Toasted Hazelnut Pesto

Making fresh pesto is as easy as it gets! This Toasted Hazelnut Pesto recipe uses hazelnuts for a slightly different flavor than the traditional pine nut pesto. Make it for pasta, rice, spread over roasted vegetables, or use as a dip. It’s so good. 

I love making pesto from scratch! It takes just a few minutes to bring together and the smell of fresh basil is divine. I actually lick the spoon, it’s that good! I cannot help myself. I like to make it for the traditional pasta, but love this recipe over roasted vegetables and in rice. Pesto isn’t just for pasta, although it’s not a bad thing if it is. Pesto pasta is awesome!

Although I forgot to mention using it for chicken or fish too. Grilled or baked with a slather of this Toasted Hazelnut Pesto, dinner is sounding good ad super healthy already!

Double the batch and make a few different pesto dishes for the week. Or freeze half of it for later use. It stores int he freezer in an airtight bag for up to one month. Think easy pesto dinner!

Toasted Hazelnut Pesto

makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

1 cup *toasted Oregon Hazelnuts

1 cup cups fresh flat leaf parsley

1 cup fresh basil leaves

3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

1 small garlic clove

1/2 large lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

*Toasting hazelnuts: Place oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 275 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet, place in oven, and bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Keep an eye on them at 10 minutes, they can over roast quickly. Remove hazelnuts from oven, place in a large clean kitchen towel, allow to rest for 5 minutes. Then rub hazelnuts vigorously in towel, removing the outer skin as much as possible. It’s ok if there are some that keep a little skin, there are nutrients in the skin.

Place toasted hazelnuts in blender or food processor, pulse/blend on high until fine crumbled. Add parsley, basil, cheese, garlic clove, and juice lemon. Pulse/blend to combine well. Turn on blender/processor and drizzle olive oil in a constant drizzle to bring the pesto together. Blend until well combined.

Use immediately in rice dishes, pasta dishes, on toasted baguettes, roasted vegetables, as a dip, or so much more!