Recipes & Cooking Recipes by Ingredient Herbs & Spices The Best Things to Make with Pesto You can use it for much more than tossing with noodles, although we have delicious options for that, too. 🌱 By Karla Walsh Karla Walsh Karla Walsh began her career at FITNESS magazine in 2010. Since, she's worked at a wide variety of publications full-time, including BHG.com, Recipe.com and as a cross-brand social media specialist. From search engine optimization to features for print to video strategy, she has a diverse background in all things magazines. At the start of 2019, Karla chose to pursue full-time freelance writing and has contributed to more than 3 dozen brands. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Published on May 17, 2024 Close Photo: Carson Downing Discover the best things to make with pesto, whether you’re cracking open a store-bought jar or have a bounty of homemade pesto to put to good use. Pesto pasta is a classic for a reason, however, we have ideas for many more things to make with pesto, including sandwiches, flatbreads, casseroles, and more. 01 of 14 Veggie-Pesto Lasagna Soup Blaine Moats A cheesy lasagna casserole is tough to resist. But it’s also tough to make a reality if you don’t want to spend all afternoon in the kitchen. With tomato, garlic, spinach, basil (in the pesto!), and a dollop of ricotta on top, this quick-fix soup gives a nod to that classic comfort food without all the layering and bake time. Plus, this is the thing to make with pesto if you have broken lasagna noodles lying around. (We ask you to break them before adding them to the pot anyway.) View Recipe 02 of 14 Pan-Seared Salmon with Tomato Pesto Andy Lyons When we say “pesto,” chances are high that you think of the classic Genovese kind that’s made with fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, and olive oil. But the term “pesto” is past tense for the Italian verb “pestare,” which means “to pound” or “to crush,” so you can feel free to color outside the lines with your pesto components. For the topping for this 30-minute salmon dish, the zippy pesto features sun-dried and fresh tomatoes, olives, onion, basil, and crushed red pepper. A spoonful really perks up each plate. View Recipe 03 of 14 Spaghetti and Zucchini Noodles with Basil-Walnut Pesto Jacob Fox One of our favorite tricks to sneak in more servings of veggies: stretching regular noodles with zucchini noodles. A two-to-one ratio of wheat to zoodles acts as a blank flavor canvas for the garlicky basil pesto that shines in this summery dinner recipe. This is a fairly traditional riff on basil pesto, except instead of pine nuts, we call for buttery walnuts. Test Kitchen Tip: We designed this thing to make with pesto to be a meat-free meal, but if you’d like to amp up the satisfaction factor, top each serving with grilled shrimp or chicken. View Recipe 04 of 14 Pesto Chicken and Radicchio Skewers Carson Downing This thing to make with pesto is another regular on our summer dinner menu. In addition to being cooked on our favorite warm weather cooking tool, a grill, these kabobs only ask for seven ingredients. Yes, that includes everything you need to whip up the luscious Parmesan cream sauce we suggest serving as a side car for dipping. So where does the pesto come in, you might be asking? It stars in the easy chicken marinade. Besides lemon juice, jarred or DIY pesto is all you need to infuse so much flavor into each ounce. View Recipe 05 of 14 Avocado and Tomatillo Sandwiches with Pesto Blaine Moats Some vegetarian sandwiches can leave us scrounging for snacks about an hour later. But we’ve cracked the code for assembling a meatless mid-day meal with staying power. First, fiber (here, whole grain bread) and fat (avocado and mozzarella cheese) are essential. Then, it’s helpful to layer on unexpected flavor to ensure that each bite of the healthy lunch doesn’t feel like it’s missing a thing. Pickled red onions, a bounty of fresh vegetables, and an herbaceous homemade pesto team up to make this sandwich shine. View Recipe 06 of 14 Copycat Pesto Cavatappi Culinary Hill You’re just six ingredients away from one of our favorite restaurant copycat recipes for pasta. This is inspired by one of Noodles & Company’s most popular menu items, and with a splash of white wine, a cup of pesto, and a generous handful of shredded Parmesan cheese, home cooks rave that it packs “lots of flavor.” Still, we love to look at this as the foundation, and often toss in other components to make this our own. Roasted mushrooms, rotisserie chicken, and drained and rinsed white beans are among our Test Kitchen’s recent greatest hits. View Recipe 07 of 14 Pesto-Prosciutto Flatbread Jacob Fox You’ve