Make Pesto So Much More Flavorful With One Simple Oil Swap

A good pesto should be savory, bright, herbaceous, salty, and nutty. With simple components like parmesan, basil, and pine nuts, the ingredients need to be excellent for the end product to really shine. Using lots of fresh basil, a good quality extra virgin olive oil, and imported Parmigiano Reggiano are standard ways to take your pesto from average to amazing. But along with our tips for making the best pesto, there's another way to make homemade pesto even better: Swapping plain olive oil for an infused oil.  

This switch will really ramp up the flavor of your homemade pesto by adding another dimension to the sauce. If you've never infused an oil at home before, it's pretty straightforward and easy to do, especially with our advice on how to infuse olive oil. If the oil isn't going to be heated, it's important to use a quality extra virgin olive oil to get the best flavor from the infusion. Garlic oil would amplify the muted garlic flavors of pesto, using either raw or roasted and caramelized garlic cloves for variations on the aromatic flavor. For a powerful punch of umami, you could even make a flavorful black garlic oil that would lend more intense savory notes to the pesto.

For extra brightness, use a lemon-infused olive oil to elevate the citrus notes of a bright and fresh pesto recipe; the sweet acidity of the lemons is a great contrast to the salty cheese and fatty pine nuts and oil. If you're making a Sicilian pesto, known as pesto alla trapanese, which includes almonds and cherry tomatoes, make a homemade tomato oil to use in the red pesto. You can save the rest of the tomato-infused oil to drizzle on pasta, pizza, or seafood. When you're looking for a bit of spice in your life, chili oil or oil infused with red pepper flakes will bring heat to homemade pesto without creating an overtly spicy sauce.

Whether it's for homemade pesto, garnishing a dish, or making an herb oil, remember that for the best flavor, basil should always be torn by hand. When attempting to infuse an oil at home, keep in mind that ratios matter when mixing up flavorful herb oils. After making pesto with an infused oil, put it to good use with some of our absolute best ways to use pesto. If you find yourself lacking time but wanted an extra potent pesto, check out or favorite ways to add more flavor to store-bought pesto.