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I'm making some pasta at home with a pesto sauce. The recipe I'm referring to asks for some basil leaves to go along with the pine nuts in the food processor. Unfortunately, I can't find basil where I live, and I'm looking for a something else to put instead. What's a good substitute? For that matter, what does basil taste like -- is it like spinach?

Yejus
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    but pesto _is_ basil, mostly anyway. You can make a green sauce, but it won't be pesto. Pesto w/o basil is like an omelette w/o eggs. – dandavis Jul 21 '20 at 05:17
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    what part of the world do you live, if I may ask? It might be easier to figure out substitutes you are able to find there. – Luciano Jul 21 '20 at 10:01
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    @Luciano OP's profile says Singapore. I'm amazed there's anything you can't get in Singapore, to be honest. I'm sure that basil must be available there somewhere.... Actually, I just did a quick search, and there's a dozen places I found with zero effort that supply fresh Basil all over Singapore. – J... Jul 21 '20 at 13:41
  • Pine nuts are more of a defining feature than basil IMO. Basil pesto is most common, but there are plenty. Spinach doesn't taste like basil, but sure you can make a green pesto from it. Red coloured pestos made from peppers or sundried tomatoes are almost as common as basil in the UK, I'd say. An Italian would tell you 'pesto' just means 'pounding', and when you say 'pesto is basil' you're thinking narrowly of 'pesto alla genovese' (Genoan pesto). Basil is delicious & nothing tastes particularly like it, certainly not spinach; but it's easy grow, keep a little pot on your kitchen windowsill! – OJFord Jul 21 '20 at 16:26
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    Has anyone tried holy Basil? Though it is little spicy but it has the same minty flavor – Ojasvi Jul 21 '20 at 16:36
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    @Oj16: I wouldn’t say pine nuts are more defining than basil. I’ve had pesto made with many other nuts instead of basil — brazil, walnut, cashew, almond — and it changes the flavour significantly, just like subbing other herbs for basil does, but it still gives the same basic effect. Brazil nuts work particularly well. – PLL Jul 21 '20 at 21:10
  • @PLL it's not Oj16; actually the person you are referring to is OJFord. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ – Ojasvi Jul 21 '20 at 21:17
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    Nothing is a "defining feature" of pesto. Pesto just means "paste". You can make it from anything. It's pesto alla genovese that's a specific recipe, but the OP did not specify that. – FuzzyChef Jul 22 '20 at 05:11
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    It is funny that one can suggest a substitute because of it having minty flavor when minty flavor is what should be avoided in pesto. At least if pesto is pesto genovese. – Alchimista Jul 22 '20 at 07:16
  • Rocket (arugula) is a popular alternative. – Strawberry Jul 22 '20 at 14:02
  • Also, if you've got the space for a small herb garden (even just a planter pot indoors will work), basil is a hardy plant that grows well in pretty much any climate. I'm certain you can get seeds shipped to most places, and I wouldn't be surprised to find already live plants in most parts of the world. I've often had the opposite problem - basil grows so quickly without any assistance that I generally have more than I can possibly use. – Darrel Hoffman Jul 22 '20 at 16:31
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    @FuzzyChef The Italian word _pesto_ may well mean "paste"; the English word pesto, however, does not. You wouldn't use toothpesto for brushing your teeth, or wallpaper pesto for hanging wallpaper. Pesto in English _basically_ means _pesto alla genovese_, which is why everyone is talking about that. – AakashM Jul 23 '20 at 09:13
  • Off-topic a bit: Pine nuts are expensive AF, and substituting parts of them with almonds works decently well. Especially if you're already replacing the core Basil the flavor profile will be so different that it doesn't matter much ihmo – Hobbamok Jul 23 '20 at 13:14
  • @FuzzyChef "Biscuit" means "cooked twice", but I don't think anyone would suggest that a suitable substitute for biscuits would be *anything you cooked twice*. – J... Jul 24 '20 at 11:55
  • Sun-dried tomato pesto, pesto alla Trapanese, Ligurian pesto, cilantro pesto, pesto di rucola, etc. These are all "pesto", they are all traditional, and they are all delicious on pasta. You absolutely cannot assume that pesto means pesto alla Genovese, it's just one of many. – FuzzyChef Jul 25 '20 at 04:44

7 Answers7

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If we're talking about the big classic pesto alla genovese, then unfortunately...

There is no substitute.

Basil is the majority ingredient in pesto. None of the other suggestions here will taste even remotely similar. You'll be making a completely different dish entirely. It will be some type of vegetable/oil paste, but it will not taste anything at all like pesto.

It would be like trying to make baked beans without beans, or french onion soup without onions. These ingredients are so dominant and so essential to the flavour of the dish that there's literally nothing left without them. Just forget about it and make something else. It won't be pesto without basil - not even close.

Critically, if you're using this pesto as a component in a larger dish then it definitely will not come out correctly with any of these substitutions. Pesto is used in a lot of ways and every recipe that asks for it is expecting the flavour profile of a basil pesto. No substitution will be effective in this case, and each recipe that calls for pesto will have its own unique flavour profiles that will clash in various different ways with each of these substitutions.

If you're desperate, whatever substitutions you do end up making will depend heavily on what you're ultimately doing with the pesto - what you're pairing it with. We don't know what that is, so it makes it that much harder again to make a reasonable suggestion.

