Lemon Verbena Pesto recipe, a twist on traditional pesto, is packed with fresh and delicious flavors. The texture is smooth and creamy, and the fragrance is unbelievably divine! Recipes for lemon verbena are hard to come by, and this one is a keeper for sure! 
What is pesto?
- Pesto is a thick Italian sauce, made with crushed basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil.
- Pesto sauce is typically served with pasta, but these days we see it in sandwiches, on pizzas, in soups, and the list goes on.
- Pesto usually involves no cooking and is best when made with a mortar and pestle, and eaten when it’s fresh. Of course, for larger amounts, a food processor is okay, too! See below recipe. 😉
There are a lot of unique pesto recipes out there because over the years people have been experimenting with all sorts of other fresh green herbs, as well as leafy greens, like kale and spinach.
Enter Basil Lemon Verbena Pesto Recipe!
Recipes for lemon verbena can be so pretty, and their scent is over-the-top wonderful.
What is Lemon Verbena?
- Lemon Verbena is a South American shrub, with lemon-scented leaves.
- The leaves are most commonly used for flavoring tea, but other recipes for lemon verbena are becoming more popular. (This pesto is just one example, I’ve seen it used in strawberry jam and chicken recipes.)
Lemon verbena is so incredibly aromatic! If you gently rub the leaves, you will release the most lovely scent imaginable! The fragrance is captivating, relaxing and simply beautiful!
And how beautiful are these basil varieties?
I love the purple and pink flowers in the Thai basil. It’s like a painting.
What’s in Lemon Verbena Pesto?
Lemon Verbena Pesto is simply a twist on traditional basil pesto. With the addition of lemon verbena leaves, the pesto has a lovely, bright, lemony flavor. The ingredients are:
- basil
- lemon verbena
- pine nuts
- Parmesan cheese
- garlic
- salt, pepper, sugar
- olive oil
This pesto is super delicious on everything from fish and poultry to fruit and toast!
A few more lemon verbena recipes:
More unique pesto recipes:
Enjoy!
Lemon Verbena Pesto
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 5 cups loosely packed basil leaves* washed and dried
- approximately 2 dozen lemon verbena leaves, washed and dried
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 3 small garlic cloves, peeled, with root end trimmed off
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Toast pine nuts. Add the pine nuts to a small sauté pan and place it over medium-low heat. Moving the pan around often, heat just until they're golden, aromatic and shiny, about 3 minutes. They will be shiny from the oils coming to the surface. (Be careful, as they can go from just right to too dark in seconds.) Set aside to cool.
- Blend herbs. Add the basil and lemon verbena to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and blend until they're finely chopped.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend. Add the toasted pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic and sugar to the food processor, and blend until everything is mixed. Then add the extra virgin olive oil and blend until it's a smooth mixture.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Here's How to Season to Taste.)
Notes
Platter Talk says
Beautifully done. I love pesto in soups, on bread, in pasta but mostly in my mouth! Thanks.
valentina says
Love that! Mouth! 😀
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours says
What a lovely, fragrant twist on the classic pesto. I want a bowl right now with some fresh pasta to showcase it
valentina says
Me too! 😉 Thanks!
Linda @ Your Daily Food Choices says
Great looking pesto recipe. Can’t wait to try with the lemon verbena leaves.
valentina says
thank you! 🙂
Julie | Bunsen Burner Bakery says
Great flavor variety. I love thai basil, but I’ve never made pesto with it.
valentina says
Thank you! The Thai basil is so pretty!
Kylee from Kylee Cooks says
Oh WOW, that sounds so amazingly delicious. I’ve not seen lemon verbena leaves around – must track some down!
valentina says
Farmers Market might be best bet. Hope you find it! 🙂
Boastful Food says
I love that your kiddo is into food as much as you are, Valentina! Great new way to do pesto. I bet this is delicious and so fragrant. I’d want to eat and bathe in it:)
valentina says
Thank you! It took a while, but they are really into cooking now. 🙂
derek says
It looks great. Been a while, good to see you’re kicking butt 😉
valentina says
awww, thank you, Derek! 🙂
David says
Isn’t lemon verbena the best? I love it in cakes and under the skin of a roasted chicken… And, now, in pesto!
valentina says
Now I want lemon verbena cake! I might just give that a go. Thank you! 🙂
sippitysup says
My lemon verbena is huuuuge! and I have been thinking about doing something similar for years. I’m so thrilled you did it. GREG
valentina says
Thanks so much, Greg! Don’t you just adore the fragrance!! I’ve been rubbing it on my hands in the mornings.:-)
Kavita Favelle says
I adore lemon verbena, love the addition of this herb to the basil for your pesto! We used to grow it but sadly the plant died, time to get another.
valentina says
Yes, get another! If for nothing else, the aroma is so lovely! 🙂 Thanks!
Kristi says
You mentioned putting it on fish, I bet that is delicious grilled. Add some fresh veggies from the garden and a perfect summer meal out on the deck.
valentina says
Yes! That sound fabulous. Wishing I was on the deck now. 🙂
danielle wolter says
I love the smell of lemon verbena, but never thought to use it to cook. This is such a wonderful recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
valentina says
I hope you do and love it. Thank you! 🙂
Liz says
We have so much basil in our garden right now, I love the sound of this pesto! Plus I’m glad I can put the basil to good use!
valentina says
Win-win! Thanks so much, Liz. 🙂