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Bright Green Cannabis Pesto, Blended in Five Minutes

A fast basil pesto with canna-oil standing in for some of the olive oil, an easy dose per quarter cup, and fridge and freezer storage that keeps it safe.

By the High Society team3 min read

This cannabis pesto is a vivid green sauce for pasta, sandwiches and chicken that blends in about five minutes once the nuts are toasted. Canna-oil stands in for part of the olive oil, which makes the dose per serving easy to set.

Dosing Your Cannabis Pesto

The batch makes about 1 cup, four quarter-cup servings, each carrying a quarter of the canna-oil's THC. Season with only the plain oil in, so you never taste-test the infused version. Keep infused pesto for adults 21 and older; as with other edibles, it may need 2 hours to take effect, so stop at one serving (how to choose a dose).

Ingredients

Basil leads, joined by garlic, parmesan, toasted walnuts or pine nuts, lemon and flat-leaf parsley. Home growers within Michigan's home-grow limits can swap fresh leaves in for the parsley; they add color, not a meaningful dose.

The oil is extra-virgin olive oil plus measured canna-oil. Need flower for a batch? Shop your local High Society menu online and pick up in store or curbside.

Blend It

Pulse the herbs, garlic, cheese, nuts and lemon to a coarse paste, stream in the plain oil, then taste and season. Add the canna-oil last and pulse just until blended, scraping the bowl. Serve it uncooked, tossed with hot pasta off the burner rather than fried.

Storage and Labeling

Garlic and herbs held in oil need the fridge: the CDC advises refrigerating homemade garlic or herb oils and discarding them after 4 days, a sensible limit for pesto too. Cover the surface with a thin film of olive oil, label the jar with the dose per quarter cup and keep it apart from plain sauces.

Ways to Use It

Measure first, then spoon. A quarter cup coats a plate of pasta with a splash of pasta water. A measured spoonful brightens a sandwich, eggs once they're off the heat, or vegetables straight from the oven. On another night, try our fried sage cannabis gnocchi.

Recipe

Makes
About 1 cup (4 quarter-cup servings)
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 packed cups fresh basil leaves
  • ½ cup flat-leaf parsley, or fresh cannabis leaves if you grow your own
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • ½ cup finely grated parmesan
  • ⅓ cup walnuts or pine nuts
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon salt, plus black pepper to taste
  • ½ cup oil in total: your measured canna-oil plus extra-virgin olive oil (see the dosing note)

Steps

  1. Toast the nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until fragrant. Let them cool.

  2. Pulse the basil, parsley or leaves, garlic, parmesan, nuts, lemon juice and salt in a food processor until finely chopped.

  3. With the motor running, stream in the plain olive oil. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper and lemon now.

  4. Add the measured canna-oil and pulse 5 to 10 times, scraping the bowl, until evenly blended.

  5. Divide into four quarter-cup portions. Serve right away, refrigerate for up to 4 days, or freeze.

Frequently asked questions

Do raw cannabis leaves make pesto psychoactive?

Not in any meaningful way. Uncooked cannabis carries its THC mostly in the acid form, THCA, which doesn't produce psychoactive effects in people unless heat converts it. Leaves also carry far less than flowers: one 2020 study measured about 1 to 2 percent total cannabinoids in leaves, versus roughly 16 to 20 percent in flowers. See our THCA explainer.

Can I freeze cannabis pesto?

Yes, and freezing keeps it far longer than the fridge. Spoon measured portions into an ice cube tray, freeze, then bag the cubes and write the dose per cube on the bag. Some cooks add the cheese after thawing for a fresher texture. Thaw portions in the fridge.

Can I make it nut-free?

Yes. Toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds give similar richness, or skip the nuts and add a little more parmesan. The dose doesn't change, since it comes from the canna-oil. Cooking for someone with a nut allergy? Check the seed and cheese labels too.

Sources

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Cannabis frequently asked questionscdc.gov
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Botulism prevention (homemade garlic and herb oils)cdc.gov
  3. Moreno-Sanz G. (2016), Can you pass the acid test? (a review of THCA-A, the acid form of THC), Cannabis and Cannabinoid Researchpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  4. Jin D. et al. (2020), Secondary metabolites profiled in cannabis inflorescences, leaves, stem barks, and roots, Scientific Reportspmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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