I've loved pesto sauce since my first taste. I'm pretty sure it was just store bought pesto in a jar though. I have also learned just in the last year that all 3 of my kids love it too. I can put my homemade pesto on just about anything and my boys will chow down. The biggest bummer about buying jar pesto sauce is the cost, but I do understand why it costs a bit. Those pine nuts, basil and Parmesan really add up when you're trying to make a homemade batch of this great green sauce.

Poor Man's Pesto Sauce with basil in bowl

Why it's the "Poor Man's" Pesto

I've made pesto a bit over the last few years, but I've always cringed at paying the price for bulk pine nuts and of course you need to add in the cost of a large bundle of basil and Parmesan cheese. The last couple times I made pesto I had a huge amount of basil I had to use from my husband's garden so I decided to experiment with new ingredients.

I replaced pine nuts with sunflower seed kernals. The only reason I tried them was because these little kernals have a similar shape and look to them as pine nuts, and it was my husband's idea. They're about a third of the cost and they're a great source of magnesium, vitamin E and other vitamins, check it out here.

My next replacement was the Parmesan cheese for Asagio cheese. I credit this replacement with my Costco discovery of their Asagio cheese block. I love the stuff! It's has a similar sharp nutty taste like Parmasen, but about half the cost.

Poor Man's Pesto Sauce with basil, garlic and sunflower seeds

Garden Greens

My last money saving option for Poor Man's pesto is not a replacement, just an option; home grown basil. My husband is the gardener in our family and he always grows basil for us and it grows like a weed, so that's the cheapest way to get tons for fragrant basil for cooking. It's such a pleasure getting fresh herbs and some veggies from right outside our back door and what a great cost and health saving measure.

Poor Man's Pesto Sauce on spaghetti with asiago cheese

Try this pesto anywhere you might want to add that great green goodness to your dish. It's very simple to make with a Food Processor

or Blender

. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Poor Man's Pesto Sauce

Print Recipe

Makes 1.5 cups of Pesto Sauce. You can adjust the olive oil amount based on your thickness desire or once you make a dish requiring pesto, you can add a little cream, oil or maybe pasta water to thin out your sauce.

Author: Katia
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Category: Condiment/Sauce

Ingredients

Scale

2.5 oz. fresh basil, (About 1 ½ cups stuffed) stems removed
½ cup sunflower seed kernels, lightly toasted (unsalted if you can find it)
½ cup shredded Asiago cheese, tightly packed (you can of course use Parmesan if you prefer)
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped or smashed
½ tsp ground sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
½ cup extra virgin olive oil (adjust to your liking for consistency)

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Instructions

Add all ingredients except olive oil to food processor (my preference) or blender.
Give the ingredients a few pulses to start breaking up everything.
Slowly pulse in olive oil about a tablespoon at a time till all oil is in and continue pulsing to desired consistency.
You can adjust the consistency here with more oil if needed, taste and adjust salt and pepper also to your liking.
Enjoy immediately or chill in fridge. The longer it sits in the fridge, the better the flavors will meld.

Notes

Use immediately or store in fridge 3 days or freeze extra in ice cube trays or small baggies for future use.[br]To use in cooking from frozen, place frozen unopened baggie in cool water for a while to start thawing or warm a frozen cube in microwave for just a few seconds at a time.[br]For pasta, mix thawed pesto into warm cooked pasta, add a little extra oil, cooked pasta water, milk or cream if wanting a creamier taste.