The Best Cilantro Pesto! ✅
Serves 12 · isabeleats.com
Ingredients
- 3 cups loosely packed cilantro
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/3 cup cotija cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 3 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 1/2 limes)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Steps
Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse until mostly smooth.
Notes
Makes about 1 1/2 cups pesto.
When measuring the cilantro, there’s no need to remove the leaves from the stems. Simply remove and discard any extra long stems, and then loosely pack the cilantro into a measuring cup.
Don’t have cotija cheese? Use crumbled feta or shredded parmesan cheese instead. They both have a similar flavor and the perfect amount of saltiness like cotija cheese!
Instead of sliced almonds, you can use pine nuts. Or if you have whole almonds, just give them a quick chop before measuring them out.
Don’t have red onions? Use white onions instead, or you can completely leave them out. The pesto will still be delicious.