5-Ingredient Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

When the grocery store only has small plastic containers of basil, instead of buying two, I get one and find something else to make up the remaining. Basil is $$

Jarred roasted red bell pepper is usually around $2. That’s cheaper and easier than buying fresh peppers and roasting them at home. This sauce is great over pasta of course, but it’s also amazing as a spread in sandwiches and wraps, and over eggs.

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Success Guide:

Don’t overprocess the pesto until it’s a fruit smoothie consistency, that’s undesirable.

After you wash the basil, don’t be shy about wringing it dry in a towel. Doing so bruises the leaves, rupturing the plant cell walls and making a more flavorful pesto.

Meal Pairings:

Red Pesto + pasta (hot)
Red Pesto + cold pasta + roasted zucchini (pasta salad)
Red Pesto + fried eggs + toast
Red Pesto + roasted smashed potatoes
Red Pesto + tomato + mozzarella

Ingredients

1 (12oz) jar fire-roasted red bell peppers, drained
1 (2.5 oz) package of basil, about 1 cup of packed basil leaves
2 medium garlic cloves or 1 large, peeled
1/2 tsp table salt, 1 tsp kosher salt
2- 4 tbs olive oil*
8 whole walnuts, a fistful. Or a fistful of almonds, pine nuts, any nut you have

*I reduced the oil to 2 tbs when I served these with fried potatoes. Over pasta, increase to 1/4 cup (4 tbs) olive oil.

Step-by-step Instructions

1. Drain roasted red bell peppers
2. Tear leaves off basil, rinse, and aggressively wring dry, bruising the leaves in the process
3. Place ingredients in a blender or food processor, and process till smooth with flecks of basil. Do not liquify the pesto.

click images to enlarge