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basil pesto in a white bowl
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Quick Cashew Pesto With Basil (5 Minutes!)

Basil Pesto With Cashews makes a great (and cheaper!) alternative to traditional basil pesto, replacing pine nuts with cashews.
Course Condiment
Cuisine Modern Australian
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 cup
Calories 105kcal

Ingredients

  • cups fresh basil leaves firmly packed
  • 70 g unsalted cashews
  • 50 g fresh parmesan cheese no need to grate
  • 2 fresh garlic cloves cores removed (see my notes)
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • salt to taste
  • fresh lemon juice to taste

Instructions

  • Place parmesan cheese and fresh garlic cloves in the bowl of a food processor.
    50 g fresh parmesan cheese, 2 fresh garlic cloves
  • Process until finely chopped.
  • Add basil leaves and cashews and process until chopped.
    1½ cups fresh basil leaves, 70 g unsalted cashews
  • Add olive oil and process until combined, then add salt and fresh lemon juice to taste.
    ¼ cup olive oil, salt, fresh lemon juice

Notes

  • This recipe may have a little less oil than you are used to seeing in other recipes for pesto, but I like to keep my pesto on the thicker side - good for spreading/dolloping etc. This also means that I can just mix some of the cashew basil pesto with more olive oil when I need a more liquid consistency for drizzling/dressings etc. You can always add more oil, but you can't take it out!
  • This is a recipe where I remove the centre "core" from the fresh garlic cloves, which will give you a more mellow garlic taste. For more information on when and how to core garlic cloves, see this post.
*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*

Nutrition

Calories: 105kcal