by A delightfully Easy Homemade Artichoke Pesto sauce made with oil and vinegar preserved artichokes, walnuts and parsley. This pesto is bursting with unmistakable fresh flavours and comes together in mere minutes.
Nowadays its quite easy to find a variety of pesto sauces in your local grocery stores.
But for once, I urge you to skip the store bought variety and try a homemade version from your own kitchen. Once you do, you’ll never go back!
For one, the flavours are far more superior! But mostly its really just so, so easy to make your own.
A food processor speeds up the process but also a hand held emulsion blender would work equally well here.
Also a homemade pesto can be customized to your own personal tastes. The walnuts can be substituted with almonds or other favourite nuts.
And if you follow a vegan diet, you can simply omit the Parmesan cheese. This would still give you quite a flavourful and tasty sauce with all the nutritional benefits.
Artichokes are one of the more staple vegetables I grew up with and just adore. But I admit that they’re quite a chore to clean and require lots of hands on experience to trim.
To simplify this pesto sauce I opted for oil and vinegar packed artichokes with the stems attached that are sold in glass jars. I drained them well and patted them down with paper towels because I really wanted the taste of my extra virgin olive oil to come through.
However, you can use frozen artichokes but just remember to thaw them first!
How To Use Artichoke Pesto
There are many ways you can enjoy this Easy Homemade Artichoke Pesto.
You can use it as a condiment in your favourite sandwich, much as I do when preparing my Pan Grilled Chicken Panini
Or you can slather the pesto over crostini as a quick appetizer.
It’s also equally delicious accompanied alongside poultry or fish and makes an amazing quick sauce to toss with pasta of your choice.
Speaking of pasta, I would definitely say that these Trucchetti noodles with the elongated and twisted shapes make a perfect pairing with the creamy pesto sauce.
The twisted form creates little crevices which traps and cradles the artichoke pesto and delivers lots of yummy goodness in every bite.
First off, when tossing the pasta with the pesto use some of the cooked pasta water to thin the sauce. Use only as much as needed to ensure even distribution throughout the pasta dish.
As a result you’ll be enjoying a wonderfully delicious pasta meal with a delightful creamy and flavourful sauce!
Buon Appetito!
If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!
Easy Homemade Artichoke Pesto
Ingredients
- 12 ounce jar of oil packed artichokes
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cups firmly packed Italian parsley
- 2 generous pinches of chili pepper
- 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to your taste
Instructions
- In a food processor add the first 7 ingredients and with the motor running pour in the extra virgin olive oil and pulse just until you get a smooth paste.
- Stir in the salt and pepper to your taste.
- You can use artichoke pesto as a condiment in sandwiches, tossed with your favorite pasta or simply to enhance the flavors in a particular dish.
Notes
Wow ! This looks so fresh & wholesome !!
Thanks Megala…it’s a wonderful pesto sauce with so many ways to enjoy it!
I’m sure you already know… I will have to try this soon! Love, love your photos here! What is the name of the pasta your are using in the photo here?
The type of pasta I used is called “Trucchetti” which easily translates to “tricks” and it’s made with durum wheat semolina flour. My guess to the unusual naming of the pasta would be the swirl in the noodle that tricks and traps the sauce in its crevice? thanks so much Annika and I hope you get to try it!
I’m a huge artichoke fan. Love the idea of this pesto!
Thanks Ronit, it’s just perfect for quick and easy meals! My family loves it!
This looks and sounds delicious! I had no idea that pesto could be made with artichokes. I’ll have to mix things up a bit and give it a try!
Starr it’s just as simply as the more common basil pesto and there so much we can use it for and quite convenient to have around!
Looks delicious! Will definitely be making this soon.
Glad to hear you like it…it’s one of those easy and yummy go to recipes!
This sounds so wonderful Marisa!
Thank you Lyn…there is just so much we can use it for and makes dinner time easy and fuss free!
Yes nice
Well I must say that this is one kind of pesto I’ve never made! I can only imagine how delicious it is. I’d spread it on bread!
That’s exactly what I did today with my leftover artichoke pesto…spread it in a panini for a new recipe coming soon? I adore pesto for how easy it is to make and there is so much we can use it for!
Brilliant Marisa, simply brilliant!
Thank you Paula…it’s always great to have a good pesto on hand for quick meal ideas!
Thanks for sharing this new idea for pesto, it sounds great. I agree with you about Trucchetti pasta…their shape definitely grabs hold of a sauce like this perfectly.
Hi Karen, it’s an easy go to recipe and perfect for a quick pasta craving!
I absolutely love this recipe, especially since you do not have to prepare artichokes. Great for summer or any entertaining.
So happy to hear you like it Paula! Using pre-prepared artichokes sure takes the fuss out of making this pesto…I always like to have a jar on hand?
This looks so delicious! I can’t wait to try it! I love your blog!
It’s such a flavourful sauce that you’ll find many usages for it! Thanks Kelly!