Lemony Garlic Basil Sauce is fresh and sweet with a hint of pepper. Drizzle on salads, sliced tomatoes, or spread over crusty bread.
The spring and summer months bring an array of fresh flavors to the Farmers Markets and for some your very own garden. If you’re like me you love enjoying basil all summer long. Basil can grow and grow! You may find yourself with a whole bunch of it wondering what you can make!
This sauce is super easy to whip up in less than 5 minutes using your food processor. I recommend using a food processor not a blender to make this recipe. When using a blender you often need to add additional liquid to properly combine the ingredients. In this case, that liquid would be more oil.
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fresh peppery basil
- Tart Lemon
- Flavor enhancing garlic
- Great as a salad dressing
- Drizzle on fresh or roasted vegetables
- Top on your favorite pasta
- Use as a pizza sauce
- Dip with crusty bread
- Drizzle on top of your own homemade bruschetta
🌿 Ingredients and Notes
Fresh Basil: Basil has a lemon peppery flavor, adding lemon and fresh cracked pepper to this sauce enhances those natural flavors.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil:
White Wine Vinegar: The white wine vinegar adds a bit of extra acidity to the sauce, but if you’re not a fan you can skip this ingredient and just add the lemon which I recommend not leaving out.
Lemon Juice: Adds a touch of acidity and freshness. Use fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
Garlic, Salt, and Black Pepper: Minced garlic cloves, salt, and black pepper are all the seasoning you need.
📋 Instructions for Basil Sauce
Step 1: Clean and wash basil leaves. Remove any leaves that are brown or discolored. Remove stems.
Step 2: Add fresh basil, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper to a food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are well combined. Transfer to a small airtight container. Keep in the refrigerator for up 2 days.
❓ Recipe FAQS
There are numerous ways you can use this basil sauce.
*Use as a salad dressing
*Top on soup
*Drizzle on fresh or roasted vegetables
*A dip for crusty bread
*Toss with fresh sliced tomatoes to make a tomato salad
*Use as a dressing for a pasta salad
Basil Sauce is often made with fresh basil leaves, lemon, garlic, and olive oil. The difference between a basil sauce and a pesto sauce is that pesto is often made with parmesan cheese and pine nuts. My vegan version of pesto is made with cashews for extra creaminess. This sauce leaves out the cashews and adds the lemon and garlic to create more of a dressing or light sauce that can be used with salads, and fresh vegetables rather than as a pasta sauce.
Basil is one of those sweet and peppery herbs that becomes a highlight in summer dishes. You can make a pesto sauce, and tear it to the top on fresh salads. But what if you want something simple you can use as a sauce over fresh vegetables, or as a vegan salad dressing or a simple spread? This Basil Sauce with Lemon and Garlic is just the thing! It’s so easy to make with only a handful of ingredients. When you’ve got overflowing basil in your garden, pull out your food processor, and whip this up in minutes. My favorite way to enjoy it is drizzled over fresh heirloom tomato slices. It’s a little on the tart side, which I enjoy. It uses a small amount of olive oil, and it’s big on flavor.
💭 Expert Tips
- Use fresh basil leaves, remove any leaves that are brown or discolored
- Remove stems before blending in the food processor
- Use fresh squeezed lemon juice. I use the juice of half a lemon
- Mince the garlic before adding to the food processor so you don’t get any chunks of garlic
📖 Variations
- No Olive Oil-Use vegetable stock or water.
- No Lemon-Just add the white wine vinegar.
- Don’t Like Vinegar-Just add the lemon juice.
- Don’t have enough basil-Use another leafy green such as argula or spinach. The taste will be slightly different. Spinach has a mild flavor so that will tone down the flavor of the basil. Arugula is peppery so that will add more of a pepper flavor to the sauce.
❄️ How to Store and Keep
This sauce is best made and enjoyed fresh. Basil has a tendency to brown if it sits too long. I recommend making it and using it that day. However, if you have extra sauce store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
You can also add this sauce to an ice cube tray and freeze. Remove a cube, and defrost, when you’re ready to use. Frozen cubes will keep for up to 3 months.
🥗 More Vegan Sauce Recipes!
Recipe
Basil Sauce with Lemon and Garlic
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Clean and wash basil leaves. Remove any leaves that are brown or discolored. Remove stems.
- Add fresh basil, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are well combined. Transfer to a small air tight container. Keep in the refrigerator for up 2 days.
Video
Notes
- Use fresh basil leaves, remove any leaves that are brown or discolored
- Remove stems before blending in the food processor
- Use fresh-squeezed lemon juice. I use the juice of half a lemon
- Mince the garlic before adding it to the food processor so you don’t get any chunks of garlic
- Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Add sauce to an ice cube tray, and freeze. Defrost when ready to use. Frozen basil cubes will keep for up to 3 months.
Danielle
This recipe sounds amazing! Would it freeze well?
Alison Corey
Yes, it should freeze well!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
Always looking for new sauces to try and this sounds delicious! Will be trying it!
stephanie
This sauce was so good, I love basil!!
veenaazmanov
Love such delicious homemade options. This is delicious and best as a spread or dip too.
Biana
This is so delicious! I love simple sauces that make everything taste better.
Sophie
This is so simple and flavorful. Never imagined this simple sauce will make my sandwiches taste so good.