Green chile pesto is a condiment that belongs in the kitchen of any chile loving family. It’s a spicy little addition to beans, pasta and rice, as the topping on a bruschetta or fried egg, mixed into scrambled eggs, or as a sandwich spread, just to name a few.
This green chile pesto is relatively chunky compared to traditional pesto, primarily because I’m not a fan of pureed roasted chile. The texture of pureed chile is unpleasant IMO. Instead of blending to create a puree, I finely mince the chile, cilantro, pinon, and other ingredients using a sharp knife and a lot of chopping. If you choose, you could pulse the ingredients in a food processor which would probably yield the same results.
Another difference from a traditional pesto is that I don’t add cheese. I choose to leave the cheese out so that I can use different cheeses with different dishes, or just use no cheese at all. Even without cheese, one still enjoys the depth of flavors found in most pestos with the addition of a slight spiciness from the chile.
I hope you enjoy!
Green Chile Pesto
A relatively chunky pesto made with roasted green chile, pinon, cilantro and more. Great with beans, pasta, rice, eggs and sandwiches – just to name a few.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information
and substitutions.
- 1 cup roasted green chile*, finely minced
- 1 cup loosely packed cilantro, finely minced
- 1 large garlic clove, smashed, finely minced
- 1 Tbsp. finely minced onion
- 2 Tbsp. toasted pinon (pine nuts)*, finely minced
- 1/4 cup mild olive oil*
- juice from wedge of lime (1/8 of lime), or to taste
- 2 – 3 pinches sea salt or to taste
Toasting the pinon – Heat a small heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add pinon nuts. Slowly toast, stirring occasionally until lightly toasted. (Pinons do tend to stick to the pan more than other nuts so flipping them for an even toasting doesn’t always work. You’ll need to use a heat proof spatula of some type.)
Transfer all finely minced ingredients to a bowl. Stir well to combine.
Taste. Add a little more salt or lime juice if needed.
Transfer to a jar, seal, and refrigerate overnight for the best flavor. Stir again before using.
Remove from the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before using. Stir immediately before serving.
Pesto will keep in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. It also freezes quite well.
Roasted Green Chile – If you don’t have fresh roasted chile, you can use frozen or canned. You could also substitute green chile with roasted poblano or a mix of roasted chiles. For a seriously spicy pesto, add a roasted jalapeno.
Level of heat – Green chile comes in mild, medium, hot and very hot. How much heat each carries is relatively to what you think is mild vs hot – IMO. For this pesto we prefer a medium heat. It’s just spicy enough without overpowering the flavor of the dish in which it is used.
Pinon nuts – Good substitutes for pinon nuts are toasted pistachios and pumpkin seeds.
Olive Oil – Use only a very mild tasting olive oil. Too strong of an olive would not be complementary to the flavor of the green chile. You could also substitute olive oil with avocado oil.
A few suggested uses
- Bruschetta – Toast slices of a baguette or toasted bagel. Top with cream cheese, then pesto, followed with crumbled cotija or feta cheese.
- Pasta – Toast you favorite pasta with pesta and mix in queso fresco or cotija cheese.
- Rice dishes – Add some of the pesto to taste.
- Sandwiches – Use in place of mayonnaise or mustard on sandwiches. Great with turkey sandwiches.
- Eggs – Top fried or scrambled eggs with a scoop of pesto
- Dips – Use as a dip or spread for tortillas (flour and corn) and chips
If you can’t find green chile locally, you can buy directly from a New Mexico Supplier. Some suppliers will ship frozen roasted and peeled green chile and some sell roasted, peeled green chile in cans or jars.
A peek at my next post: Cranberry Beans with Green Chile Pesto
Other similar condiments you’ll enjoy.
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Hi MJ,
This sounds amazing except for the cilantro (gives me heartburn). Any suggestion for a substitute? I wasn’t sure if basil would change the flavor to much.
Teri
Teri, Sorry you can’t handle cilantro, but many people can’t. I always suggest parsley as a substitute for cilantro. I use it quite often. It works great. Basil would definitely yield a completely different flavor and wouldn’t work here in my opinion. Thanks for the question. Hope you like it! Cheers, MJ
Hi MJ,
LOVE your recipes! I grow lots of green chilies and usually roast and freeze them in freezer bags when I get too many so I can use them throughout the year. Do you think this pesto recipe would freeze well too? I always make/freeze traditional basil pesto in ice cube trays and it works out great. Assume this would work with your pesto recipe. I live in PA (and used to live in AZ), so I seriously miss these fresh flavors in the fall and winter.
Nicole, Nice to meet you! Thanks so much for your comments and question.
This pesto definitely freezes well. However, let me say that if you use previously frozen chiles, then refreezing as pesto, it might change the texture of the chile in that it loses some of its “meatiness”. If you plan to freeze, then it might be best to start with freshly roasted chile. With that said, I’d still give it a try if all you have is frozen chile. I might be totally wrong. 🙂 Please let me know if you try it.
I love pesto. I also love green chilies. Yum. What a great idea. Dang I can think of
several ways to use this too, which is a plus.
thanks so much Carol! A great pesto for any dish that needs a little spice which is pretty much everything I eat. 🙂
Dear MJ, how many more green chile recipes do you keep in your head??? I’m always amazed to see one more and one more and one more… This one is I think one of the most enticing recipes I’ve ever seen on your blog (it’s also due to your beautiful photographs!). I want to eat the whole jar straight away! Needless to say, I’m sure I’d love it 100x more than the usual pesto.
thanks Darlin! OH, with all the chile in the freezer, there’s always one more recipe in this head of mine. 🙂 I’m thrilled that you like this pesto. We love it! The last batch we used for lunch every day by putting on top of a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a little feta. So good!
