[Thailand Recipes] Basil Pesto

Thai Basil Pesto is so delicious and super easy to make. I even made it with my 15-month-toddler. 

I have four planters with Thai Basil – it seriously grows like weeds, so I needed to find a recipe to use all of them up. I could make Pho, but there’s only so much chicken pho and beef pho that you can eat.

I always keep pasta on hand. It’s very handy when I am having a very busy work week, and I don’t have time to cook. This Thai Basil Pesto goes so well with any kind of pasta that you have. I tossed with some penne rigatoni and it was absolutely delicious.

Thai Basil has a bitter flavor, so I made my Pesto with crushed peanuts and a handful of spinach, avocado oil, and lots of cheese. It came out quite delicious, and it tastes just like regular Italian pesto that’s made with traditional Italian basil (which has a milder flavor.)

 

Even my sweet one-year-old toddler loves this recipe. He helped me make it, and he just ate spoonfuls of it at a time.

If you don’t have spinach or peanuts on hand, you can use any leafy green or herbs that you want. I’ve seen recipes cashews instead of peanuts. You could also use traditional pine nuts as well. Instead of spinach, you could use mint and cilantro for a more unique herby flavor. You could also just omit it.


Also, I used avocado oil when I made this pesto, but feel free to substitute extra-virgin olive oil. That would work so well in this as well.

Enjoy and happy eating!

Thai Basil Pesto Sauce Recipe

A delicious Pesto sauce recipe that uses Thai Basil, peanuts, and Parmesan cheese.

Course Snack
Cuisine Asian, Vegetarian
Keyword Thai Basil

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 1 cup

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled 
• 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 2 cups Thai basil leaves
• 1 cup spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• sea salt, to taste
• 1/4 cup avocado oil (or extra virgin olive oil)

Instructions

• Add all ingredients into a food processor (or a blender) and puree until smooth. Start with 1 tsp of sea salt. (Adjust more for taste later.)
• Taste the pesto sauce. Add more salt, if desired. Add more Parmesan cheese, if desired. Adjust to your taste preference. 
• Serve with your favorite pasta. Pesto will remain good for two weeks in the fridge in an airtight container.

Notes

Add more oil if the blender or food processor is having trouble.

This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Hungrywanderlust.com. Thanks so much!