Typically pesto is a very simple recipe of basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and olive oil. Over the years people have added more and more ingredients to this classic recipe in order to adapt to tastes and preferences. My personal addition is the tomato paste. I felt like the original version of this recipe was slightly bitter with the basil and pine nuts competing for top flavor. A touch of tomato paste adds some acidity, sweetness, and cuts back on the bitterness.
On keto, there’s a lack of condiments to use that aren’t mayo based, so I thought making a very flavorful pesto would be a great addition to many dishes. For chicken, it can just be dipped straight in. For salads, you can toss with some pesto for a fresh taste. For beef, you can use it to marinate. The possibilities are endless – and it’s made in only 5 minutes!
As a side note, it’s worth mentioning quality of ingredients. If you get the highest quality ingredients, your pesto will taste better. We used fresh basil from the garden, organic pine nuts, and a high grade Parmesan cheese.
Yields 24 servings of 5 Minute Keto Pesto
The Preparation
- 1 1/2 cups fresh basil
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
The Execution
1. Place the fresh basil in a container.
2. Add toasted pine nuts to the same container. You can toast these yourself in a pan over low heat if you did not purchase them pre-toasted.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, except oil, and use an immersion blender to blend everything together. As it’s blending, add oil slowly.
4. Jar up and use as needed – it goes great with chicken! You can also use this to make our pesto crackers recipe.
This makes a total of 1 serving of 5-Minute Keto Pesto. The serving comes out to be 1924 calories, 196.9g fats, 10.1g net carbs, and 36.8g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 1 1/2 cup fresh basil | 8 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts | 300 | 30.5 | 5.8 | 1.7 | 4.2 | 6.1 |
| 3/4 cup parmesan cheese | 323 | 21.5 | 3.1 | 0 | 3.1 | 28.9 |
| 1 teaspoon fresh garlic | 4 | 0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 |
| 2 teaspoon tomato paste | 9 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 0.5 |
| 2/3 cup olive oil | 1279 | 144.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 1924 | 196.9 | 12.9 | 2.7 | 10.1 | 36.8 |
5-Minute Keto Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup fresh basil
- ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon tomato paste
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the fresh basil in a container.
- Add the toasted pine nuts (if using raw pine nuts, toast in a pan over low heat).
- Add the parmesan, garlic, and tomato paste. Use an immersion blender to blend everything together while slowly adding in the oil. Season to taste.
- Pour the pesto into a jar and use as needed.
