Category: Essential Recipes

Basil Pesto Recipe

This basil pesto recipe is a flavor-packed classic Italian sauce starring basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese! Got…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

This basil pesto recipe is a flavor-packed classic Italian sauce starring basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese!

Basil Pesto Recipe

Got a load of fresh basil? Then run, don’t walk, to make a batch of this basil pesto recipe! It’s savory, garlicky, creamy, peppery, and you can slather a smear on anything. Is there anything better? Use it to take pasta from plain to magnificent, or throw it on a pesto pizza for maximum flavor. If you’re never made basil pesto at home: now is the time!

What’s in this basil pesto recipe?

Basil pesto is a sauce that originates in Italy (the city of Genoa, more specifically). The word pesto comes from an Italian word that means “pounded” or “crushed”. A pesto can refer to any type of sauce that is crushed, but pesto alla genovese, the version of pesto from Genoa, is the most popular version. The traditional ingredients in basil pesto are fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and salt.

Pesto ingredient notes

Pine nuts are traditional in basil pesto, but they can be pretty expensive here in the US. In this pesto recipe, you can use cashews or walnuts as a substitute. We’ve tested and both turn out fabulously! You can use any type of nut you prefer. Our favorite is pine nuts because they make for the best classic flavor. But the cashew version is delicious, and we always have cashews around.

Another feature we added to our basil pesto recipe is a squeeze of lemon juice! It helps to brighten the flavors and takes this sauce to a while new level.

Basil Pesto

How to make this pesto recipe

Basil pesto is traditionally made in a mortar and pestle to grind the ingredients together, but modern recipes typically use a blender or food processor. You’ll simply blend up all ingredients, then add the olive oil until the sauce becomes creamy.

Here’s how to make basil pesto:

  • Toast the nuts for a few minutes in a dry skillet, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
  • Place the nuts, Parmesan cheese, and garlic in a food processor and blend until finely chopped.
  • Add fresh basil leaves, lemon juice and salt. Start the food processor and add the olive oil in a steady stream. Add a bit more olive oil to bring to the desired consistency, if necessary.

Pesto variations

There are many ways to change up pesto! Here are a few variations on basil pesto for you:

  • Easy Vegan Pesto or Vegan Cashew Pesto: Want pesto without cheese? These pesto recipes use tricks to substitute a cheesy flavor.
  • Walnut Pesto or Cashew Pesto: Swap out the pine nuts for a delicious spin!
  • Kale Pesto: You can substitute kale for basil in the off season! This spicy variation is also tasty.
  • Arugula Pesto: Spicy arugula also works as a substitute for basil!
  • Basil Sauce: This sauce is similar to pesto, without the nuts and cheese! It’s remarkably good.
Basil pesto sauce

How to freeze pesto

Here’s an important note! The best way to store homemade pesto, if you’re not going to eat it all at once, is to freeze it. Here’s how to freeze basil pesto:

  • Pour the pesto into an ice cube tray and pop in the freezer.
  • Once frozen, remove the cubes and place them in a freezer safe sealed container.
  • When you’re ready to eat, you can pop out small servings of pesto. Place them in a container and allow to come to room temperature on the counter or in the refrigerator.

Growing and storing basil

Ever grown basil? Basil is easy to grow at home: it’s very hardy as long as you place it in full sun! Basil adds an aromatic flavor to such a wide variety of recipes. If you’re looking to grow your own basil plant, go to this step-by-step guide, How to Grow Basil.

When you harvest branches of your basil plant and bring them inside, they’ll wilt after about an hour unless you follow this trick! Place a little water in the bottom of a large ball jar, then place the stems inside, cut side down. Add the top and it will stay fresh for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator! (See How to Store Basil for more.)

Basil Pesto Recipe

Ways to use pesto

Once you’ve made your basil pesto: what to do with it? There are thousands of recipes for how to use basil pesto online and in cookbooks. To help you sort through the clutter, here are our best recipes with pesto:

This basil pesto recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, use Vegan Pesto.

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Basil Pesto Recipe

Basil Pesto Recipe

★★★★★

4.8 from 6 reviews
  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: Heaping 1 cup (about 18 tablespoons)
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Description

This basil pesto recipe is a flavor-packed classic Italian sauce starring basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese!

Ingredients

  • ½ cup raw unsalted pine nuts, cashews, or walnuts*
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 medium garlic cloves
  • 2 cups loosely packed fresh basil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup olive oil, plus additional as needed

Instructions

  1. In a small dry skillet, toast the nuts over medium high heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the nuts to a bowl and allow them to cool slightly. (This step is optional, but brings out a more robust flavor in the nuts.)
  2. In food processor**, combine the nuts, cheese, and peeled garlic. Process until finely ground, 20 to 30 seconds.
  3. Add the basil, lemon juice and kosher salt. Turn on the food processor and gradually pour in the olive oil. Once combined, turn off the food processor. Blend in a bit more olive oil if desired, to achieve a looser texture. Stores for about 1 week in the refrigerator and several months frozen.

