Mint Pesto
This bright, herb-forward Mint Pesto is made with fresh mint, flat-leaf parsley, toasted pistachios, lemon, and parmesan cheese. An ideal condiment or sauce for fish, pasta, or bean salads.
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This Mint Pesto is a bright, herb-forward sauce that brings a fresh Mediterranean character to everything it touches. Made with fresh mint, flat-leaf parsley, toasted pistachios, lemon, and a touch of Parmesan, it comes together in a food processor in minutes and keeps in the refrigerator all week.
Mint is one of those herbs that tends to take over — in the garden, in the produce drawer, and in any recipe that gets even a little too heavy-handed with it. This pesto channels that boldness in exactly the right direction. The parsley mellows the mint without muting it, the pistachios add richness and a subtle nuttiness, and the lemon keeps the whole thing bright and fresh.
If you’ve worked your way through the pesto collection on this blog, you already know that pesto is one of the most versatile sauces in the kitchen. This one earns a spot alongside my Dairy-Free Pesto as a summer staple. It has a different character entirely, but it’s just as useful.
Ingredients You’ll need
Here’s everything you need to make this mint pesto recipe.
- Fresh mint — One cup of packed mint leaves, stripped from the stems. Use spearmint or garden varieties instead of peppermint, which is too strong of a flavor.
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley — A half cup of packed flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems. Choose Italian flat-leaf parsley. It has more flavor than curly, and it holds up better in a blended sauce.
- Shelled pistachios — A third of a cup, roasted and unsalted for maximum flavor without overdoing the sodium. Pistachios bring a natural creaminess and a subtle sweetness that pairs well with mint.
- Garlic — Just one clove. Mint is assertive enough on its own, so a single clove keeps the garlic in a supporting role.
- Lemon — Both the zest and the juice. The zest adds aromatic brightness that juice alone doesn’t capture. About 2 tablespoons of lemon juice is needed.
- Parmesan cheese — A quarter cup, freshly grated. Adds a savory depth and helps bind the sauce. This is the one ingredient you can omit for a dairy-free or Whole30 version. The pesto is still excellent without the cheese.
- Extra-virgin olive oil — About a third of a cup, drizzled in slowly while the processor runs.
- Kosher salt and black pepper — To taste.
How to Make Mint Pesto
This pesto recipe comes together quickly in a food processor with no blanching, toasting, or cooking required.
Prep the herbs. Strip the mint and parsley leaves from their stems and give them a rough chop if they’re particularly large. Pack them into your measuring cups.
Pulse the base. Add the mint, parsley, pistachios, and garlic to the food processor. Pulse until everything is broken down into a coarse, even mixture, about 10 to 15 pulses. Scrape down the sides with a spatula.
Add the lemon and seasoning. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, parmesan cheese (if using), salt, and pepper. Pulse a few more times to combine.
Stream in the olive oil. With the processor running on low, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto comes together into a smooth, scoopable sauce. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt, pepper, or lemon as needed.
Transfer and store. Spoon the pesto into a jar. To keep it bright green, smooth out the top and cover it with a thin layer of olive oil to keep it from oxidizing and turning brown.
Ways to Use Mint Pesto
This pesto has a distinctly Mediterranean character that makes it incredibly versatile. A few of my favorite applications:
- Spoon it over baked or pan-seared white fish — cod, halibut, or haddock — for an instant sauce that feels far more effort than it is. It’s equally good on salmon.
- Toss it with cooked pasta and a splash of pasta water for a quick weeknight dinner.
- Stir a spoonful into a white bean salad alongside cherry tomatoes and red onion, where it works beautifully in place of a vinaigrette.
- Use it as a dip for crudité or spread it on toasted bread as a starter.
- Drizzle it over roasted vegetables for a bright finishing touch.
For a complete Mediterranean meal, serve it alongside my Cannellini Bean Salad with Cherry Tomatoes or with Fish en Papillote for a light dinner. The lemon and herb flavors in all of these recipes complement each other naturally.
Tips & Recipe Suggestions
A few things worth knowing before you make this:
If you’re using raw pistachios, toss them in a dry pan for 2 to 3 minutes before adding them to the food processor. This will help deepen the flavor. Let them cool before blending into the recipe.
Mint pesto oxidizes faster than basil pesto because mint leaves are more delicate. Keep it vibrant by adding a thin drizzle of olive oil over the top before sealing. This is the same storage method I use for my Dairy-Free Pesto, and it works beautifully.
For a dairy-free or Whole30 version, simply omit the parmesan. You can add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast in its place if you want a little savory depth without the cheese.
If you grow mint in your garden, this is exactly the recipe for when it starts taking over, which it seems to do every year. Fresh spearmint is the most widely available variety and works well for this. Peppermint is more intense and not right for this pesto. Stick with spearmint or common garden mint.
The ratio of mint to parsley can be adjusted to taste. More mint gives you a bolder, more assertive sauce. More parsley mellows it into something closer to a classic herb sauce.
Serving & Storage Tips
This Mint Pesto keeps well in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to five days or even longer if you keep the top “sealed” with an olive oil layer after each use. The flavor will continue to deepen a bit after a day or two in the refrigerator.
This recipe also freezes well for smaller portions. Spoon it into a silicone mold or ice cube tray, freeze until solid, then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag. Pull out a cube or two whenever you need a quick sauce for fish or pasta.
Mint Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves, packed
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, packed
- ⅓ cup shelled pistachios
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated (omit for dairy-free)
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Strip mint and parsley leaves from stems and pack into measuring cups.
- Add mint, parsley, pistachios, and garlic to a food processor. Pulse 10 to 15 times until coarsely combined. Scrape down the sides.
- Add lemon zest, lemon juice, parmesan if using, salt, and pepper. Pulse a few more times to combine.
- With the processor running on low, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto comes together into a smooth, scoopable sauce.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust salt, pepper, or lemon as needed.
- Transfer to a jar. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface or add a thin layer of olive oil on top to keep the pesto bright green.
Notes
- For a dairy-free or Whole30 version, omit the Parmesan. Substitute one tablespoon of nutritional yeast for savory depth if desired.
- Toasting the pistachios in a dry pan for 2 to 3 minutes before blending deepens their flavor. Let them cool completely before adding to the food processor.
- Mint pesto oxidizes faster than basil pesto. Store in an airtight jar with a thin layer of olive oil on top. Keeps for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
- Freezes well in an ice cube tray or silicone mold. Transfer frozen cubes to a freezer bag for storage up to 3 months.
- If you grow mint, spearmint or common garden mint works best. Peppermint is too intense for this recipe.
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