• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Seed Starting
    • Plant Profiles
    • Tools & Equipment
    • Raised Bed Gardening
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Quick Oregano Pesto

July 5, 2019 by Jeanne

This quick, easy, and delicious oregano pesto recipe will quickly become a family favorite!

Easy, Quicky, Yummy Oregano Pesto

Oregano pesto may sound strange, but you can make pesto sauce from almost any green herb base with different nut and seed combinations.

The term pesto generally refers to sauce. The original pesto sauce came from Genoa, Italy, hence the use of pignoli (pine nuts), basil, garlic, and olive oil. Those ingredients are plentiful in Italy.

Some years, Genovese basil or sweet basil grows well in my garden. This year, the basil struggles and the seeds I planted came up as basil “Red Ruffles” instead of sweet basil as marked on the package. The taste is great, and the basil looks pretty, but it’s growing more slowly than I’d like.

My oregano, on the other hand, takes over the herb garden, sprawls as a border plant, and generally makes a nuisance of itself in the garden. And you know what? I love that about oregano. It’s bold in both flavor and demeanor. Deer leave it alone. Bees love it. What’s not to love about an herb that doesn’t give up, even in my crazy garden?

Oregano growing in my herb garden
Oregano pesto on a cracker

The Original Oregano Pesto Recipe

The original recipe I’m making today comes from the book, (affiliate link) Recipes from The Herbalist’s Kitchen by Brittany Wood Nickerson. It’s one of my favorite herbal cookbooks and one I recommend frequently. I’ve tweaked it a bit to make it my own but I wanted to give Brittany credit for the recipe that inspired me to enjoy more oregano in my diet.

Oregano offers numerous health benefits. This recipe includes garlic, which has antibacterial properties and boosts both the immune system and cardiovascular health. Oregano also fights bacteria and includes many antioxidants. Some research indicates that oregano may have anti-cancer properties, but this may be due to the high amount of antioxidants in the plant. Unless you are allergic to oregano, there’s no reason not to include plenty of it in your diet.

More Pesto Recipes

  • Sunflower Seed Pesto Sauce Recipe
  • Eggplant Recipe for Grilled Eggplant with Garden Pesto
  • Homemade Hummus with Herbs

Easy Oregano Pesto Sauce

Whip this up for a pasta sauce or serve it on tomato slices (my favorite way to enjoy it). Be sure to use unsalted seeds in your recipe or it will be too salty.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 minute min
Total Time 6 minutes mins
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups washed, packed oregano leaves Take them off the stems and really pack tightly
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive ol
  • 2 cloves peeled garlic
  • 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds Use only raw, unsalted
  • 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds Use only raw, unsalted

Method
 

  1. In a heavy saucepan, heat the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Heat until the pumpkin seeds sizzle and pop. Do not use oil, just heat on medium high heat until roasted. Set aside to cool.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, add the oregano and garlic. Drizzle olive oil in until a puree forms.
  3. Slowly add cooled roasted seeds. Puree.
  4. Refrigerate unused portions for up to a week. You can also freeze; just be aware that the olive oil clumps in the freezer and needs to defrost and be stirred back into the recipe.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Previous Post: « Edible Flowers – Fancy Feast!
Next Post: How to Bring House Plants Indoors for the Winter »

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Explore All Gardening Articles

Latest Articles

  • Growing Eggplant: A Guide for Gardeners
  • Volunteer Plants – Nature’s Unexpected Gifts
  • Free eBook on Herbal Safety

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

Disclosure

Home Garden Joy participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy. Herbal information and recipes on this site are provided for educational purposes only.

Footer

a tea pot, cup and saucer with mint leaves on the saucer

Free eBook on Herbal Safety

The Herbal Academy is offering a free ebook on herbal safety! I just sent an email out to our Home Garden Joy community and downloaded my copy and WOW – not only is it chock-full of information, it’s beautiful to look at, too. And free. Did I mention free? Learn More About Using Herbs –…

Read More

a closeup of watermelon

Watermelon in the Home Garden

Growing watermelon in the home garden is not for the faint of heart. I have plenty of room, and it still threatened to take over the garden. You will either need to leave a lot of room for the sprawling vines or look for varieties specifically marked for containers. Growing it on a trellis is…

Read More

a zucchini growing in a raised bed

Growing Zucchini in Raised Beds

Growing zucchini in raised beds ensures that this prolific vegetable has the best conditions to thrive. You can grow zucchini in pots or containers, but I prefer growing it in raised beds. This is a great vegetable to grow if you have a “black thumb” and kill plastic plants, because it’s hard to grow a…

Read More

a close up of onions

How to Grow Onions in Your Backyard

Wondering how to grow onions? I’ve grown onions here at Seven Oaks Farm in several ways: from “sets” or starter plants and from store-bought onions that sprouted in the bag! Onions don’t require much space, and you can grow a lot for the money you spend on starter plants. Let’s take a look at how…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme