How to Make Pesto

Pesto White Beans make a delicious dinner in the summer time that requires no cooking whatsoever, letting you enjoy a meal without turning on the stovetop or oven. First of all, you need to make the pesto. Or not. In this recipe, you can certainly buy your favorite premade pesto, but since there’s not much else to do, making your own pesto might be worth it. It’s easy and you can customize the flavor to suit your own tastes. For example, I’m not a huge fan of garlic, so when I make my own pesto, I go light on the garlic. You can do that too! I like to use a mortar and pestle to make pesto – I feel it gives a more flavorful, creamier, smoother pesto, but the easiest way to make pesto is with a chopper or food processor. You can learn all about how to make your own pesto here. 

White Beans vs Cannellini Beans?

Next, you need to pick your white beans. White beans are… you guessed it – beans that are white. Generalizing and saying “white beans” means you could use cannellini beans, great northern beans, navy beans or lima beans. Pick your favorite. Cannellini beans are the largest of the four, while navy is the smallest. Of course, because we are not turning on the stovetop for this recipe, canned beans are what we’re looking for, but feel free to cook your own beans if that’s your thing.

Pesto White Bean Salad

One of the very few ingredients in this dish for pesto white beans is red onion. There are two things I always do whenever I use raw red onion in a recipe. First of all, I don’t cut it too small. Many people don’t like red onions (or red onions don’t like them) and by leaving the pieces or slices relatively large, it makes it easier for people to avoid it or pick it out. Secondly, I always soak my red onions before adding them to a dish. Thinly slice the red onion and then soak it in cold water for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, rinse and then dry well. That takes away some of the harsh biting flavor of the onion. Along with the red onion, add some red and yellow tomatoes and some pearl-sized fresh mozzarella. If you can’t find perlini, use large fresh mozzarella balls and cut it into small pieces. Toss these ingredients with salt, freshly ground black pepper, white balsamic vinegar and olive oil before plating.

How to Serve Pesto White Beans

This dish is much prettier if you just dollop the pesto on top, rather than mix it all in, so… dollop the pesto on top. Better yet, let people make their own dollop at the table if you like. That allows everyone to make their own decision on how much pesto flavor they want and they can mix it in themselves. 

What goes with Pesto White Beans

You can literally get this dish on the table in 15 minutes, so accompaniments should be quick and easy. A big hunk of crusty bread, a side of lightly dressed greens, a glass of white wine. Sounds like a perfect dinner on a hot summer night to me! 

Pesto White Beans