You’ll want to drizzle this basil sauce over everything! It’s grassy, garlicky, and bright green: like pesto without the cheese or nuts.
Here’s a sauce you’ll want to put on just about anything… bright green basil sauce! It’s packed with flavors of garlic and herbs: basically like a pesto without the nuts and cheese. It’s more flavorful than pesto: like a garlic basil oil. Use it on just about anything for a fresh taste: pasta, seafood, juicy ripe tomatoes, caprese salad…everything tastes better with a basil sauce. Here’s how to make it, the trick to keeping it bright green, and more ways to use it!
Ingredients for basil sauce
The good thing about basil sauce? Pesto is what we usually do when our basil plant is bushy and crowded. But the pesto calls for pine nuts and parmesan cheese, which don’t come cheap. Basil Sauce Skip those expensive ingredients, but you still get the great taste of fresh basil. It’s a dairy-free and nut-free pesto, similar to a French pistou. This delicious light green sauce is endlessly versatile. Here’s what you need to craft it:
- basil leaves
- Garlic
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- Salt
How to Blanch Basil (Keep it Green!)
This basil sauce starts with a step to keep the sauce nice and green. It’s called brighten up! Blanching is a cooking method in which you cook vegetables until they are soft and crispy, then plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process. The meaning behind it? To include the light green color of vegetables turning brown. Here’s how to get a nice, light green basil sauce:
- Cook only 30 seconds to 1 minute! The cooking time is fast: it just has to be very green! Place basil in a small saucepan of boiling water and cook until light green, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Immediately immerse in an ice bath. This stops the cooking process and binds the color. Once the leaves have cooled, remove them from the water and squeeze out as much water as possible.
mix it up!
Once you blanch the basil, this basil sauce takes no time at all. Simply add the basil to a blender with the other ingredients and puree! A few notes on blending: You can use a standard blender, or even better, a smaller blender like an immersion blender. The amount of sauce is not big, so if you have a small blender it will be easier to mix. You can also use a food processor if you have one.
Ways to use basil sauce
There are so many ways to use this spicy basil sauce! Here are some ideas to get you started:
All about basil
Basil is easy to grow and by the height of summer you will likely have a large bush! If you don’t grow your own basil, now is the time to start. It’s easy to make and requires few tools and planning.
This basil sauce recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
The description
You’ll want to drizzle this basil sauce over everything! It’s grassy, garlicky, and bright green: like pesto without the cheese or nuts.
- 1 cup Packed basil leaves
- 1 small clove of garlic
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Blanch basil: This preserves the light green color. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water. Remove the basil leaves from the stalk and wash them; Measure out 1 cup of wrapped leaves (make sure you wrap the full cup for best flavor). Once the water is boiling, add the basil and cook until light green, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Immediately turn off the heat, remove the basil and plunge into the ice bath. Once the leaves have cooled, remove them from the water and squeeze out as much water as possible.
- mix sauce: Place blanched basil, olive oil, garlic, and salt in a blender or in the cup for an immersion blender. Mix until fully combined. Taste and season with lemon juice and additional salt. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 week.
- Category: sauce
- Method: Mix
- Kitchen: Italian
- Diet: vegan
More basil recipes
Basil is one of our most used herbs in the kitchen! Here are some other great basil recipes:
