Many of us are trying to cut down on the amount of ultra-processed foods we eat right now. Making your own ingredients such as pasta sauces at home is a great way to do this, as this way, you know exactly what you’re putting into them.
Pesto is always a winner when you want something delicious to serve with Italian-inspired meals. It’s also very easy to make, as it involves just a few ingredients, one of which is pine nuts. However, these can be pretty expensive – but turns out you can make a tasty pesto with a far cheaper alternative.
Chef Jerome, also known as @jeromecooksfood on TikTok, often posts helpful videos on how to make healthier versions of your favourite shop-bought groceries in a bid to help people cut down on their ultra-processed food intake.
In a recent video, he whipped up his own batch of pesto and compared it to a premade jar, ranking them both in terms of price and taste.
Unsurprisingly, his own creation came out on top. However, instead of using pine nuts, he added walnuts instead, claiming this results in a ‘creamier’ sauce.
A 200g bag of walnuts from Asda costs £2.23, while a 100g bag of pine nuts costs even more at £3.16, so it’s definitely the more affordable option. Here’s how you can make it at home.
How to make walnut pesto
Ingredients (makes 100g)
- 30g basil leaves
- 15g grated parmesan
- 15g walnuts
- 30ml olive oil
- One garlic clove
- Pinch of salt
Method
Put all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Jerome says if you want to plan ahead, you can make this pesto in advance and freeze the portions in an ice cube tray.
Then, you can just take out a cube or two whenever you need it to make dinner.
Comparing the homemade pesto with shop bought, Jerome noted that the premade version contained cheaper sunflower oil and added ingredients like potato flakes and natural flavourings.
Tasting the supermarket pesto, he said: “It’s not great. It’s quite oily, and tastes harsh and acidic.”
On the other hand, his homemade pesto was ‘fresh, creamy and light,’ with a ‘much softer’ taste.