Notes

*Pine nuts are traditional, but can be expensive. We’ve tested both cashews and walnuts and they have great flavor. Since we often have these stocked in our pantry, we use these variations more often than pine nuts. 

**You also can do the same method using a mortar and pestle, adding the basil leaves gradually and crushing them against the sides of the mortar. 

  • Category: Sauce
  • Method: Blended
  • Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: Basil pesto, basil pesto recipe, Pesto recipe, Pesto

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Watermelon Salsa

Watermelon salsa is a fun way to use this juicy melon! Combine it with lime, jalapeño, and cilantro for a…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

Watermelon salsa is a fun way to use this juicy melon! Combine it with lime, jalapeño, and cilantro for a zingy dip or sauce.

Watermelon Salsa

Got melon? Here’s a fun way to use it: in watermelon salsa! Throw cubes of this juicy summer fruit together with lime, jalapeño, and cilantro, and it’s an unexpected spin on the classic Mexican dip. Spoon in mouthfuls with tortilla chips, or it’s great for serving with grilled fish, chicken or tacos. It’s perfect for parties, and this bowl always disappears very quickly at our house!

Ingredients in watermelon salsa

Salsa simply means “sauce” in Spanish, and refers to a wide variety of sauces in Mexican cuisine that can be made with or without tomatoes. The most popular salsa is with red tomatoes, but there dozens of popular variations like corn salsa, peach salsa, mango salsa, and more.

This watermelon salsa uses the same concept as a fresh tomato salsa but uses cubed watermelon instead! We like cutting the cubes pretty small to make it an integrated texture, but you can also leave them in bigger cubes for a larger, chunky look. The ingredients for watermelon salsa are:

  • Ripe watermelon
  • Tomato
  • Red onion
  • Jalapeño pepper
  • Cilantro
  • Lime juice
  • Granulated sugar
  • Salt
How to Cut a Watermelon

Best way to cut a watermelon into cubes

Often we used to feel daunted when making watermelon recipes because this melon is notoriously tricky to cut. But here’s a method for how to cut a watermelon that makes it quick, simple and painless:

  1. Cut in half through the middle. Use a large Chef’s knife to slice the watermelon in half through the middle (not lengthwise).
  2. Cut into slices. Flip the half over onto the flat base, then cut it into slices.
  3. Slice of the rinds with a paring knife. Switch to using a small paring knife (using a smaller knife gives you more control). Slice off the rind of each slice.
  4. Cut a grid pattern to make cubes. Switch back to the Chef’s knife. Make a grid pattern to cut the watermelon into cubes.
Watermelon salsa

Tips for making watermelon salsa

Watermelon salsa is like any fresh salsa: the only time consuming part is chopping all the fruits and vegetables! But there are a few things to note about adjusting the flavors. Here are a few notes on the method:

  • Adjust the heat level to taste. This watermelon salsa recipe comes out mild since we’ve called for removing the jalapeño seeds. But if you like spicy salsas, use some of the seeds: or you can even use the entire pepper.
  • Add sugar or salt to taste. Depending on the ripeness of your melon, you may want to add additional sugar to the salsa. It also may need a pinch or two more salt: make sure to taste and adjust as necessary!

Storage info

This watermelon salsa tastes best the day it is made. However, it stores up to 2 days refrigerated. It will gather liquid during refrigeration so you may need to drain or use a slotted spoon for serving. We prefer eating it day of, though: with lots of extra tortilla chips!

Watermelon salsa recipe

How to serve it

The best way to serve watermelon salsa? Add a big bag of tortilla chips and you’re in business! It also works great with plantain chips or your favorite dipper of choice. But don’t stop there: it’s a zingy sauce to serve with grilled fish and more. Here are some ideas for serving:

More watermelon recipes

When it’s watermelon season, you’ve got to take advantage! Here are a few watermelon recipes to try:

This watermelon salsa recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

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Watermelon Salsa

Watermelon Salsa

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 8
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Description

Watermelon salsa is a fun way to use this juicy melon! Combine it with lime, jalapeno, and cilantro for a zingy dip or sauce.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups finely diced fresh ripe watermelon
  • ½ cup diced tomato (optional)
  • ¼ cup diced red onion
  • 1/2 jalapeño pepper, minced and seeds remove
  • ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon granulated sugar (optional or more to taste)
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Tortilla chips, for serving

Instructions

  1. Prepare the watermelon, tomato, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro as listed above.
  2. In a bowl, mix all ingredients gently together with the lime juice, sugar and salt. Serve immediately or wait 5 minutes to let the flavors meld. Taste and add more sugar or salt to adjust the flavor as desired. Serve with chips or with grilled fish, shrimp or chicken, using a slotted spoon to drain juices before serving. Tastes best the day it is made, but it stores up to 2 days refrigerated (it will gather liquid during refrigeration so you may need to drain or use a slotted spoon for serving). 
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Method: No Cook
  • Cuisine: Mexican Inspired
  • Diet: Vegan

Keywords: Watermelon salsa

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Tzatziki Sauce

This tzatziki sauce recipe is cool and creamy, featuring Greek yogurt, cucumber, and garlic! It’s great for veggies, falafel, gyros,…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

This tzatziki sauce recipe is cool and creamy, featuring Greek yogurt, cucumber, and garlic! It’s great for veggies, falafel, gyros, and more.

