Craving pesto but don't have any nuts at home? This Almond Basil Pesto is made with almond meal for a pantry-friendly pasta sauce!
Happy Thursday! As you're read this, I am probably on my way to my very first blogging conference! Squeeeee! It was totally last minute but I am seriously dying of excitement. I don't think I will write up a post just about it, but I will probably tell y'all bits and pieces in various blog posts. But now, food. What you're actually here for. Because this is a food blog. Yeeeep. I ran to the store yesterday to pick up a couple of things before leaving town, and lo-and-behold, I found a giant box of organic basil on clearance for $0.75... seventy-five cents, seriously?! So, of course, into the cart it went. Further down the aisle, I found a jar of peeled garlic ALSO on clearance. Okay, so obviously the universe was trying to tell me something. Time to make some pesto! This Almond Basil Pesto is simple and so delicious!
So, in typical Valentina fashion, I ran home to make pesto and... discovered I had no nuts. No pecans, no walnuts, no almonds, NOTHING. But... I did have a big jar of almond meal. Close enough, right? I'm here to tell you that my experiment totally worked. You can make pesto with almond meal! I mean, really, almond meal is basically just ground-up almonds, so all you're doing is saving yourself some work. You're welcome 😉
Pesto is so easy and you can make it with basically anything! All you need is a leafy green herb like basil or mint (spinach works, too), garlic, some kind of nut, oil, and a hard cheese like parmesan! If you're vegan, easily sub in some nutritional yeast for the same kind of flavor. Now, throw everything in a food processor and blend it up. That's it! Super tasty, simple, and it can easily be catered to your personal tastes. Who said Italian food was difficult?
I hope you will give this Almond Basil Pesto a try next time you're craving pesto pasta!
- 5 cups fresh basil leaves
- 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
- ½ cup olive oil, more or less as needed
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- ½ cup almond meal {or finely chopped nuts}
- salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste
- Wash and dry basil very well, and place in a blender or food processor.
- Add in the peeled garlic, parmesan cheese, and about half of the oil and half of the almond meal.
- Pulse until finely chopped, then add the rest of the almond meal.
- Pulse until combined, then add the rest of the oil.
- Blend until smooth and well-incorporated! If the pesto appears too oily, add a little more almond meal. If it's too dry and chunky, add more oil.
- Finally, season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Store in an airtight container in the fridge, and enjoy!
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