probably tried pizza with white sauce, red sauce, and maybe even BBQ sauce (where are our fellow BBQ chicken pie fans at?). But have you tried sun-dried tomato pesto yet? If not, allow us to walk you through it in this tested and perfected flatbread recipe. The sweet-tart topping acts as a light and lovely base for savory prosciutto and slightly nutty provolone cheese. As the flatbread cooks, take 60 seconds to channel your inner Jennifer Garner and toss together the couldn’t-be-easier arugula salad to toss on top. View Recipe 08 of 14 Cheesy Pesto-Meatball Manicotti Andy Lyons It’s impossible to spot the thing that’s made with pesto here, but we can promise that you’ll taste its bright, basil-y presence in this baked pasta recipe. The pesto is part of the hearty filling, which also includes ground beef or turkey, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, onion, sweet, pepper, and an egg to bring everything together. This is a winner any time of year, however, we find ourselves really craving this in the cooler months when fresh herbs are more difficult to come by. A few spoonfuls of pesto can practically transport us back to summer, while the meat- and cheese-stuffed pasta delivers all the coziness we crave. View Recipe 09 of 14 Vegetable-Pesto Risotto Casserole Jason Donnelly Intimidated by the concept of risotto after watching one too many Top Chef contestants get tripped up by the dish? We have great news: You need not stand over the stove, stirring and slowly adding broth until it reaches that spot-on silky consistency. Since this bakes in the oven after a quick sauté shift on the stove, we often bill this as a “gateway” risotto recipe. Arborio rice, an array of summer veggies, broth, and white wine dance together in the oven for 20 minutes in a covered dish. Just before serving, stir in ¾ cup pesto and a shredded Parmesan cheese, and dinner is done. View Recipe 10 of 14 Chicken and Pasta with Spinach-Basil Pesto Jacob Fox In this specific rendition, we toss the richly garlicky spinach-basil pesto with pasta, mushrooms, and tomatoes, and serve all of the above alongside grilled chicken. You need not feel married to that specific pairing, though. We adore the easy spinach-basil pesto so much that we like to blitz up a big batch to use as a pizza topping, marinade, salad dressing, protein garnish, and toast topping. View Recipe 11 of 14 Espresso-Rubbed Steak with Green Chile Pesto Blaine Moats If you’re not so fond of the lightly floral nature of basil, then this flank steak entrée might just become your new favorite thing to make with pesto. There’s not a leaf of basil in sight! Instead, fresh cilantro and Anaheim or poblano chile peppers shine in the Tex-Mex twist on pesto. This verdant steak topping makes for a natural pairing for the savory meat and the zesty, chili powder- and espresso-spiked spice rub. View Recipe 12 of 14 Pizza Bread with Arugula Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes Whether you enjoy it as an appetizer, a side dish for pasta or soup, or as a next-level sandwich-starter, this is one of the ultimate things to make with pesto when you have a lot to use up. Start with store-bought or homemade pizza dough, then opt for purchased or our punchy arugula-walnut pesto. (Psst…this makes about 1 ¼ cup, if you’re trading in jarred pesto.) Then top with slices of roasted Roma tomatoes and bake until golden brown. We have a tough time stopping at just one slice! View Recipe 13 of 14 Pesto Pasta with Charred Radicchio Carson Downing Go your own way with this ultra-customizable vegetarian pasta recipe. The any-herb pesto is more of a formula than a recipe. Select your toasted nut or seed, your favorite finely-grated hard cheese, and any one (or a mix of) tender herbs or greens, then process those with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and an ice cube (to shock the herbs and ward off browning). Toss this foolproof sauce with pasta and roasted radicchio and you’ve got a restaurant-quality meal in just 25 minutes. View Recipe 14 of 14 Pesto Chicken Sandwiches Blaine Moats True, the set-and-forget appliance is more of a menu MVP in winter, but this slow cooker chicken recipe is a year-round favorite any time we’re hosting a casual crowd. A big loaf of ciabatta, slow-cooked chicken and veggies, and our favorite element—a generous layer of pesto-mayo—turn into a feast for 8 that asks for relatively little hands-on time. Test Kitchen Tip: Make a double or triple batch of the pesto-mayo spread, then use the extra on breakfast sandwiches and lunch deli sandwiches later in the week. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! 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