I ended up with a truly excessive amount of basil in my garden this year so I’ve been prompted to come up with lots of different uses for it! Invariably, I always end up making lots of pesto – including my pesto pasta – and that’s why I developed this delicious and easy pesto dip with sour cream and mayo!
This dip takes about 10 minutes to throw together (and that includes making homemade pesto!) and is absolutely delicious with some fresh veggies or spread over crostini.
So if you’re after a crowd-pleasing appetiser, then make sure to make this dip!
How to Make Sour Cream Pesto Dip
The first step to this dip is to make the pesto – please make your own pesto here rather than using jarred, store-bought pesto. The latter just doesn’t taste the same!
In that vein, the first step of making pesto should absolutely be toasting the pine nuts. I cannot stress how much of a difference this makes in the overall flavour and it only takes 5 minutes – and during that time, you can peel some garlic and grate some cheese!
Put the pine nuts on a baking tray, transfer to the oven and toast until they’re very fragrant and lightly golden – be careful not to burn them! This can happen super quickly.
Once the pine nuts are toasted, add them to the bowl of a food processor along with some garlic, parmesan cheese and, of course, basil! Pulse it a few times just to chop up the basil and break up the pine nuts.
Then, with the machine running, drizzle in a bit of olive oil and pulse until everything is well combined. Taste to adjust for seasoning and add a bit of salt and pepper where necessary.
And if you don’t have a food processor, don’t worry! It’s possible to make pesto without one and still use it for this dip.
Now’s the time to assemble your dip!
In a large bowl, add some sour cream, a bit of mayonnaise, a squeeze of lemon juice along with some lemon zest and your pesto.
Whisk this all until well combined and then give it a taste – add a bit of salt, pepper or even a little more lemon juice if you think it needs it!
Then, transfer the dip to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving – this allows the flavours to blend a bit more and it really does make a difference. I do the same thing in my French onion dip and my smoked salmon dip.
Simple Pesto Dip with Sour Cream & Mayo
Ingredients
- 50 g (⅓ cup) pine nuts
- 50 g (2 cups) basil leaves torn from stems
- 30 g (⅓ cup) parmesan cheese roughly grated
- 2 cloves garlic grated or minced
- 60 ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
- 150 g (⅔ cup) sour cream
- 50 g (¼ cup) mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180℃ (350℉). Add the pine nuts to a baking tray and place them in the oven to toast for five minutes – or until golden and fragrant.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the basil, parmesan, garlic and toasted pine nuts. Pulse 3 or 4 times until the basil is broken up and the pine nuts are roughly chopped.
- With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil – scraping down the sides if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice and zest and the pesto. Whisk to combine and taste to adjust for seasoning, adding salt and pepper where needed. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
This pesto sour cream dip is a surefire hit amongst all it’s served to – and it’s so quick and easy to make that you’re certain to whip it up whenever you have an excess of basil on hand!
Are you after a great pesto dip? Have questions about this recipe? Let me know in the comments!
Very tasty. I used a red pepper infused olive oil, so it added a kick.
How long will this dip last stored in the refrigerator?
Happy you liked it! We’ve always eaten the dip within a few days – but I think it should be fine in an airtight container for around a week 😊