Basil and Walnut Pesto with Cheddar | Somebody Feed Seb (2024)

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Pesto doesn’t have to be made with parmesan and pine nuts to taste amazing! What is more, Pesto is extremely versatile: fill your toasties with it, make delicious pasta dishes or thin it with a little oil and drizzle over your fish and poultry dishes. Our quick, simple, and extremely flavoursome Basil and Walnut Pesto can be made with your everyday Cheddar!

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Homemade vs Shop-Bought Pesto

One of the simplest and quickest meals we make is Pesto Pasta with lots of vegetables. The one thing that takes it to another level is homemade pesto. I’ll admit, I used to buy pesto for years. Until one day I had a pot of basil that was starting to look a bit sorry for itself on my window sill. I made my own Cheddar pesto and never looked back.

Since then, I’ve made numerous types of pesto, experimenting with different herbs, nuts, and cheese. Here, I present to you, my absolute favourite – Basil and Walnut Pesto with Cheddar! Quick and easy to make, it packs lots more flavour than a shop-bought pesto!

Ingredients

Have you ever asked yourself: ‘Can I use Cheddar instead of Parmesan in pesto?’. Well, we will tell you straight up: the answer is YES!

Simple delicious ingredients are what make this pesto: fragrant fresh basil, sharp mature cheddar, pungent garlic, walnuts, and zingy lemon, all finished with extra virgin olive oil.

This pesto has been tested with toasted and untoasted walnuts. I found that it’s slightly too bitter if I use toasted nuts. But the addition of lemon zest, alongside lemon juice, adds just the right amount of bitterness.

Method

To make this pesto you need either a food processor (or even a powerful smoothie maker/ blender) or a large pestle and mortar.

Using a Food Processor

If you’re using a food processor, all you need is to put all the ingredients, except for olive oil, into the processor and blitz until you reach a consistency that you like. Then mix in extra virgin olive oil at the end. Similarly, you can make pesto in a powerful blender/ smoothie maker. This method is great if you want a smooth pesto, without much texture.

Using a Pestle and Mortar

If you’re using a pestle and mortar, I recommend you chop your ingredients finely first to make your life easier. Put everything, but grated cheddar and olive oil in pestle and mortar, and crush until desired consistency is reached. Mix in cheese and olive oil at the end. Your pesto may have a more rustic look but will taste just as delicious. We actually prefer our pesto with a little bit of extra texture.

What To Use Walnut and Cheddar Pesto For?

The amounts in this recipe are for 3 portions of pasta. But I don’t want you to think that that’s all it can be used for. We love homemade pesto with cheddar used in a variety of different ways:

• Spread the pesto on the slices of bread, top with cheese and make delicious toasties.
• Mix your pesto with ground almonds, walnuts or breadcrumbs and spread on white fish before cooking in the oven.
• Pesto makes a delicious pizza topping too.

Other Sauce and Dip Recipes

• Basil & Hazelnut Pesto
• Plum and Red Onion Chutney
• Chipotle Yogurt Dressing + Dip

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