Common Ingredients in basil pesto Recipes

We researched the most common ingredients in over fifty popular basil pesto recipes and found the top 15 ingredients.

The most common ingredients in basil pesto dishes are garlic and olive oil.

Parmesan, pine nuts and parsley are also common ingredients in basil pesto recipes. For herbs and spices, basil is popular. Variations include:

• walnuts and almonds in place of pine nuts
• broccoli crowns and baby spinach in place of parsley

Salt is in 85% of basil pesto recipes and pepper, 50%.

The average basil pesto recipe has about 10.2 ingredients, with a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 22.

In terms of directions, basil pesto recipes have about 4.2 steps on average, ranging from 1 to 17 instructions.

An average basil pesto recipe takes about 39 minutes to prepare, ranging from 3 minutes to 2 hours.

Parent Dish: Pesto
Sibling Dishes: Mint Pesto

Ratios of Common Ingredients in Basil Pesto

For 2 cup basil (48 g), the median and average amounts of other significant ingredients are below. Some ingredients are potential substitutes for others, meaning they almost never exist together in a single basil pesto recipe, and are marked below.

Ingredient	Median	Average	% of recipes with basil	Potential subsitutions
garlic	2 clove (6 g)	3.5 clove (11 g)	89%
olive oil	0.4 cup (86 g)	0.58 cup (125 g)	87%
parmesan	half a cup (44 g)	0.65 cup (57 g)	63%
pine nuts	2.7 tablespoon (23 g)	5 tablespoon (42 g)	45%	walnuts almonds
parsley	1.5 cup (90 g)	1.4 cup (85 g)	29%	broccoli crowns baby spinach
pecorino	2 cup (57 g)	2.2 cup (62 g)	19%
penne pasta	1 pound (454 g)	1.5 pound (678 g)	15%
walnuts	0.43 cup (50 g)	0.71 cup (83 g)	13%	pine nuts almonds

Ingredients by Average Weight in Basil Pesto

We also found the average content of the significant ingredients by weight in basil pesto recipes. This would be: 31% olive oil, 19% basil, 12% penne pasta, 11% parmesan, 7% plum tomatoes, 6% pine nuts, 5% parsley, 3% lemon juice, 2% garlic, 2% pecorino and 1% walnuts.

Here are the top ingredients, listed in order of popularity.

basil

Basil is the most popular ingredient in basil pesto dishes. In fact, 100% of basil pesto recipes contain basil.

Chopped, packed, washed, rinsed, dried and firmly packed are frequent preparations for basil in basil pesto dishes.

Basil is often included in basil pesto dishes in amounts of 2 cups, 1 cup or half a cup.

In basil pesto recipes that contain basil, it is on average, 8% by weight.

For basil pesto recipes, basil is frequently used with garlic, olive oil, salt, parmesan and pine nuts.

garlic

Another popular ingredient in basil pesto is garlic. From the recipes we've sampled for basil pesto, over 90% have garlic.

Basil pesto dishes often call for garlic to be minced, grated, chopped, peeled, crushed, removed, halved and smashed.

Garlic is often included in basil pesto dishes in amounts of 1 clove, 2 cloves or 3 cloves.

In basil pesto recipes that contain garlic, it is on average, 1% by weight.

In recipes for basil pesto, garlic is often used with basil, olive oil, salt, parmesan and pine nuts.

olive oil

Olive oil is another common ingredient in basil pesto dishes. In fact, over 90% of basil pesto recipes contain olive oil.

Common quantities for olive oil in basil pesto dishes include half a cup, a quarter cup or 2 tablespoons.

In basil pesto recipes that contain olive oil, it is on average, 15% by weight.

Basil, salt, garlic, parmesan and pine nuts are commonly used together with olive oil in basil pesto dishes.

salt

Another popular ingredient in basil pesto is salt. From the recipes we've sampled for basil pesto, over 85% have salt.

Salt is often included in basil pesto dishes in amounts of 1 teaspoon, half a teaspoon or 1.5 teaspoons.

In basil pesto recipes that contain salt, it is on average, 0.2% by weight.

For basil pesto recipes, salt is frequently used with basil, olive oil, garlic, parmesan and pine nuts.

parmesan

Parmesan is another common ingredient in basil pesto dishes. In fact, over 65% of basil pesto recipes contain parmesan.

Basil pesto dishes often call for parmesan to be grated.

Parmesan is often included in basil pesto dishes in amounts of a quarter cup, half a cup or 1 cup.

In basil pesto recipes that contain parmesan, it is on average, 7% by weight.

In recipes for basil pesto, parmesan is often used with basil, olive oil, garlic, salt and pine nuts. On the other hand, parmesan is almost never used with cannellini beans.

pepper

Another popular ingredient in basil pesto is pepper. From the recipes we've sampled for basil pesto, over 50% have pepper.

Variations of pepper include:

• black pepper: 27% of recipes

Basil, salt, olive oil, garlic and parmesan are commonly used together with pepper in basil pesto dishes. Conversely, pepper is not often used with lemon juice, almonds and baby kale.

black pepper

Black pepper is another common ingredient in basil pesto dishes. In fact, over 25% of basil pesto recipes contain black pepper.

