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    Home » Condiment Recipes

    How to Make Parsley Pesto

    LAST UPDATED: August 25, 2020 PUBLISHED: August 25, 2020 By Pam Greer 20 Comments As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Whether you grow parsley in your garden or buy it from the store, this parsley pesto is a great way to preserve it!

    It freezes beautifully and is perfect is sauces, spooned over roasted meats or fish, stirred into pasta. We even love it as a pizza sauce!

    Parsley pesto in an ice cube tray.

    When I was growing up, parsley was a tough, curly thing that sat on your plate. It was to make your plate look pretty, not to eat (though sometimes I would occasionally hear that chewing it would freshen your breath).

    I had never even heard of Italian flat-leaf parsley. My how times have changed. Now, I buy a bunch of fresh parsley every week.

    Parsley can be pretty much tossed into anything towards the end of cooking to add a fresh flavor, and it is still useful to make your plate look pretty.

    A little fresh parsley sprinkled on a dish before serving makes me feel like a chef (though mine somehow never looks as pretty as those on TV, it must be an acquired skill).

    I buy organic parsley, which is a tad bit expensive (a least compared to non-organic), so I really hate to let any of it go to waste. When I saw this recipe in The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen for a parsley pesto, I knew I had to try it!

    Click here to pin this now!

    Ingredients:

    Parsley - I buy organic parsley whenever I can.

    Walnuts - you can also use almonds or pine nuts.

    Garlic and salt.

    Lemon zest and juice - zest your lemons first and then juice them!

    Extra virgin olive oil - use a good quality oil, one that you like the flavor.

    Instructions:

    Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet or in a 350 oven until golden.

    Zest and juice the lemon and peel the garlic.

    Place the walnuts in the food processor and process until they are a fine meal.

    Add the parsley, garlic, lemon zest and juice, and process until coarsely chopped. Slowly add the oil until the mixture is the texture you like.

    Stir in about 1 teaspoon of salt and taste and adjust salt it necessary.

    Parsley pesto in an ice cube tray.

    This is so good! You'll always want to have a jar handy! Bonus if you are vegan and looking for a pesto without cheese! Even you cheese lovers won't miss it with this parsley walnut pesto!

    To store pesto in the fridge, place it in a jar and top with a layer of olive oil. It will keep for about 2 weeks.

    To store in the freezer, either put in in jars to use larger amounts or put it in ice cube trays. After it's frozen in the ice cube trays, pop them out and store them in a ziplock or vacuum sealed bag. Pesto will keep in the freezer for about 6 months, after that it loses some of it's fresh flavor.

    This is so good, and I have such plans for it: spooning over grilled or roasted fish or chicken, stirred into pasta or grains, in a bowl on a cheese board, spread onto pizza dough...really the options are limitless!

    Click here to pin this now!

    More pesto recipes:

    • Cilantro Pumpkin Seed Pesto
    • Chive Pesto
    • Carrot Top Pesto
    • Homemade Spinach Pesto

    Browse:

    • Condiments
    • Appetizers
    • Summer Recipes
    • Canning and Preserving

    Recipe

    **As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Parsley pesto in an ice cube tray.
    Print Pin Save Saved!
    5 from 2 votes

    Parsley Pesto

    This parsley pesto is so easy to whip up and it freezes beautifully! Made with toasted walnuts and no cheese!
    Course Condiment
    Cuisine American
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Total Time 15 minutes
    Servings 16
    Calories 168kcal

    Ingredients

    • 1 ½ cups walnuts toasted
    • 4 cups flat-leaf parsley packed
    • 2 cloves garlic peeled
    • 1 teaspoon lemon zest finely grated
    • 3 tbsp lemon juice fresh squeezed
    • ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

    Instructions

    • Using the metal blade of your food processor, grind the walnuts until they are a fine meal.
    • Add the parsley, garlic, lemon juice and lemon zest and pulse until coarsely chopped.
    • Drizzle in the olive oil with the motor running until pesto is even chopped and to the texture you want.
    • Stir in salt and taste and adjust seasoning.

    Notes

    To store in the fridge, place in a lidded jar and cover with a layer of olive oil.  It will keep for about 2 weeks. 
    It will keep in the freezer for about 6 months and then it might lose some of it's fresh flavor. I like to freeze mine in ice cube trays and then store the cubes in a vacuum sealed bag. 

