pesto

American  

[pes-toh] / ˈpɛs toʊ /

noun

Italian Cooking.

• pestos
  plural

1. a sauce typically made with basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and grated Parmesan blended together and served hot or cold over pasta, fish, or meat.

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pesto British  

/ ˈpɛstəʊ /

noun

1. a sauce for pasta, consisting of basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, oil, and Parmesan cheese, all crushed together

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pestos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pesto

First recorded in 1935–40; from Upper Italian (compare Genoese dialect pésto “pesto”), Italian; noun derivative of pestare “to pound, crush”; see piste

Explanation

That bright green sauce on your pasta? It's probably pesto, a delicious combination of garlic, basil, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and pine nuts. The traditional version of pesto, invented in Genoa, Italy, is salty and garlicky, and it's made by crushing all the ingredients by hand using a mortar and pestle. The word pesto itself comes from this technique — its root is the Italian pestare, "to pound or crush." If you want to be absolutely sure you're getting this original, authentic version in an Italian restaurant, you can specify pesto alla genovese, or "Genoese pesto," when you order.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pesto pestos

And its culinary heritage, led by pasta al pesto alla Genovese and focaccia, may have gone viral in Italy and beyond, but taste far better here at home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Try adding veggies like fresh spinach to your sauce, or using pizza sauce or pesto instead of marinara.

From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026

Many chefs and home cooks will incorporate ramps into pesto or mayonnaise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

There's even a focaccia cake with roasted tomato, pesto and feta icing – a savoury offering Sunga is delighted to see.

From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026

In the mornings she went to a deli and bought a baguette and little containers of things Dev liked to eat, like pickled herring, and potato salad, and tortes of pesto and mascarpone cheese.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

I always buy jams, pestos, chutneys, etc. to play with back in my home kitchen, or to keep on hand for gifts.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 18, 2023

In addition to drinkables, Cunningham makes pestos of basil or arugula, as well as herb blends that she freezes into ice cubes and adds to dishes all year.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 29, 2022

It's also important to note that some Genoese pestos call for Parmigiano Reggiano, while Trapense sometimes has Pecorino, which is markedly sharper and can sometimes even have a subtly astringent bite.

From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2021

Salads, pestos, dishes incorporating fresh tomatoes and cooked clams.

From New York Times ● May 21, 2020

Pound in shallots or fennel seed or chiles at will, as you might when DIYing herby salsas and pestos.

From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2018