Ground is a frequent preparation for black pepper in basil pesto dishes.

Common quantities for black pepper in basil pesto dishes include 1 tablespoon.

In basil pesto recipes that contain black pepper, it is on average, 0.1% by weight.

Basil, salt, garlic, olive oil and parmesan are commonly used together with black pepper in basil pesto dishes. Conversely, black pepper is not often used with thyme, onion, baby spinach and carrots.

pine nuts

Pine nuts is another common ingredient in basil pesto dishes. In fact, over 45% of basil pesto recipes contain pine nuts.

Toasted is a frequent preparation for pine nuts in basil pesto dishes.

Pine nuts is often included in basil pesto dishes in amounts of 2 tablespoons, a quarter cup or 1 tablespoon.

In basil pesto recipes that contain pine nuts, it is on average, 6% by weight.

For basil pesto recipes, pine nuts is frequently used with basil, garlic, olive oil, salt and parmesan.

Potential substitutions for pine nuts in basil pesto:

• walnuts
• almonds

Also, pine nuts is not often used with mint and carrots.

parsley

Another popular ingredient in basil pesto is parsley. From the recipes we've sampled for basil pesto, over 25% have parsley.

Basil pesto dishes often call for parsley to be chopped, packed, rinsed and dried.

Parsley is often included in basil pesto dishes in amounts of 1 cup, a quarter cup or 2 cups.

In basil pesto recipes that contain parsley, it is on average, 9% by weight.

In recipes for basil pesto, parsley is often used with basil, salt, garlic, olive oil and parmesan.

Potential substitutions for parsley in basil pesto:

• broccoli crowns
• baby spinach

Also, parsley is not often used with almonds.

lemon

Another popular ingredient in basil pesto is lemon. From the recipes we've sampled for basil pesto, over 20% have lemon.

Variations of lemon include:

• lemon juice: 13% of recipes
• zest juice lemon: 5% of recipes

For basil pesto recipes, lemon is frequently used with basil, garlic, salt, black pepper and olive oil.

pecorino

Pecorino is another common ingredient in basil pesto dishes. In fact, over 15% of basil pesto recipes contain pecorino.

Basil pesto dishes often call for pecorino to be grated.

Pecorino is often included in basil pesto dishes in amounts of a quarter cup, half a cup or 2 tablespoons.

In basil pesto recipes that contain pecorino, it is on average, 6% by weight.

In recipes for basil pesto, pecorino is often used with basil, salt, garlic, olive oil and pepper. On the other hand, pecorino is almost never used with lemon juice, thyme, onion, baby spinach, almonds, baby kale and carrots.

penne pasta

Another popular ingredient in basil pesto is penne pasta. From the recipes we've sampled for basil pesto, over 15% have penne pasta.

Common quantities for penne pasta in basil pesto dishes include 1 pound.

In basil pesto recipes that contain penne pasta, it is on average, 34% by weight.

Basil, garlic, olive oil, salt and parmesan are commonly used together with penne pasta in basil pesto dishes. Conversely, penne pasta is not often used with eggs, onion, cannellini beans, baby spinach and zest juice lemon.

walnuts

Walnuts is another common ingredient in basil pesto dishes. In fact, over 10% of basil pesto recipes contain walnuts.

Toasted and chopped are frequent preparations for walnuts in basil pesto dishes.

Walnuts is often included in basil pesto dishes in amounts of half a cup, a quarter cup or 2 tablespoons.

In basil pesto recipes that contain walnuts, it is on average, 6% by weight.

For basil pesto recipes, walnuts is frequently used with basil, olive oil, garlic, salt and parmesan.

Potential substitutions for walnuts in basil pesto:

• pine nuts
• almonds

Also, walnuts is not often used with plum tomatoes, thyme, onion, cannellini beans, zest juice lemon, baby kale and carrots.

plum tomatoes

Plum tomatoes is another common ingredient in basil pesto dishes. In fact, over 10% of basil pesto recipes contain plum tomatoes.

Chopped and cored are frequent preparations for plum tomatoes in basil pesto dishes.

In basil pesto recipes that contain plum tomatoes, it is on average, 31% by weight.

Garlic, olive oil, salt, basil and parsley are commonly used together with plum tomatoes in basil pesto dishes.

Potential substitutions for plum tomatoes in basil pesto:

• baby spinach

Also, plum tomatoes is not often used with walnuts, lemon juice, eggs, ricotta cheese, zest juice lemon and pistachios.

Other basil pesto Ingredients

Other significant ingredients used in basil pesto recipes include:

• potatoes - 10%
• eggs - 10%
• mint - 10%
• thyme - 5%
• ricotta cheese - 5%
• zucchini ends - 5%
• onion - 5%
• broccoli crowns - 5%
• cannellini beans - 5%
• baby spinach - 5%
• almonds - 5%
• baby kale - 5%
• carrots - 5%
• pistachios - 5%

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