    Equipment

    Food Processor
    The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen
    Food Saver

    Nutrition

    Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 154mg | Potassium: 134mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1264IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg

    The was originally published in 2008 and has been updated for 2020.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jen says

      August 25, 2020 at 2:08 pm

      5 stars
      BRILLIANT! I had no idea you could turn parsley into pesto! This recipe is a total game changer!

      Reply
    2. Beth says

      August 25, 2020 at 1:48 pm

      5 stars
      Wow, I've never thought to make pesto this way! I'm excited to try this recipe as we love pesto pasta dishes!

      Reply
    3. Jude says

      September 04, 2008 at 6:42 am

      Fun way to preserve herbs. I use my ice tray for pesto more than actual ice!

      Reply
    4. Jeff says

      September 02, 2008 at 12:24 pm

      Parsley grows like a weed in my garden so I always have this overabundance. I owe you one because I am making some and freezing away.

      P.S. I also believed parsley was the nasty only garnish that had zero purpose but to take up space on the plate.

      Reply
    5. Kevin says

      September 01, 2008 at 9:25 pm

      Freezing pesto to enjoy in the winter is a good idea!

      Reply
    6. Lisa says

      September 01, 2008 at 8:02 pm

      I love this idea. I used to freeze homemade pesto in mini muffin tins when I had an abundance of parsley and basil growing in my garden in Dallas. It was so easy to mix a batch in the summer then pull it out of the freezer and use as needed year round. Great post!

      Reply
    7. Kalyn says

      September 01, 2008 at 3:34 am

      Sounds really good. I have a lot of parsley right now so I think it means I should be making this!

      (And never too many cookbooks, don't worry about that!)

      Reply
    8. gotnomilk says

      September 01, 2008 at 12:30 am

      That looks really good. How does it taste? I am especially interested, as there is no dairy in it!

      Reply
    9. Mike of Mike's Table says

      August 31, 2008 at 1:05 pm

      lol, you reminded me of my childhood...not only was parsely only for decoration, but I was convinced that you simply couldn't eat it. It just wasn't a food and it would be like eating grass. Haha, my how I've changed. 😉

      The pesto sounds like a tasty thing to have handy and I never would have thought about packing it in the ice cube trays. That seems like a great tip!

      Reply
    10. [eatingclub] vancouver || js says

      August 31, 2008 at 5:16 am

      I just threw out another bunch of basil (forgot about the vase technique in the middle of packing up for a move) and it broke my heart. I hate throwing out parsley too so I love the idea of a parsley pesto.

      Now if only I can work these ice-cube trays. . .

      Reply
    11. preppy little dress says

      August 31, 2008 at 2:17 am

      i love using parsley, thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    12. Treasures By Brenda says

      August 30, 2008 at 9:16 pm

      I grew my own parsley for a couple of years but the neighborhood rabbit kept eating it...

      Reply
    13. Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says

      August 30, 2008 at 2:37 pm

      My garden has given me the most amazing flat-leaf parsley this year. I started it from seedlings bought at an organic farm near here, so the plants were completely acclimated. The flavor is so intense -- and I've been making pesto with it, too!

      Reply
    14. Pam says

      August 30, 2008 at 5:06 am

      I just made basil/pine nut pesto last week and loved it. I am excited to try this version - it sounds great.

      Reply
    15. Patricia Scarpin says

      August 29, 2008 at 2:06 pm

      Oh, Pam! I have got to try this - being crazy for pesto, I know I'll become addicted!

      Reply
    16. Grace says

      August 29, 2008 at 12:47 pm

      superb way to have fresh pesto year-round! and boy, is it some beautiful pesto. forget basil, give me parsley!

      Reply
    17. katiez says

      August 29, 2008 at 8:00 am

      Like you I went from garnish to loving it! I have realy developed a taste for it in recent years... Great pesto.
      Next year, when I can use my freezer again!

      Reply
    18. noble pig says

      August 29, 2008 at 1:55 am

      Hey what a great way to use up the stuff Pam!

      Reply
    19. Pam says

      August 28, 2008 at 11:20 pm

      Marjie - mine looked wilted for a couple of days, but then it perked up and started looking better every day.

      Reply
    20. Marjie says

      August 28, 2008 at 8:54 pm

      I found a milkman who delivers, and he's also a farmer. So I bought fresh basil because you love it so. I used it last night on my chicken. But it's looking a little wilty sitting in a vase of water - do you think that's because it's already begun to flower?

      I love using Parsley, too!

      Reply

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