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Laura S.
I made this tonight with the addition of 1/2c cashews. It was very well received by one husband, one teenager, and one 10-year-old.
smawhort
I have made this many times. I usually make a double batch, and reduce the garlic to 1 clove per double batch. I add the juice and zest of 1 lemon as well. This last time I cooked the broccoli in the microwave instead of steaming it, which worked just fine and made the process slightly quicker.
Carla
Nice recipe for homemade winter pesto. If you don't have basil, you can use parsley. Good on pasta and not too garlicky in my opinion.
Judy
2 cloves of garlic were overwhelming. I had to mellow it out with ricotta, and it was still too garlicky.
Libby
Made this vegan: used miso instead of cheese. Also added a handful of cashews—delicious. Thanks for the tip to reduce the garlic; it’s perfect with one (large) clove.
Nora
I’ve made this many times. I usually add toasted walnuts, parsley and some mint along with the basil. My two year old loves “green noodles”, as for the garlic, I love it! I usually blanch frozen organic broccoli in the salted water I have going for pasta. It’s a fast satisfying dinner, love it
carrie b
I have made this several times. Delish! I add roasted pine nuts or other nuts or seeds and used some of the steaming water and less oil. since supermarket garlic is so strong I roast garlic and freeze the cloves for almost all uses so the garlic is not an issue for me. Lots of other methods to reduce bitterness but keep the flavor of the garlic. Freeze pesto in large ice cube trays and pull out as needed. I need to remember lemon because I do think that will provide even better balance.
Alexis Sogl
Add a lemon - zest & juice!
Victoria
A fine use for leftover broccoli.
Erinbk
We LOVE garlic, so we absolutely scoffed at the comments that two cloves of garlic was too much. We followed the recipe, using one large clove and one small, and guess what, it was too garlicky! We reeked of garlic for 24 hours afterward. Lol. Otherwise it was delicious. Made as directed, but threw in a handful of cashews, which ended up not doing much. Will make again (with one clove).
Josh
Adds a little time but to mellow the garlic out I microplaned 2 cloves into a teaspoon of lemon juice before I steam the garlic
KB
I has less broccoli but more basil than specified, and I tossed in some pistachios. I didn't measure the oil, just used enough to get to a good consistency. Tastes great.
Melissa F.
To maintain the bright green color of the pesto, I added some salt to the blanching water and did a quick blanch of the basil. I also added some of the blanching water while blending and threw in pine nuts. One clove of garlic per batch was enough for my taste.
Libby
Made this vegan: used miso instead of cheese. Also added a handful of cashews—delicious. Thanks for the tip to reduce the garlic; it’s perfect with one (large) clove.
smt
This recipe has been a lifesaver in my household of picky eaters (one doesn’t like meat, one doesn’t like eggs, one doesn’t like any butter or much cheese; none seek out veggies). Their school has a “no nuts” policy, so the kids get pesto pasta for lunch — but made with a mix of microwaved frozen broccoli, spinach, and peas, frozen shredded parmesan, and frozen basil. They love it, it’s healthy, it’s green and it’s easy for me!
Ariel
Was generous with the Parmesan, garlic, and basil. Added 2/3c toasted pine nuts.
Tessa
Fantastic flavor! Great as spread for crostini and for pasta sauce. Agree that 1 large clove garlic is plenty.
sof
i know you might be tempted but don’t go TOO far on the garlic lol. also some lime isn’t a bad idea!
Shelly
Good base recipe. I found it really needed lemon juice and a good amount of pasta water to loosen up.
Cheryl
20201024 Used cilantro in place of basil
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