Simple Homemade Green Olive Pesto

Green olive pesto is a sauce even better than the original! Yes, I’ve said it. This is a recipe you’ve got to try. Creamy walnuts, salty olives, plenty of basil and parsley, and enough garlic to give a kick. Yum!

Hello, all!

January is ticking along here and we’re having a little winter weather. More rain than anything here (though ice too!), but enough to make me wonder if we’re moving into the ‘regular storms and blizzards’ part of winter. Not my favorite part…

Though I can’t complain about warm fires and warm drinks. 🙂

But that’s all the more reason to stay in, pull out a pile of ingredients, and make delicious food instead. Who’s with me?

Not that you need to wait for winter to make this creamy, herby rich sauce! In fact, I am seriously looking forward to summer, not only for the warmth and lovely weather, but for the ability to walk outside and pick some basil and parsley and whip up a batch of yummy pesto without going to the store. Bonus!

And I will totally be making batches. It’s everything I love about pesto. And more. The green olives basically make it turbo charged with flavor and I can’t get enough of it!

Ready to find out how to make this awesomeness? I know you are! Let’s go…

What do you need?

• Green Olives – You will want one cup, pitted and unstuffed. (I used castelvetrano olives.)
• Herbs – One cup parsley and 1/2 cup basil.
• Walnuts – Toast them up and add them to the processor.
• Olive Oil – Use a flavorful one here!
• Lemon/Garlic – A little acid and a little allium finish things off.

How to make this

To make green olive pesto, puree green olives, basil, parsley, garlic, and walnuts in a food processor. Add enough olive oil to make a smooth sauce.

The two sentences up there are pretty much it! This recipe is that easy.

Start with a good handful of pitted olives, add some toasted walnuts, plenty of parsley and basil, some garlic, and a little lemon juice. Start pureeing and pour in the oil until you have smooth and thick sauce.

Once you have the sauce made, use it right away or keep it in the fridge for up to one week or in the freezer for up to three months.

How to use the pesto

You can use this anywhere you would use traditional pesto with great results!

You can:

• have this in pesto pasta
• make bruschetta or crostini
• turn it into a dip using Greek yogurt, sour cream, or ricotta
• add it to salad dressing to give it some zing
• toss it with a potato salad
• spread it over a pizza

So many choices!

If you try my recipe for Green Olive Pesto, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.

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– Happy Eating, Annemarie