Today we are going to show you just how easy it is to make, store, freeze, and utilize this delicious, homemade keto pesto sauce – in under 10-minutes! Perfect for noodles, zoodles, and more, this glorious mix of basil, pine nuts, garlic, and parmesan cheese makes a quick and easy, decadent low-carb pesto this definitely a WHOLE LOTTA YUM.
Low Carb Pesto
No herb reminds me of summer as much as the smell and taste of basil. I’m convinced that most summer salads, grilled meats, or pasta dishes are made better with a delicious dab of pesto sauce.
We actually love to grow our own basil at home. Fresh herbs can get so costly at the grocery store, but for just a couple of dollars, you can have a big harvest of basil to make your own low-carb pesto all during the year. Typically, our garden includes three or four basil plants, just enough to use all summer long but also make sure we have enough keto pesto in our freezer to enjoy until the following summer.
With a heavenly blend of basil, Parmesan, and pine nuts, our garlicky Keto pesto sauce is perfect for zucchini noodles (our favorite!), giving a sauce pizazz, added to your favorite salad, or as a dab on your favorite grilled chicken recipe. It also pairs superbly with shrimp and zoodles!
Why You’ll Love This!
- With our homemade pesto sauce, you can enjoy restaurant-quality keto pesto sauce in your home anytime you want to in under 10-minutes!
- If you have never tried making pesto in your home before, our low-carb pesto sauce recipe is going to show just how eat and flavorful it can be! You may never buy jarred pesto again.
- Not only is our keto pesto sauce perfect for low-carb and keto fans, but it’s also a gluten-free and vegetarian recipe, too.
- Make just enough keto pesto for today or make to store for up to 4-months!
If you love a great keto sauce as much as we do, then you are definitely going to want to check out our keto alfredo sauce, keto cheddar cheese sauce, and keto spaghetti sauce as well. All of our keto sauces are designed to be full of flavor but low on carbs.
On Keto? Grab our FREE keto foods list here OR Snag our Keto Binder HERE
Ingredient Notes
You only need a handful of ingredients to make homemade pesto, half of which you probably already have in your kitchen.
- Fresh basil – packed
- Pine nuts
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
- Garlic – minced
- Sea Salt
- Olive Oil
Variations
- Pine Nuts – While pine nuts are the traditional nut to use for making pesto, you can also substitute a different kind of nut like cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts, or mixed nuts.
Equipment
Making healthy homemade pesto sauce requires few special supplies. To make this recipe super simple (as in a 5 minute recipe!) having a tool on hand that quickly and evenly blends the ingredients is essential.
Food processor – This is what we used to make the gluten-free keto pesto recipe. It literally took under 15 seconds to mix! A high-powered blender should work well also. Quick tip- I often use my individual blender cup for making a quick sauce.
If you don’t have a food processor, you can also finely chop everything by hand OR you can use a mortar and pestle.
Diet Adaptions
While our homemade pesto sauce is already compliant for both keto and low-carb lifestyles, we do want to remind you to shred your own parmesan cheese rather than purchasing the pre-shredded varieties. Pre-shredded cheeses are often coated with starch to prevent clumping, but this starch also adds extra carbs to your final product.
Step by Step Instructions
Making our own homemade keto pesto sauce is truly a piece of cake! If you’ve been wondering how to make low-carb pesto sauce at home, you’re in for a treat. I KNOW this will be one of those recipes you’ll end up questioning yourself WHY you didn’t think to make your own pesto sooner! It tastes SO. MUCH. BETTER. than jarred sauce AND it’s so easy to make!
Assemble
Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend for 15 seconds, or until pureed.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 5 more seconds.
The recipe makes 1 cup and will most likely be more than you need for your recipe. Each serving size is 1 T of pesto sauce.
Store
Store your keto pesto sauce in the fridge for up to 5-7 days or in the freezer for up to 3-4 months.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure your basil leaves are packed down when measuring. It’s important that you have enough of this key ingredient otherwise your keto pesto sauce will have too much liquid and be runny.
- Buy a block of parmesan cheese and grating your own is ideal for this recipe, especially if you are trying to follow a low-carb or keto lifestyle.
- Feel free to adjust the seasoning to your liking – but be sure to taste the homemade keto pesto before you begin adjusting the flavoring. For best results, reblend for a few seconds if you add any additional seasoning to fully incorporate it.
Common Questions
Fresh pesto sauce lasts up to 5-7 days in the fridge. A little bit REALLY goes a long way so you’ll most likely have leftover pesto after using this yummy sauce in a recipe.
When exposed to air, the sauce often starts to turn brown on the top. A little tip on how to prevent this is to pour a tiny layer of olive oil on top before sealing your container.
Freezing is the best way to store your homemade basil pesto after you make a batch. It will keep in the freezer for at least 3-4 months. Since I mostly use garden basil, I’ll often make up to 8 batches at a time to keep in my freezer for later in the year.
We love to store basil in small cute little 4 oz mason jars, which makes them perfect to give away as a gift also. Just add a simple bow and tag and your friends/relatives will adore you.
Food expands in the freezer so make sure to leave a 1/2″ of space between the sauce and the lid.
Pesto is a versatile and flavorful sauce that goes with a variety of foods including seafood such as shrimp or salmon, grilled chicken, noodles or zoodles, or with atop a salad in place of dressing.
If you’re watching your carbs or following a Keto Diet like my husband, you’ll definitely want to know the carb count in our keto pesto sauce. Making your own low-carb keto pesto is a lifesaver of a sauce that infuses so much flavor into your favorite low-carb dishes.
You’ll be happy to know that there is just 1 carb in our homemade keto pesto sauce for a 1 Tbsp serving size!
More Keto Sauce Recipes
Looking for more keto sauce recipes?
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15 BEST Pesto Recipes (Classic + More!)
A simple and delicious homemade pesto recipe that takes just 5 minutes to make. Serve it with chicken, seafood, pasta, or with veggies.
Ingredients
- 2 cupsfresh basil leaves, packed
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend for 15 seconds, or until it's pureed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix the pesto for 5 more seconds.
- The classic pesto recipe makes 1 cup and will most likely be more than you need for your recipe. Each serving size is 1 T of pesto sauce.
- Store in the fridge for up to 5-7 days or in the freezer for up to 3-4 months.
Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 170Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 4mgSodium 231mgCarbohydrates 1gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 3g
The nutrional information is just an estimate and was calculated by an automated calculator. If you're on a restricted health program please manually calculate this information using the brands of ingredients you have since brands can vary.
Jenn says
After making pesto how do you prevent it from turning brown during refrigeration and freezing processes?