Three simple and delicious recipes made with basil!
When I find a recipe that’s easy to make, I make it a lot. And when I find easy,
quick, tasty food, I like to share it with you. Cause I’m nice like that. 🙂
Basil is one of my favorite herbs, and is so easy to grow at home! I usually
have WAY too much and am always looking for ways to use it up.
I found these basil recipes years ago and they are still staples around here.
If you’re looking for ways to use up your crop or just love basil like me,
you’ll enjoy these three recipes made with this delicious herb. I’ve included my
favorite snack idea, a pasta dish (actually two!) and a delicious cocktail to finish it all
off. 😉
First up, one that works for a quick snack or as a great dip for parties. It’s
SO simple to throw together!
1. Easy basil pesto
Pesto is a great way to use up a lot of basil and it’s easy to
make!
I usually make a small amount, so this is for a snack
sized version. Perfect for just a few people! (And a little goes a looong way in pasta.)
The great thing about this recipe is you can easily customize the taste to how
you like it. I don’t use exact measurements:
EASY BASIL PESTO
Grated Parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil
One clove of
garlic (or one teaspoon minced)
Basil leaves
Salt to taste
Pine nuts (although these are expensive and I think it tastes just as good
without!)
There’s no preparation needed, other than washing your basil leaves and
patting them dry.
This post may contain affiliate links for
your convenience.
I may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links.
Mix to the consistency you desire. My
mini food processor
is perfect for small recipes like this! I’ve had this one for 15 years and it’s still kicking.
Taste test it to see if you’d like more of any ingredient. If it’s too thick,
add a splash of olive oil. Too bland? Add more garlic or basil.
I LOVE basil, so I add a lot of it and a little more garlic than the recipe suggests.
Taste and mix till it’s where you want it. I like to eat it with crackers or
cut up veggies:
If you’ll be eating this with salty crackers, hold back on the amount of salt you add to the dip.
You can also add it to pasta — so good! This is my favorite way to eat pesto:
When mixing with pasta, you’ll want to add a little extra olive oil to help it mix well.
By the way, yes, you can freeze pesto. Make a bunch and save some!
Spoon your fresh pesto into ice cube trays and freeze to add to recipes or thaw for
later.
Now that we have an appetizer, let’s move on to the main course. 🙂
2. Easy Tomato and Basil Pasta
FRESH TOMATO AND BASIL PASTA
3 medium tomatoes, chopped (or one canned)
1/3 cup chopped basil
leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic or 1/2 teaspoon
minced (add more if you like garlic)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces pasta, uncooked (about one and a
half cups)
3/4 to 1 cup grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
This dish really couldn’t get any easier! Mix everything together while
cooking your pasta:
I had two cans of tomatoes in the pic above, but you only need one. It’s more
than enough!
But again, this is another easy recipe that you can tweak to meet your tastes.
Mix with the cooked pasta, and top with some more parmesan. That’s it!
I like to throw mine in a pan for a bit to warm the cheese, but it’s not
necessary:
You can add a little Italian seasoning in as well, but there’s so
much flavor in this dish it’s not needed.
It would be delicious with chicken or veggies, but SO good as is:
It’s light, fresh, and pretty darn healthy…at least if you use whole wheat
pasta. 🙂
You can also make it as a pasta salad by rinsing the pasta after cooking
then refrigerating it.
I have yet to try it cold, but that sounds delicious too.
3. Dragonberry Strawberry Basil cocktail
Let’s finish off this trio with a yummy drink, shall we?
This basil cocktail has become one of my favorites.
Yes, basil…in a drink. I promise you, it’s good! This fizzy and fresh berry drink is perfect for a warm summer evening.
There’s just a hint of basil in this strawberry basil lemonade drink:
STRAWBERRY BASIL LEMONADE COCKTAIL
2 parts Bacardi Dragonberry Rum
1 part lemon juice
1 part simple
syrup or sweet lime juice
Basil leaves
Strawberries
(hulled and chopped)
2 parts Sprite or other clear fizzy soda
To make this yumminess, muddle (crush) basil leaves and strawberries
together:
If you don’t LOVE basil, try this out with just one leaf to see what you think. The drink will taste great without the basil though. 🙂
Put that aside and move onto the rest of the ingredients.
I prefer to use fresh-squeezed lemons when I can, but bottled lemon juice is fine. Half of a lemon is perfect for one serving:
Add the lemon juice, simple syrup and Bacardi rum in a
shaker with a bunch of ice.
Shake well and pour into your glass of choice:
Once shaken, add the muddled ingredients and clear soda, then mix lightly so you don’t lose the fizz.
Then enjoy!:
This is SO good and is one of my favorite summer cocktails. (But I enjoy it all year!)
I would think this could be made none alcoholic by omitting the rum. It would be
a beautiful punch for a shower or party!
Again, if you don’t like basil, this may not be for you. But don’t count it
out if you’re not a basil fan!
The basil gives it just a little kick that is so different and fresh.
So there you go…a plethora of basil recipes, all easy and sooooo good. All
perfect if you grow your own basil — I always hate to have any go to waste.
