8 Delicious Recipes Starring Pesto

When it comes to sauces, pesto is basically my spirit animal. Anything with basil is automatically a star in my book, but when you take it up a notch and turn it into pesto, I'm in heaven. I eat pesto with almost everything, especially this time of year. Pesto also happens to be really good for you. Its ingredients are shown to protect your heart and lower your risk of chronic disease. Even more reason for why it is (in my mind anyway) officially the best condiment ever.

We grow basil during the summer so sometimes we make our own pesto, but more often than that we buy it already made. My favorite comes from a company called Three Bridges, makers of an inspired line of fresh, refrigerated chef-crafted meals, natural filled and cut pastas and sauces. They have both a Basil Pesto Sauce and a Superfood Pesto Sauce (made with basil and kale), and both contain only natural ingredients, which really allows for the flavor to shine through. In addition to the fact that their products are delicious, the company itself is really great too. Their foods and sauces are all made and manufactured proudly in California and North Carolina, where its commitment to good living is reflected in the company's use of green energy and growing line of certified organic offerings. And today I'm teaming up with them to share eight different pesto recipes and/or pesto serving ideas with you guys. (For my fellow veggies, five of them are vegetarian too. Woot!)

1. VEGETABLE PESTO PIZZA
PREP TIME: 10 min | COOK TIME: 15 min | READY IN: 25 min | YIELDS: 8 Servings

Ingredients:
1 (12 inch) pizza crust
7 oz container of Three Bridges Superfood Pesto
½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
½ cup kalamata olives, chopped
fresh mozzarella cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450º F. Place pizza crust on baking sheet.
2. Spread pesto over pizza crust. Add the remaining ingredients over pesto.
3. Bake for 15 minutes or until vegetables begin to brown. Cut into slices. Serve immediately and enjoy!

2. BRUSCHETTA WITH PESTO 
PREP TIME: 5 min | COOK TIME: 5 min | READY IN: 10 min | YIELDS: 8-10 Servings

Ingredients:
1 baguette French or Italian bread, cut into 1” slices
7 oz container Three Bridges Superfood Pesto
5 tomatoes, chopped
fresh mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
1. Preheat broiler to high (you can grill if desired). Place bread slices under broiler and lightly toast, keep an eye on the bread so that they don’t burn.
2. Combine tomatoes and mozzarella cheese in a small bowl with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Spread pesto sauce onto each slice and top with the tomatoes and mozzarella. Serve and enjoy!

3. ORGANIC SPINACH & CHEESE RAVIOLI WITH SAUTEED VEGETABLES & PESTO 
PREP TIME: 10 min | COOK TIME: 10 min | READY IN: 20 min | YIELDS: 2 Servings

Ingredients:
9 oz package of Three Bridges Organic Spinach & Cheese Ravioli
2 tbsp pine nuts
1 tbsp olive oil
1⁄4 cup container of Three Bridges Basil Pesto
1⁄2 red bell pepper, sliced
1⁄2 green bell pepper, sliced
1⁄2 small red onion, sliced

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add ravioli and cook according to directions. Drain, cover and keep warm.
2. Warm a medium-sized sauce pan on medium-high heat. Once hot, add pine nuts and toast, about 4 minutes to brown. Remove pine nuts from pan and set aside.
3. In the same sauce pan, add olive oil, bell peppers and onions. Sauté vegetables until soft, about 6 minutes, stirring often.
4. Remove pan from heat and add in reserved ravioli and basil pesto sauce and toasted pine nuts. Gently toss everything together to coat. Serve immediately and enjoy!

4. PESTO VINAIGRETTE 
PREP TIME: 5 min | READY IN: 5 min | YIELDS: 4 Servings

Ingredients:
7 oz container of Three Bridges Basil Pesto

Directions:
1. Empty pesto into a small bowl; whisk until smooth. Serve over salad greens and enjoy!

5. PESTO BAKED SALMON 

Ingredients:
7 oz container of Three Bridges Superfood Pesto
Salmon fillet

Directions:
1. Marinate salmon fillet or your favorite fish fillet in pesto sauce for a few hours and bake or simply top with pesto once cooked for added flavor. Enjoy!

6. PESTO EGG TRIO 

Ingredients:
7 oz container of Three Bridges Basil Pesto
Eggs prepared in your three favorite styles.

Directions:
1. Add pesto to up to three of your favorite style of eggs and serve. That's it!

7. PESTO GRILLED STEAK 

Ingredients:
7 oz container of Three Bridges Superfood Pesto
Steak of your choice

Directions:
1. Grill or broil the steak to your desired degree of doneness.
2. Brush with pesto or serve steak topped with pesto sauce. Enjoy!

8. CHICKEN MOZZARELLA RAVIOLI WITH ARUGULA PESTO & TOMATOES
PREP TIME: 5 min | COOK TIME: 10 min | READY IN: 10 min | YIELDS: 4 Servings

Ingredients:
(2) 9 oz packages of Three Bridges Chicken & Mozzarella Ravioli
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
pinch red chili flakes
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tbsp walnuts
4 cups arugula, without stems
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Cook ravioli according to instructions on package. Drain, cover and keep warm.
2. Heat sauté pan over high heat. Toss cherry tomatoes with 1 tbsp oil and add to pan. Sauté until tomatoes start to blister. Add vinegar and chili flakes then salt to taste.
3. Put garlic, walnuts and remaining oil into a blender and pulse until finely chopped. Add arugula a handful at a time and blend until smooth. Add cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Adjust consistency by adding water if needed.
4. Add pesto and tomatoes to reserved ravioli and gently toss together. Serve immediately and enjoy!



I hope you enjoy all of these delicious ways to creatively incorporate pesto into your meals! For more information on Three Bridges (and to check out all of their other yummy products), visit their website. You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Who else shares my undying love for all things pesto? Which recipe here are you most excited to try?

This post is in collaboration with Three Bridges. Thank you for supporting Bubby and Bean by allowing us to post occasional sponsored content. 

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