. The combination of crisp veggies, springy Cavatappi pasta, briny olives and a cool pesto mayo dressing is going to change the way you look at pasta salad forever!
Your weekend lunch game just got a pesto-inspired upgrade with this over-the-top chicken panini. Smoky-sweet roasted red peppers, bitter arugula, provolone cheese and breaded chicken cutlets come together between two thick slices of focaccia bread for an epic lunchtime score!
Shop Ingredients: Panko Breadcrumbs | Imported Parmigiano Reggiano | Grapeseed Oil | Traditional Basil Pesto
This is certainly not your grandma’s potato salad. Shake up your classic potato salad recipe with crunchy pine nuts, sweet peas, Pecorino Romano and a bright lemony basil pesto dressing.
Shop Ingredients: Traditional Basil Pesto | Pine Nuts | Pecorino Romano | Extra Virgin Olive Oil
You can serve this summer-inspired pesto pasta dish hot or cold, but whatever you do… just serve it! This pesto recipe is a super summer meal solution.
Shop Ingredients: Cavatappi Pasta | Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Traditional Basil Pesto
Pesto on corn? Yes, we did. It only takes a few flavorful ingredients to take your summer sweet corn to the next level.
Shop Ingredients: Golden Sweet Balsamic-Style Vinegar | Squeeze Basil Pesto Topping
When it comes to incredible pizza recipes, think outside the box… the delivery box, that is. We top off this homemade pizza pie with an awe-inspiring list of gourmet ingredients, from savory prosciutto and blue cheese crumbles to herbaceous pesto and fresh greens. What’s not to love?
Shop Ingredients: Pizza Dough Kit | Traditional Basil Pesto | Chopped Garlic | Prosciutto | Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The best part about pesto sauce is how much bold, fragrant flavor it adds to your dish right out of the jar. Sometimes you just want some pesto pasta… simple, uncomplicated and right to the herbaceous basil flavor.
Shop Ingredients: Traditional Basil Pesto | Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Sea Salt | Capellini | Pine Nuts | Parmigiano Reggiano
If you’re looking for a weeknight meal idea that the whole family will love, this pasta recipe is sure to check all the boxes. We love it with springy Cavatappi noodles and an extra pinch of red pepper flakes to spice things up!
Shop Ingredients: Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Sea Salt | Cavatappi Pasta | Traditional Basil Pesto | Grated Parmesan
How do you know summer is coming? Strawberry season. And we don’t miss a beat with this entrée-sized salad of grilled chicken, sweet strawberries, creamy goat cheese, spinach and bouncy bow-ties. We dress it up in an irresistible basil pesto vinaigrette.
Shop Ingredients: Traditional Basil Pesto | Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Whole-Wheat Farfalle Pasta
The creamy and herbaceous combination of mascarpone cheese and basil pesto is going to knock your socks off. But that’s not all! We’ve loaded up this scallop pasta creation with sweet sun-dried tomatoes, fresh corn and pan-fried capers.
Shop Ingredients: Orzo Pasta | Nonpareil Capers | Grapeseed Oil or Avocado Oil | Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Traditional Basil Pesto | Parmigiano Reggiano
You’ve never had gnocchi like this… we promise! This pasta pesto recipe is comfort food with a capital C. And it’s ready in under 30 minutes!
Shop Ingredients: Potato Gnocchi | Traditional Basil Pesto | Grated Parmesan
This incredible homemade pizza recipe is just another reason why you need a jar of basil pesto on-hand at all times. That finishing drizzle of pesto is the cherry on top.
Shop Ingredients: Pizza Dough Kit | San Marzano Style Crushed Tomatoes | Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Parmigiano Reggiano | Traditional Basil Pesto