J...
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    +1 but it should be mentioned that there _are_ lots of sauces called “pesto” that, unlike the original _pesto alla genovese_ (which is what the question and this answer are about), don't have basil as the main ingredient. – leftaroundabout Jul 21 '20 at 12:18
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    @leftaroundabout Agreed, I think it's obvious OP is talking about the same pesto we're all talking about, but fair point. I've clarified. – J... Jul 21 '20 at 12:35
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The good news is, you can make pesto almost out of any green using the same process and proportions as with basil -- it just changes the flavor profile. I make pesto-style sauces out of chives, cilantro, kale, arugula... I would not be surprised to find you could make a spinach pesto. Basil tastes very different from spinach, though.

franko
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    I've made some with radish leaves and white japanese turnip leaves. – Max Jul 20 '20 at 21:02
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    Spinach pesto tastes good. I had made once. – Ojasvi Jul 20 '20 at 21:56
  • I've even heard of pesto made with broccoli as the 'green' component - never tried it myself – Blargant Jul 21 '20 at 05:10
  • carrot leaves and rocket works great for pesto – aashii Jul 21 '20 at 07:14
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    ... not only any green: red pesto from dried tomatoes is a thing, too. – henning Jul 21 '20 at 08:20
  • I can recommend rocket and green peas as an alternative green. – Toivo Säwén Jul 21 '20 at 10:50
  • One of my favorite non-basil pestos is primarily parsley & pumpkin seeds (pepitas). – Michael Seifert Jul 21 '20 at 13:37
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    "Basil tastes very different from spinach" - understatement of the year? :) – Joe M Jul 21 '20 at 14:24
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    Also: garlic scapes, carrot greens, and parsley work. In fact, most American delivery pizza "pesto" is parsley-walnut pesto, which is significantly cheaper than basil-pine nut to make. – FuzzyChef Jul 22 '20 at 05:09
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    You can also skip the greens and make a paste out of other things. Sun dried tomatoes, garlic and pine nuts is a good combo, as is the classic Trapanese combo, fresh tomatoes, almonds and garlic. All of these are good on pasta. – FuzzyChef Jul 22 '20 at 05:12
  • I would add *nettles* to the list, the tiny spring nettles. They have to be boiled for a minute or so first so that they don't burn you. – Rulle Jul 23 '20 at 05:22
  • Yep, we have a large herb garden and we just go out, pluck anything herb like and put it in a blender – Hobbamok Jul 23 '20 at 13:14
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There are a lot of varieties of basil, that have some subtle differences in taste, but there's usually a mild background of licorice. (And honestly, basil was ruined for me for many years after my mom mentioned it, because I hate licorice.)

Cook's Thesaurus recommends :

oregano OR thyme OR tarragon OR summer savory OR equal parts parsley and celery leaves OR cilantro (This works well in pesto.) OR mint (especially in Thai cuisine)

Personally, I'd just go with flat leaf parsley or some other tender, mild green leaf, and a bit of oregano and/or tarragon. (but only if you can get them fresh, do not use dried herbs for pesto).

You could also consider making some of the other varieties of pesto, as not all use basil.

Joe
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Good news for you: you can make pesto out of just about anything. The word "pesto" actually refers to the manner it is traditionally made (with a mortar and pestle) and shares etymology with both "pestle" and "paste". And that's basically what a pesto is: a paste. In English-speaking countries, "pesto" is typically used to refer to pesto alla genovese these days - the one you're probably thinking of, with basil and pine nuts and olive oil and cheese. And if you're looking for something as close to that as possible, there's lots of great advice in the other answers about herbs you can substitute for basil. But feel free to be inventive! Pick your favorite herb, whichever nuts you like the taste of (or none at all), add garlic oil instead of olive oil... whatever suits your fancy. Rest assured that your own recipe is just as authentically a "pesto" as anything you can buy in a jar.

A personal favorite of mine is to use sage and ricotta. I've even seen pesto made with cilantro (and for those of you who have cilantro soap mouth, note that pulverizing the cilantro denatures the chemical that causes this unpleasant taste for you).

And while we're on the subject, if you want to learn a ton about pesto the first episode of the four-part Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat miniseries (the "Fat" episode) covers pesto. It's a good watch if you love Italian cuisine.

Empiromancer
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I'd look at making Chermoula, which is based on cilantro, and cumin. It's also a paste, useful as a sauce or on its own. It's delicious!

Here is my go-to recipe: Chermoula

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted 1 cup cilantro (small stems ok)

1 teaspoon fresh ginger (a thin slice about the size of a quarter)

3 garlic cloves 1/3 scant cup olive oil Zest from 1/2 lemon (about 1-2 tsp) 2 tablespoons lemon juice, preserved lemon optional 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 3/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste 1-2 fronds saffron 1 red arbol/cayenne chili, deseeded, chopped.

Toast seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring until fragrant and golden.

Coarsely chop the cilantro and parsley. A scissors is a good tool for this; point it tip down in the measuring cup and cut the leaves. Then place them in a food processor and chop very fine, or chop on a cutting board. You should have 1 cup finely chopped herbs.

Place the garlic and salt in a mortar and puree. Add a small handful of the chopped herbs, and gently but firmly grind until the herbs begin to dissolve. Add another handful. When all of the herbs have been mashed, work in the spices, 1/3 cup olive oil and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add more olive oil or salt if desired. Serve with grilled fish and/or vegetables, or with chicken.

Steven True
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I have used garlic mustard in a pesto recipe. It was OK but it was not pesto. I don't plan a repeat.

We have too much of it; it's invasive.

https://www.invasive.org/alien/pubs/midatlantic/alpe.htm

Ethan Bolker
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I feel like mint may be the closest thing in flavor to basil, though it's not really close, and is too strong. Tarragon is also has something in common with Basil. I would maybe try spinach for bulk, with some mint and tarragon, using a ratio of around 4:2:1

Adam Weston
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