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

Before she left, she filled multiple bags with pesto, pasta, Parmigiano reggiano cheese, balsamic vinegar and salt, and made it last back home before she returned to Italy, this time in Florence, in February 2024.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

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

From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026

Now it’s expanding to New York, answering the pleas of Manhattanites who have been clamoring for its chicken Caesar wraps and gluten-free pesto pasta.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 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

How about polenta-crusted salmon filet with pesto sauce and a nice glass of J. Lohr Chardonnay?

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

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

There are many different ways to repurpose food scraps that might otherwise end up in the bin, including dehydration, making sauces and pestos, quick pickling, soup stocks, and fermentation.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2022

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

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