Is your garden overflowing with basil? It has definitely been one of my favorite plants in the garden this summer. Using a blender, mason jars, some simple ingredients, and my freezer tips, you will be able to enjoy the taste of summer all winter long with basil pesto sauce recipe.
Gather up your ingredients: fresh basil, lemons, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, salt, and nutritional yeast. If you aren’t familiar with nutritional yeast, it has a cheesy and nutty flavor, and is an excellent substitute for dairy. It is also high in protein and B vitamins. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by how well it fits into this basil pesto sauce recipe.
Did you know that bottom of an Oster blender will fit regular mouth mason jars? I know, its pretty nifty!
Combine ingredients in an 8oz mason jar (I had to press them down to all fit), attach the bottom of the blender to the mouth of the jar. Pulse until the sauce looks right. This recipe makes about 4 oz. of pesto (maybe a tad more), so you can leave the pesto in the 8 oz. jar or transfer to a 4 oz. jar. If you are freezing your jar, be sure to leave enough room at the top to add a thin layer of olive oil.
Tips for Freezing
- Basil oxidizes easily, so you do not want it to be exposed to the air for preservation purposes. The best way to combat this is by adding a thin layer of olive oil over the top. Once thawed, be sure to continue to maintain a layer of oil on top.
- Leave a bit of room at the top of the jar for expansion.
- Wipe the mouth of the jar off before adding the lid.
- For thawing, put the jar in the refrigerator and let it thaw slowly.
