Every year I get giddy when my Thai Basil gets large enough to harvest, because I know it is time for Thai Basil Pesto! Read more for where I get my Thai Basil plants, what I use this amazing pesto for and most importantly the RECIPE!
Ahhh…Thai Basil, isn’t it beautiful! I grow mine in a pot on my back deck (Thai Basil likes it hot and sunny). I use a large pot and usually plant both regular basil and thai basil together (because of course I’m going to make some regular pesto this summer as well! And caprese. Of course caprese.).
I get my plants from Marshall’s Gardens, a little gem in the Minneapolis suburbs. I was really nervous this year, because I planted my garden and pots so late (cold temps + late snows + traveling = unorganized me). Luckily, I had nothing to worry about. They still had a few of these beauties and since I planted them in my pot on my deck, they’re growing like wildfire!
Making the Thai Basil Pesto is SO easy! Just throw everything into your food processor. Pulse until a pesto-like texture and remove to a glass container for storage. One bowl to clean. The ONLY bad thing is that each batch doesn’t make more. The good news is Thai Basil Pesto is so flavorful you won’t need more than a little bit to flavor your food!
Now that you have your Thai Basil Pesto, how can you use it? My favorite is for Thai Basil Noodle Bowls (combine rice noodles (affiliate link), vegetables and a Tablespoon of Thai Basil Pesto. It is also great on grilled chicken, beef or salmon! Mix it with some rice and vegetables for an Asian Inspired Stir Fry!
Looking for some jars to store this pesto? I use these wide mouth 8 ounce jars (affiliate link) if I am going to use it all. I divide the pesto in half and freeze in these 4 ounce jars (affiliate link) if I’m not going to use it all within the week. In fact I store almost everything in these kinds of jars!
Thai Basil Pesto
This summary Thai Basil Pesto is the perfect addiction to noodles, fish, chicken, beef or rice! Full of flavor, it comes together in 5 minutes in the food processor!
Ingredients
- 2 cups thai basil leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 Tablespoons peanuts
- 1.5 Tablespoons dark sesame oil
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon fish sauce (soy sauce if you're vegetarian!)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
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Place all ingredients in the food processor and pulse until a pesto-like consistency.
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Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator.
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This will keep for approximately 4 days in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.
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This looks so delicious. Can I use pine nuts instead of peanuts? Thanks
Absolutely! Since pine nuts work so well in traditional pesto, I’m sure they would work great here as well!
Thai basil is so good – but not as good as this pesto! It’s absolutely delicious in salads and on my sandwiches 🙂
Thai basil makes everything better!
I LOVE all things pesto! This recipe looks amazing!
Thanks 😉
Thai basil is my favorite variety! Such amazing flavor. Yum!
AGREE!! Thanks for visiting!
This is SUCH a great recipe for that fast-growing Thai basil! I added a splash of lime juice, a bit of Sriracha, and used 1 T ground flax seeds and 1 T raisins instead of peanuts, and added less brown sugar. This will be gone in no time! Thank you for the best recipe for Thai basil pesto!
What a great idea to add flax and raisins! So happy you enjoyed the recipe. Happy eating!
Thai Basil easily grows from seed.
I’ll have to try this! I have had terrible luck with seedlings lately, but I’m already looking forward to next year!
I have a huge Thai basil plant in my garden this year that I wasn’t quite sure what to use it for until I saw your recipe. Just made this and tasted it – both my husband and I love it!!! I plan on having it over some zoodles tonight for dinner and a steak on the side 🙂 I used monkfruit instead of the brown sugar and a little less red pepper flakes. this recipe is a keeper!!!
I love the idea of using monkfruit to cut down on the sugar. So happy you found a “keeper!”
Thanks for the recipe inspiration, Lane and Holly! I was looking for a recipe to use up my balcony-grown Thai basil and was so happy to find your pesto recipe. The pesto turned out gorgeous, we had it with wide rice noodles. I added a couple of mint leaves to the peseto, I find they enriched and deepened the flavor. Yummy!
Cheers,
Ramona
What a great idea to add the mint leaves. We will have to give it a try!
This was just the type of recipe that I was searching for, something to use the Thai basil shrub in my herb bed! Next time I’ll leave out the sesame oil (I thought that the flavor was too noticeable). I used fresh lime juice in place of rice wine vinegar, and doubled the amount. Organic cane sugar for the brown sugar (same amount). Because this was a thicker consistency that the Italian pesto that I make, I emulsified it with additional oil (light olive oil) and processed until smooth. Delicious with shrimp, veggies, and rice noodles I froze the remainder in ice cube trays, then popped these into a plastic freezer bag, to use all winter long.
These are all great substitutions!
Great recipe and great suggestions in the comments, but if you happen to either grow or have access to a couple of Thai peppers to replace the pepper flakes, depending on your “hot” tolerance, the flavor enhancement is remarkable.