Common Ingredients in pesto Recipes

We researched the most common ingredients in over a hundred popular pesto recipes and found the top 15 ingredients.

The most common ingredient in pesto dishes is olive oil.

Garlic, parmesan, pine nuts, parsley and lemon are also common ingredients in pesto recipes. For herbs and spices, basil is popular. Variations include:

• pecorino in place of parmesan
• walnuts, pistachios and almonds in place of pine nuts
• arugula, baby spinach and broccoli in place of parsley
• mint in place of basil

Salt is in 85% of pesto recipes and pepper, 50%.

The average pesto recipe has about 10.1 ingredients, with a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 32.

In terms of directions, pesto recipes have about 3.9 steps on average, ranging from 1 to 17 instructions.

An average pesto recipe takes about 52 minutes to prepare, ranging from 3 minutes to 1 day 1 hour 45 minutes.

Pesto Subcategories

"Pesto" is the past participle of the Italian verb pestare, which means "to pound" or "to crush", in reference to the original method of preparation ... that is why the word is used for several pestos in Italy.

Pesto online recipes, in general, has a few variations. When one main ingredient in pesto can be substituted, such as basil for mint, we create a subcategory of pesto.

The popularity of each type of pesto is marked, and each subcategory has at least 8 different recipes to be called out.

Ratios of Common Ingredients in Pesto

For half a cup olive oil (108 g), the median and average amounts of other significant ingredients are below. Some ingredients are potential substitutes for others, meaning they almost never exist together in a single pesto recipe, and are marked below.

Ingredient	Median	Average	% of recipes with olive oil	Potential subsitutions
garlic	2.4 clove (7 g)	6.2 clove (19 g)	82%
parmesan	half a cup (44 g)	0.77 cup (68 g)	60%	pecorino
basil	2 cup (48 g)	3.2 cup (77 g)	43%	mint
pine nuts	a third of a cup (45 g)	0.56 cup (76 g)	30%	walnuts pistachios almonds
parsley	1 cup (60 g)	1.9 cup (114 g)	27%	arugula baby spinach broccoli
walnuts	0.43 cup (50 g)	0.63 cup (74 g)	20%	pine nuts pistachios almonds

Ingredients by Average Weight in Pesto

We also found the average content of the significant ingredients by weight in pesto recipes. This would be: 38% olive oil, 16% farfalle pasta, 10% parmesan, 10% basil, 7% parsley, 5% pine nuts, 4% walnuts, 4% juice lemon, 3% garlic, 2% pecorino and 2% mint.

Here are the top ingredients, listed in order of popularity.

olive oil

Olive oil is the most popular ingredient in pesto dishes. In fact, over 90% of pesto recipes contain olive oil.

Olive oil is often included in pesto dishes in amounts of half a cup, a third of a cup or a quarter cup.

In pesto recipes that contain olive oil, it is on average, 14% by weight.

For pesto recipes, olive oil is frequently used with salt, garlic, parmesan, basil and black pepper.

salt

Another popular ingredient in pesto is salt. From the recipes we've sampled for pesto, over 85% have salt.

Salt is often included in pesto dishes in amounts of 1 teaspoon, half a teaspoon or 1.5 teaspoons.

In pesto recipes that contain salt, it is on average, 0.2% by weight.

In recipes for pesto, salt is often used with olive oil, garlic, parmesan, basil and black pepper.

garlic

Garlic is another common ingredient in pesto dishes. In fact, over 80% of pesto recipes contain garlic.

Minced, chopped, smashed, crushed, grated, peeled, sliced, removed, halved and roasted are frequent preparations for garlic in pesto dishes.

Common quantities for garlic in pesto dishes include 1 clove, 2 cloves or 3 cloves.

In pesto recipes that contain garlic, it is on average, 1.2% by weight.

Olive oil, salt, parmesan, basil and black pepper are commonly used together with garlic in pesto dishes.

parmesan

Another popular ingredient in pesto is parmesan. From the recipes we've sampled for pesto, over 55% have parmesan.

Grated and shaved are frequent preparations for parmesan in pesto dishes.

Parmesan is often included in pesto dishes in amounts of a quarter cup, half a cup or a third of a cup.

In pesto recipes that contain parmesan, it is on average, 6% by weight.

For pesto recipes, parmesan is frequently used with olive oil, salt, garlic, basil and pine nuts.

Potential substitutions for parmesan in pesto:

• pecorino

Also, parmesan is not often used with mint, zucchini ends, baby spinach and thyme.

pepper

Pepper is another common ingredient in pesto dishes. In fact, over 50% of pesto recipes contain pepper.

Variations of pepper include:

• black pepper: 34% of recipes

In recipes for pesto, pepper is often used with salt, olive oil, garlic, basil and parmesan.

Potential substitutions for pepper in pesto:

• mint

Also, pepper is not often used with black pepper, walnuts, juice lemon, pistachios, potatoes, arugula, almonds, butter, baby kale and broccoli.

black pepper

Black pepper is another common ingredient in pesto dishes. In fact, over 30% of pesto recipes contain black pepper.

Ground and cracked are frequent preparations for black pepper in pesto dishes.

Black pepper is often included in pesto dishes in amounts of half a teaspoon, a quarter teaspoon or 1 tablespoon.