Tzatziki sauce

When it comes to yogurt-based dipping sauces, there’s nothing more iconic than tzatziki sauce! This famously creamy and garlicy Greek cucumber sauce is commonly eaten as a dip with pita or veggies, or a sauce with falafel or gyros: but it works with just about anything! After an epic trip Greece, we created a version to capture the magic of our experience with this traditional dip.

Common tzatziki ingredients

Tzatziki is a yogurt and cucumber sauce that is common in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine, specifically Greek and Turkish food. It is often served as a side dish with pita or veggies, or as a sauce with gyros or falafel.

There are lots of opinions when it comes to this dip, especially about what makes the most authentic tzatziki recipe! We don’t have Mediterranean or Middle Eastern heritage, so we honor the great tradition of this cuisine (here’s a traditional recipe by a Greek chef). Here are the common ingredients in tzatziki:

  • Full fat Greek yogurt: Using full-fat yogurt is key to get the desired creaminess!
  • Grated cucumber: Just enough to keep the creamy consistency. It’s best to use an English cucumber since you don’t have to peel or seed it!
  • Garlic: Fresh garlic is essential here; don’t use jarred minced
  • Olive oil: Oil important for taste and texture.
  • Red wine vinegar: a bit of acid adds some tang. Some people use lemon, but our research shows the most authentic is vinegar.
  • Fresh dill (optional): Fresh dill is not always included in traditional Greek tzatziki, but we love how the herbaceous flavor enhances the dip.
  • Salt: Salt is essential for good seasoning.
Tzatziki sauce

How to make tzatziki sauce

There’s just one trick to tzatziki sauce: otherwise it’s just dump and stir! Cucumbers are full of water, so it’s important to remove as much excess as possible before mixing it into the dip. Here’s what to know:

  • Peel and grate the cucumber, then salt it and let it stand 10 minutes. This helps to draw out the liquid.
  • Squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible with your hands. This is essential, otherwise the dip will be much too runny.
  • Mix! Then mix the cucumber with the Greek yogurt, garlic, olive oil, and seasonings.

English cucumber vs standard cucumber

This tzatziki sauce is best using an English cucumber versus a standard one, but either works! English cucumber has a sweet flavor and imperceptible skin and seeds, making it simple to use in this recipe. You can use a standard cucumber, but make sure to seed and peel it first since the peel is very bitter and the seeds are large. Persian cucumbers also work: they are similar to an English cucumber but smaller!

English cucumber

Storage for homemade tzatziki

Tzatziki tastes even better after it’s been chilled for a few hours: but it’s great right away, too! How long does homemade tzatziki last? Store it in a sealed container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Ways to serve it

Tzatziki sauce is full of creamy, bold, garlicky flavor: perfect for dipping and adding to sandwiches or serving with chicken or fish. Here are a few ideas on how to serve this tzatziki sauce recipe:

Tzatziki sauce

More sauces and dips

And that’s it! Let us know what you think of this tzatziki sauce recipe in the comments below. Here are a few more essential sauce recipes to try:

This tzatziki sauce recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free.

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Tzatziki sauce

Tzatziki Sauce

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2 ½ cups
Print Recipe

Description

This tzatziki sauce recipe is cool and creamy, featuring Greek yogurt, cucumber, and garlic! It’s great for veggies, falafel, gyros, and more.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup finely grated English cucumber* (10 ounces or ¾ large cucumber)
  • 2 cups (18 ounces) full-fat Greek yogurt
  • 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (optional)
  • Fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Small grate the cucumber using a box grater (if using a standard cucumber instead of English, peel and remove seeds first). Place the grated cucumber in a fine mesh strainer and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon kosher salt, then allow to stand for at least 10 minutes. Then use your hands to squeeze out as much water as possible from the cucumber before adding it to the dip.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix the Greek yogurt, minced garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, remaining ½ teaspoon kosher salt, fresh dill (if using), and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the grated cucumber.
  3. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 1 week.
  4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Keeps up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
    To serve, drizzle with olive oil; if desired, garnish with olives and a sprig of dill. Serve with pita, crackers, or vegetables.

Notes

*You can use a standard cucumber, but make sure to peel it and remove the seeds first. You can also use Persian cucumbers, which are similar to English cucumber but smaller.

  • Category: Dip
  • Method: No Cook
  • Cuisine: Greek
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Tzatziki Sauce, Tzatziki, Tzatziki recipe, Tzatziki sauce recipe

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.