Cooking with Fresh Basil – Kalyn's Kitchen

Fresh basil is the summertime herb that goes well with fresh tomatoes, here are my tips and recipes for cooking with fresh basil. And if you grow basil and have plenty of it, don’t miss my ideas for making pesto, making basil sauce, and freezing fresh basil!

Cook with fresh basil to find it for later!

On this site there is a series of posts about Cooking with Fresh Herbs and I have shared tips on growing and using MintAnd parsleyAnd French tarragon. But today I’m excited to talk about it Cooking with fresh basil Because even though I’ve been growing fresh herbs for many years, basil is the herb I most look forward to every summer!

Obviously, I’m not the only one who loves fresh basil. It is a component The most popular zucchini recipe on my blog And there are several of the more popular recipes described below where fresh basil is a star ingredient.

Of course, fresh basil is amazing with summer produce like fresh tomatoes, zucchini, and summer squash, but it’s also a great ingredient to add to pasta sauces, soups, and stews. And at any time of the year you will always come to my house Frozen basil In the refrigerator.

You can also tell that basil is a popular herb by the way basil plants show up every spring at Trader Joe’s and many other grocery stores! And plants are often available throughout the summer months, so it’s never too late Grow basil indoors If you don’t have an outside garden space.

This article will give you tips on growing basil, freezing basil, or Save it on the tableAnd, of course, my favorite recipes using fresh basil from Kalyn’s kitchen and some ideas from my food blogging friends. If you’re someone who hasn’t cooked with basil much, I hope I inspired you to give it a try!

Tips for growing basil:

Basil is very easy to grow from seed, and when I had a large garden, I would always buy some basil plants to get started, then plant the seeds later in the summer. Make sure to plant it in a location that gets full sun. Let the basil plants dry out between watering. And the most important basil growing tip is to prune the basil regularly!

See in the photo above what my plants look like when they are trimmed. I use chopped basil to make it Lemon basil pestoAnd Basil Vinaigretteand l Freeze fresh basil For use during the winter.

What does fresh basil taste like?

If you’ve ever tasted pesto, you’re familiar with the flavor that makes basil so popular. But for those who have never tried fresh basil, I will try to describe it. It is definitely a slightly peppery herb, with a bit of a licorice or anise flavor. There are many types basil, and the type most often used in Italian food, which is summer tomato salad, and in making pesto it is often called sweet basil. Thai basil and lemon basil are both very different.

What foods is suitable with fresh basil?

Basil is amazing with fresh tomatoes!
It goes well with any light creamy cheese such as fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, parmesan, or ricotta.
It is certainly the most popular herb used with pasta or pasta sauces.
Basil goes well with chicken, fish, pork, and most types of sausage.
It goes great with zucchini, summer squash, green beans, cucumbers, olives, and many other vegetables.
Mixes well with lemon, capers, oregano, fennel, garlic, mustard, parsley, rosemary, and vinegar.
There are also many more options than the ones I’ve listed here; Tell us in the comments if you have a fun idea for using basil!

Favorite recipes using fresh basil:

If you grow basil in your garden, I hope you make it Lemon basil pesto! I’ve been making this homemade pesto for years and freeze it in ice cube trays. And if you don’t have a lot of basil but want to try making pesto, there are recipes on the blog Kale and Basil Pesto And Spinach and basil pesto.

Basil Vinaigrette It is a treat with basil that I have been making for many years, and it is a sign of summer when this appears in my fridge. This basil vinaigrette is amazing drizzled over fresh tomatoes, roasted vegetables, chicken, or fish. I’ve also used it as a dressing for many of my favorite salads; See our large list of salad ideas below for ways to use this delicious dressing. And you can enter “basil salsa sauce” into the blog’s search bar to get more recipes using it.

Grilled zucchini caprese salad It’s one of my favorite things to do when I have garden fresh zucchini and tomatoes, and the Basil Vinaigrette makes this really great!

Zucchini with cheese and basil strata It’s a recipe where zucchini and basil come together in such a delightful way!

Quiche with three kinds of cheese, basil and tomato It’s a great recipe that uses fresh basil! I also have a recipe for Breakfast pancakes with tomatoes and basil If you would like individual servings. I use my love Grass scissors (referral link) to get those beautiful thin slices of fresh basil!

Cauliflower rice with basil, parmesan and pine nuts It’s an out of the ordinary idea of using fresh basil, and it’s really delicious!

Basil adds extra flavor to this stunner Green bean and tomato salad.

Roasted summer squash with feta cheese and basil Use slices of fresh basil to add even more flavor to your roasted summer squash with feta cheese!

Asparagus with basil vinaigrette It’s a quick and easy to make low carb side dish that’s absolutely amazing!

Recipes like this Lasagna without noodles with sausage and basil One of the reasons I love freezing basil for winter use!

Tips for preserving fresh basil

If you’re buying bunches of basil, you’ll want to read this post on How to keep fresh basil on your countertop.

my post on How to freeze fresh basil Popular all the time it ripens, frozen basil is great to use in basil vinaigrette, pasta sauce, soups, and stews! If you have a lot of basil growing in your herb garden, I hope you freeze it!