Lemon pesto made with whole lemons, parmesan cheese, garlic, and pine nuts delivers bright, sunny, and savory Mediterranean flavor for tossing with pasta, spooning over fish, or spreading on crostini.
Inspired by traditional basil pesto, this lemon pesto ditches the green herb altogether for a bright and sunny sauce. You’ll find many of the same ingredients in this recipe, with one tart addition. Whole lemons (rind and all) are the base of this zesty, creamy spread that can be stirred into pasta, spread on ricotta toast, or served with pita and crudité for dipping.
I was inspired to make this lemon pesto version after seeing a jarred version at Trader Joe’s. When I first tried making this recipe, I started by infusing olive oil with lemon peels, and then blended the oil with fresh basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, and lemon zest.
The result was good but it tasted like basil pesto with lemon—not a pure lemon pesto. I decided to ditch the basil altogether and found myself cutting up and blending whole lemons, a la blender lemonade. A few more tweaks (a smaller quantity of lemons, more olive oil, more garlic) and I achieved the sunny spread of my dreams.
Table of Contents
What’s in Lemon Pesto?
This lemon pesto recipe comes together with a few basic ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Lemons: You’ll need a total of three whole lemons for this recipe—you’ll juice one and chop the other two before throwing them into a high-speed blender to form the base for this pesto.
- Pine nuts are a staple ingredient in classic basil pesto. I love the creamy, slightly buttery flavor raw pine nuts add to this recipe, too. Pine nuts can be pricey and hard to find, so feel free to try this recipe with raw cashews, or blanched almonds instead.
- Garlic: You’ll need two large cloves of garlic (or three small ones) for this recipe. No need to mince them since they’ll be blended with all of the other ingredients.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano: For the best flavor, grate an entire cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano by hand on a Microplane zester or grater. This cheese offers a sharp, slightly buttery flavor that pairs wonderfully with the other ingredients. Feel free to use another hard, salty Italian cheese like Grana Padano. If using Pecorino Romano you may need to adjust the salt content, since Pecorino Romano tends to be saltier than Parm.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper: Kosher salt helps to balance the acidity of the lemons and bring out the flavors of the other ingredients, while black pepper adds a little bit of heat.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: Use high quality olive oil for the best flavor and color. Look for cold-pressed, single-origin olive oil in a dark glass or opaque bottle.
How to Make Lemon Pesto
When life gives you lemons, make pesto! This zesty sauce requires a little bit of prep work, but it comes together in a flash. Here’s how to make lemon pesto, step-by-step.
- Prep the lemons. Wash 3 lemons thoroughly. Juice one lemon, then trim off the bumpy ends of the remaining two. Cut the lemons in half the long way, then slice each half into quarters. Remove the seeds and trim out the thick white membrane core from each segment and discard.
- Add the ingredients to the blender. Place the chopped lemons, the lemon juice, 3 tablespoons pine nuts, 2 large peeled garlic cloves, 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a blender.
- Blend. With the blender running on medium speed, blend until the lemons have broken down until smooth, pausing to stir as necessary. With the blender running on low speed, slowly pour in 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil until the mixture is creamy and homogenous.
What to Serve with Lemon Pesto
You can use lemon pesto anywhere you might like classic basil pesto! Try this tangy lemon pesto tossed with pasta, or in this recipe for baked chilean sea bass, this broccoli pesto pasta, or pesto salmon. It would also be delicious served with pita chips for an easy, crowd-friendly appetizer, or drizzled over roasted vegetables for a sunny side dish.
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Lemon Pesto
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 lemons
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Prep the lemons. Wash the lemons thoroughly. Halve and juice one lemon, then trim off the bumpy ends of the remaining two. Cut the lemons in half the long way, then slice each half into quarters. Remove the seeds and use a sharp knife to trim the thick, white fibrous core from each segment.
- Puree the lemons. In a high-powered blender, add the diced lemons, lemon juice, pine nuts, garlic, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt, and pepper and blend on medium speed until the lemons have broken down and begin to look smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add the olive oil. With the blender running on low speed, slowly stream in the olive oil until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Increase the speed and blend for an additional 30 seconds.
- Serve or store. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including the olive oil used in this recipe.
- Blender Note: We tested this recipe using a high-powered blender. If you’re working with a blender with less horsepower, it may help to chop your lemons even more finely by hand before adding them to the blender with the other ingredients.
Nutrition
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Quick question about the lemon that is juiced: Do we add it to the blender too after juicing it? Or discard it after juicing?