This creamy pesto sauce is deliciously creamy with some serious flavor too. Serve it over pasta (or zucchini noodles) along with some grilled chicken and you’ve got one of my favorite summer time meals.
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Hello, my friends!
So here’s a confession. I’m not a big fan of regular pesto sauce. I think it’s mostly because of the texture. Its kinda chunky and thick. And while it’s tasty on some stuff, it really doesn’t belong on my pasta.
But give me this creamy pesto sauce every day, my friends.
You get all the lovely flavors of pesto (which I love). But none of those weird chunky texture problems.
So here’s how to make it
First grab some fresh basil.
Add it to a blender or food processor jar along with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, some toasted pine nuts (toasted is important because it brings out the flavor), fresh minced garlic, salt and pepper.
Then blend away.
It will kind of chop things up a bit and look kind of chunky. Scrape down the sides to get all the big pieces.
While the blender is going pour in olive oil and continue blending until smooth, scraping down the sides again as needed.
Then heat butter and a little cream in a small saucepan until butter is melted.
Next add the pesto from the blender and heat until it’s warmed through.
Then it’s ready to serve.
This recipe is fast and so easy. The sauce comes together in about 10 minutes tops.
You could experiment by subbing fresh spinach for the basil. I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but I’ve substituted spinach in other pesto recipes with good results. Keep in mind the flavor will be different, but I think it will still be tasty.
Serving suggestions
As I mentioned, this creamy pesto sauce is delicious over hot cooked pasta. But we also like to serve it over zoodles.
What are zoodles?
Zoodles is a short way to say zucchini noodles. Here’s a visual.
I make my own using this spiralizer I bought on Amazon (aff. link).
They are delicious and so fun. Such a great way (low carb & light) way to enjoy pasta sauces.
To spiralize zucchini, I normally cut the in half widthwise (so they are shorter and easier to manage). Then just use the spaghetti blade to spiralize them into those cute little loops.
Rather than cooking the zoodles in water (which makes them soggy), I just microwave them for a minute or so to barely warm them up and pour the hot sauce on top. The hot sauce will soften them up a bit more so they are perfectly al dente.
Some add-on options
Sometimes we serve this creamy pesto sauce with sautéed mushrooms. Yum.
Adding grilled chicken is always a good idea.
Try this Italian Grilled Chicken or use this Italian Meat Marinade. Those would be my top choices.
Add some diced fresh tomatoes and freshly grated Parmesan cheese to finish it off.
Delicious.
Creamy Pesto Sauce
This creamy pesto sauce is deliciously creamy with some serious flavor too. Serve it over pasta (or zucchini noodles) along with some grilled chicken and you've got one of my favorite summer time meals.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup packed fresh basil leaves see note
- ½ cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
- 2 cloves fresh garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- cooked pasta (about 12 ounces) or zoodles see note, for serving
- optional toppings: freshly diced tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, grilled chicken, freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
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In a blender or food processor jar, combine the fresh basil leaves, ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, minced garlic, salt & pepper and blend well. Blend until chopped, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
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While the blender is going, pour in olive oil and blend until well emulsified, scraping down sides again as needed. Set aside.
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In a small saucepan over medium heat add ½ cup cream and 2 tablespoons butter. Heat until butter is melted. Stir in blended pesto sauce. Heat until warmed through. Taste and add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
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Serve over hot cooked pasta or zoodles (see note) with additional toppings as desired: freshly diced tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, grilled chicken, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes
1. Instead of pasta, sometimes we serve this creamy pesto sauce over zucchini noodles (or zoodles for short). I make my own zoodles using this spiralizer I bought on Amazon (aff. link). Rather than cooking the zoodles in water (which makes them soggy), I just microwave them for a minute or so to barely warm them up and pour the hot sauce on top. The hot sauce will soften them up a bit more so they are perfectly al dente.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
