Is mint taking over your backyard? Then make it into pesto, in a pinch. 

relish, vegetable, herb, mint
Ellen Gibbs

Mint is great in ice cream, tea, as well as countless other dishes, but have you tried it in pesto? What's great about making pesto is that it can keep a long time in the refrigerator, and used in so many recipes: pasta, sandwiches, wraps, or a dressing in salad.

Missing an ingredient? Feel free to swap marcona almonds for walnuts or cashews. As long as you stay within the ratios of ingredients, the rest will do itself. Play with new flavors — pistachios, mint, snow peas, or sunflower seeds, mint, and parsley. The combinations are endless — but pesto this good, won't be.

Backyard Mint Pesto

  • Prep Time:5 mins
  • Cook Time:5 mins
  • Total Time:10 mins
  • Servings:6
  • Easy

    Ingredients

  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint packed
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley packed
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup marcona almonds
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
oil, spinach, pesto, vegetable, herb
Ellen Gibbs
  • Step 1

    Gather ingredients and strip the herbs off the larger stems. Roughly chop cheese and garlic.

    herb, parsley, cheese
    Ellen Gibbs
  • Step 2

    Throw all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth or starts to take shape.

    salad, meat, vegetable
    Ellen Gibbs
  • Step 3

    The texture will look and feel similar to natural almond butter, but slightly less wet.

    herb
    Ellen Gibbs
  • Step 4

    After reaching desired consistency, store in a glass jar for several weeks in the refrigerator.

    relish, condiment, tea, vegetable, herb
    Ellen Gibbs