In pesto recipes that contain black pepper, it is on average, 0.1% by weight.

For pesto recipes, black pepper is frequently used with salt, olive oil, garlic, parmesan and parsley. However, eggs, onion, zucchini ends, baby spinach and thyme are almost never used together with black pepper in pesto dishes.

basil

Another popular ingredient in pesto is basil. From the recipes we've sampled for pesto, over 40% have basil.

Chopped, packed, washed, rinsed, dried and firmly packed are frequent preparations for basil in pesto dishes.

Common quantities for basil in pesto dishes include 2 cups, 1 cup or half a cup.

In pesto recipes that contain basil, it is on average, 8% by weight.

Garlic, olive oil, salt, parmesan and pine nuts are commonly used together with basil in pesto dishes.

Potential substitutions for basil in pesto:

• mint

Also, basil is not often used with walnuts, onion, lemon zest, pistachios, arugula, butter and scallions.

pine nuts

Another popular ingredient in pesto is pine nuts. From the recipes we've sampled for pesto, over 30% have pine nuts.

Pesto dishes often call for pine nuts to be toasted.

Pine nuts is often included in pesto dishes in amounts of a quarter cup, 2 tablespoons or half a cup.

In pesto recipes that contain pine nuts, it is on average, 5% by weight.

In recipes for pesto, pine nuts is often used with olive oil, garlic, salt, parmesan and basil.

Potential substitutions for pine nuts in pesto:

• walnuts
• pistachios
• almonds

Also, pine nuts is not often used with parsley, mint, lemon zest, butter and baby kale.

parsley

Parsley is another common ingredient in pesto dishes. In fact, over 25% of pesto recipes contain parsley.

Chopped, packed, rinsed, dried and washed are frequent preparations for parsley in pesto dishes.

Common quantities for parsley in pesto dishes include 1 cup, a quarter cup or 2 cups.

In pesto recipes that contain parsley, it is on average, 9% by weight.

Salt, garlic, olive oil, parmesan and basil are commonly used together with parsley in pesto dishes.

Potential substitutions for parsley in pesto:

• arugula
• baby spinach
• broccoli

Also, parsley is not often used with pine nuts and walnuts.

lemon

Another popular ingredient in pesto is lemon. From the recipes we've sampled for pesto, over 25% have lemon.

Variations of lemon include:

• juice lemon: 17% of recipes
• lemon zest: 8% of recipes

For pesto recipes, lemon is frequently used with olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic and parmesan.

walnuts

Walnuts is another common ingredient in pesto dishes. In fact, over 15% of pesto recipes contain walnuts.

Pesto dishes often call for walnuts to be toasted and chopped.

Walnuts is often included in pesto dishes in amounts of half a cup, 2 tablespoons or 1 cup.

In pesto recipes that contain walnuts, it is on average, 9% by weight.

In recipes for pesto, walnuts is often used with olive oil, salt, garlic, parmesan and black pepper.

Potential substitutions for walnuts in pesto:

• pine nuts
• pistachios
• almonds

Also, walnuts is not often used with basil, parsley, tomatoes, onion, butter, thyme and scallions.

farfalle pasta

Farfalle pasta is another common ingredient in pesto dishes. In fact, over 15% of pesto recipes contain farfalle pasta.

Farfalle pasta is often included in pesto dishes in amounts of 1 pound or half a pound.

In pesto recipes that contain farfalle pasta, it is on average, 36% by weight.

For pesto recipes, farfalle pasta is frequently used with olive oil, salt, garlic, parmesan and basil. However, eggs, onion, pistachios and baby spinach are almost never used together with farfalle pasta in pesto dishes.

mint

Another popular ingredient in pesto is mint. From the recipes we've sampled for pesto, over 10% have mint.

Pesto dishes often call for mint to be packed, picked and dried.

Mint is often included in pesto dishes in amounts of 2 cups, half a cup or 1 cup.

In pesto recipes that contain mint, it is on average, 5% by weight.

In recipes for pesto, mint is often used with olive oil, salt, garlic, black pepper and parsley.

Potential substitutions for mint in pesto:

• basil
• thyme

Also, mint is not often used with parmesan, pine nuts, pecorino, zucchini ends, potatoes, arugula, butter, baby kale and scallions.

pecorino

Pecorino is another common ingredient in pesto dishes. In fact, over 10% of pesto recipes contain pecorino.

Grated is a frequent preparation for pecorino in pesto dishes.

Common quantities for pecorino in pesto dishes include half a cup, a quarter cup or a third of a cup.

In pesto recipes that contain pecorino, it is on average, 6% by weight.

Salt, garlic, olive oil, basil and pepper are commonly used together with pecorino in pesto dishes.

Potential substitutions for pecorino in pesto:

• parmesan
• butter

Also, pecorino is not often used with juice lemon, mint, onion, tomatoes, almonds, baby spinach and thyme.

Other pesto Ingredients

Other significant ingredients used in pesto recipes include:

• onion - 5%
• eggs - 5%
• tomatoes - 5%
• pistachios - 5%
• zucchini ends - 5%
• potatoes - 5%
• arugula - 5%
• butter - 5%
• almonds - 5%
• baby spinach - 5%
• baby kale - 5%
• thyme - 5%
• scallions - 5%
• broccoli - 5%

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