Photo of Pesto sauce by WW

Pesto sauce

1
Points® value
Total Time
15 min
Prep
12 min
Cook
3 min
Serves
8
Difficulty
Easy
Bright, herby, colorful, and delicious, pesto sauce is one of our favorites for good reason. Our slimmed-down version of this Italian classic relies on chicken broth—and just a touch of olive oil—for texture. And yes, taking the extra step of toasting the pine nuts really brings out their flavor and nicely complements all of the fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, and garlic. Otherwise, all you have to do is throw all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until the sauce comes together. We prefer long pasta for pesto, but you can use it for everything from pizza sauce to sandwiches and breakfast.

Ingredients

Pine nuts

2 Tbsp

Fresh basil

2 cup(s), leaves, fresh

Reduced sodium chicken broth

½ cup(s)

Grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup(s)

Olive oil

1 Tbsp

Garlic

2 clove(s), peeled

Table salt

½ tsp

Instructions

  1. Place pine nuts in a small skillet and set pan over medium heat. Cook until nuts are golden, shaking pan frequently to prevent burning, about 3 minutes. Transfer nuts to a plate to cool.
  2. In a blender or food processor, combine nuts, basil, broth, cheese, oil, garlic and salt; process until smooth and thick.
  3. Serving size: 2 Tbsp