Thread: Freezing Fresh Pesto(Also freezing basil)

I would love to have your recipes & take on freezing fresh pesto(& fresh basil).Some say dont freeze pesto with the nuts,some say leave the cheese out etc.etc.I need to know the best,easiest/fastest way to do this as i'm not able to research/sit at my p.c. for long periods of time,due to health reasons & to make pesto for hours is not an options either.DH planted a small garden & there is lots of basil coming on all at once.T/y so much.

I haven't done it in a long time, but I used to make and freeze lots of pesto. I always put the nuts and cheese in it as usual. I used yogurt cups (washed out, obviously) and then put a very thin layer of olive oil on top -- just enough to coat the top of the pesto. The oil "seals out" the air. It kept in the freezer very well for a long time and was always good when I went to use it.

For freezing fresh basil:

Freeze an individual layer of leaves, uncovered, on waxed or parchment paper ontop of a cookie sheet. Pop in a ziploc!

I make it without the cheese. After the food processor, it is put in snack sized ziplock bags.

When I first started doing it, I made it with the cheese. Because of the kind of cook I am, everything is last minute. I would take it out of the freezer and nuke it. It just didn't nuke as easily with cheese in it. So, I have been freezing it without the cheese. That way I can remove from freezer nuke it until hot, fold into hot pasta and sprinkle with cheese.

I have done chopped basil(in a little olive oil to help hold the color). Michaels craft store sells these tiny little ziplock bags. I can put 1-2T. flatten to get the air out and then put all the tiny bags in a larger one in the freezer.

mmmm, can anyone share their recipe? I've never made pesto before and paying $3 something a 1/2 bottle is steep!