Almond pesto is a savory sauce prepared with almonds and several other ingredients often consisting of basil, olive oil, garlic, parmesan cheese, and seasonings. There are a number of variations of this sauce, explained in terms of use of distinct ingredients, with almonds and basil remaining  the key ingredients in all the recipes. Apart from using basil herb in the pesto sauce, other herbs like parsley, celery, and cilantro can also be added to make the sauce more flavorful. Garlic scapes can be used in place of garlic for a mild flavor. Almonds can be toasted or blanched before being used to prepare the pesto, which is a serving sauce for several dishes like pasta, veggies, and potato salad..

Popular Almond Pesto Sauce Recipes

A few popular recipes of almond based pesto are discussed hereunder:

• Lemon basil almond pesto- the recipe for this sauce suggests blending almonds, garlic, basil, lemon zest, and lemon juice until a coarse texture is attained, and then stirring in olive oil and processing the mix again to make it smooth. Salt is used as the seasoning agent for this almond based pesto sauce.

• Cheese based almond pesto- this almond based pesto sauce is a blend of garlic, almonds, olive oil, basil, parsley, parmesan cheese, and salt.

• Toasted almonds pesto- this pesto is prepared by combining toasted slivered almonds with lemon juice, garlic, basil, olive oil, sesame seeds, salt, and ground black pepper.

• Garlic scape based variant- this almond pesto recipe suggests combining finely chopped garlic scapes with almonds, cheese, basil, olive oil, and salt. The garlic scapes used in this pesto are the stalks of garlic plant, which are quite soft and flavorful, and possess a mild flavor as compared to garlic cloves.   

• Almonds and peas based pesto- blanched almonds are combined with peas, salt, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil, and black pepper to make almond based pesto, perfect to be served with pasta.

• Celery almond pesto- fresh garlic, fresh celery, fresh basil, fresh parsley, olive oil, salt, pepper, almonds, and parmesan cheese are blended together to make this refreshing herb based pesto.

• Almond and cilantro pesto- cilantro, olive oil, salt, and almonds are processed together in a food processor to make this pesto.

Storing Tips

Almond based pesto can be stored in refrigerator for around two weeks in a tight container. It is suggested to place a thin layer of olive oil on top of pesto before refrigerating it in order to maintain its freshness and consistency.

Serving Suggestions

• Almond based  pesto is commonly served with pasta.

• It goes well along with roasted veggies.

• It can be served as a spread for breads.

• The almond based pesto is a nice accompanied to potato salad.

Almond Based Pesto Nutrition Facts

Almond pesto comprises the goodness of almonds which are well known for being rich in mono-unsaturated fats, dietary fiber, vitamin E, vitamin B-complex, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and manganese.