Oh, my gosh, I can think of so many yummy ways I’d love to eat your pesto! In or on an omelet, pasta, in appetizers! So versatile and delicious!
Thanks Liz! I know! We’re still final new ways to use it. 🙂
an interesting pesto recipe i must say!
Thank you Priya!
I’ve pinned your recipe and can’t wait to give the pesto a try.
Thanks so much Karen. Hope you enjoy!
Mmmm, MJ . . . I’d dollop some of this pesto on pieces of flatbread or crostini and nibble them endlessly. Food like this is difficult for me to know when to stop!
I’m with you Roz! It’s hard to stop eating once you start. 🙂
Oh yum! I would love to have it as an accomplishment to my bowl of beans and rice
thanks Taruna! It’s great with beans and rice and so many other things. We especially love it on bagels with cream cheese. YUM!
This is such a good idea, I can’t believe I’ve never had chile pesto before! Looks gorgeous too (the colors…). Now if I can just grow cilantro beyond one week, we’ll be in business! (is it just me? what’s the trick). Excited to get going on spring planting, your timing is perfect and I’m really liking the look of that upcoming recipe of yours :))
Thanks Kelly! Growing cilantro is not just you. I have a horrible time with, although I think Sissi has been successful growing it on her balcony. Mine just go to see immediately. We planted some spring seeds a few weeks ago and am about ready to pick some arugula and lettuce. The Swiss chard and baby bok choy still have a ways to go. We’re having such a cool spring that the spring stuff is doing well. Might have to wait until June to plant tomatoes. 🙂
Wow ! Another one to have with ciabatta ! Thank you !
Oh yes, Ciabatta would be awesome! Thanks!
This looks so good. I still haven’t found a good green Southwestern chili substitute, but I can get canned green chilis and fresh jalapenos. I just love the sounds of this pesto. I’m thinking it’ll go great with a Spanish omelet and a million other dishes. Thanks for posting this one.
thanks Ron! If you can get canned green chiles that would work. A Spanish omelet sounds wonderful. Might have to make one of those myself. 🙂
I have to tell you a little story. I spent the day with my Sister yesterday and she asked if I had seen your green chile pesto. We had a whole conversation on how much we loved your post and what a great condiment to go with so many dishes. I love the texture and can see it on our favorite sandwich or with a chicken and pasta dish. Well done MJ!!
Thanks so much for sharing your story Jan! It thrills me to think that people are out there talking about my recipes. Hope you both enjoy the pesto!
What an interesting pesto. The color is outstanding. I’ve never even heard of a chili pesto, so that’s a huge fascination. I think I’d love this texture in just about any kind of pesto.
Thanks Jeff! Making a pesto from a chile pepper is definitely not the normal way of doing things, but then I’m not normal. 🙂 It has a great texture. Hope you give it a try.
My kind of pesto! What a great sandwich spread! And eggs for dinner would be fabulous too.
Thanks Deb! Glad you like it!
I love the chunkier consistency on this one. Looks really good and so many uses for it. but my brain stopped at scrambled eggs lol. I got a few dried chiles in Mexico, not the strongest, but not sure what to do with them. Arbol and cascabel.
Thanks Evelyne! I like the chunker version as well. If you have some dried arbol, let me suggest making this chile de arbol hot sauce. It’s easy to make and really good.
Pesto any flavor on eggs really is an ingenious idea. I’d love it!
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Thanks Mae! Oh pesto and eggs is a great combo! Give it a try. You’ll love it!
That is brilliant! I can picture a million uses for this delicious sauce. Just pinned to our favorite boards.
Thanks Bobbi! I’m still discovering new uses for it as well. thanks for pinning!
Oh MJ, you’ve nailed it with this one! I can think of so many ways to use this, including a lovely bowl of angel hair pasta! Our HEB is carrying frozen Bueno chile (for now) and I’m hoping that will suffice? My very limited stash of chile from our last NM trip is long gone. Sad times! Great recipe!
Thanks Tamara! Frozen Bueno would be perfect! I’ve used it before as well. Just be sure to drain it first so the pesto isn’t too watery.
MJ, this is exactly what we need in our kitchen as a chile-loving family! I could even see stirring it into a little mayo or sour cream for a tasty dip. Brilliant!
Thanks Judy! Turning it into a dip is an excellent idea!
MJ, this is brilliant! Always looking for new ways to use green chilies!
Thanks Kelly! Hope you enjoy!
Now why haven’t I made pesto with green chilies before? Genius idea! I’m SO doing this — thanks!
Thanks John! And yes, why haven’t you thought of this before. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
This sounds delicious. We started to really embrace chilies and peppers after stopping in at the Santa Fe farmers market during the month of August.
Thanks Ingrid! Chiles are very easy to embrace. 🙂 It doesn’t take long to actually get addicted to them. Whenever we return from a vacation, the first thing we do is hit a New Mexico restaurant for a chile fix. 🙂
I love this green chile dip! Now where do I get roasted green chiles?
Thanks Angie! You can always purchase directly from a New Mexico supplier, but some of your markets might have canned in the ethnic aisle.