Spicy Cilantro Pesto & Full Circle Giveaway

264 Replies

If you love cilantro as much as I do and you’ve never had cilantro pesto, you’re in for a real treat!  I could eat this Spicy Cilantro Pesto by the spoonfuls!  It’s extremely versatile and very easy to make!  You can make it from not spicy at all to HOT!  Be sure to make a big batch and freeze it in small batches so that you always have some in the house!  I’ve got lots of great ideas on how to use this Cilantro Pesto AND I also have another great giveaway for you today courtesy of Full Circle so read on!

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

This Spicy Cilantro Pesto is so EASY to make!!  I actually quadrupled the recipe and froze all the pesto.  Start with a big bunch of cilantro and cut off the bottom part of the stems.  Don’t worry about the stems with the leaves.  It will all get chopped up in a food processor.

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

I love a little bit of chipotle in my pesto.  If you do NOT like spicy food, you can omit it completely, or add a little at a time until you get the right heat for you and your family.

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

I used Cotija cheese and have used different variations of it depending on what I can find.  This particular variety has the consistency and texture of grated Parmesan cheese.  I have also used other varieties that are more the consistency of feta cheese.  Both work well!  You should be able to find this Cotija cheese in most large grocery stores or your local Hispanic markets.  If you’ve never tried it, definitely give it a try!

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

Most traditional pestos use pine nuts, but I love to use almonds in this version.  These are unsalted almonds that I toasted slightly in the oven and cooled completely.

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

Put the cilantro, chipotle, cotija cheese, and almonds in a food processor along with some garlic cloves, lime juice, and black pepper.

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

Put the top on the food processor and process until everything is finely chopped.

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

While the processor is running, drizzle in the olive oil and watch everything come together!

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

Give everything a taste and adjust as needed with the chipotle and other ingredients.

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

To freeze, I like to divide up the pesto among small resealable bags and place the bags flat in the freezer so they don’t take up much room and can be stacked.  You can also freeze the pesto in ice cube trays then just pop out what you want when you want it!

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

Now are you wondering what to do with all this great Spicy Cilantro Pesto???  Here are some of my favorite ideas:

  • Spread a little pesto on your sandwiches or burgers, or mix a little in with some mayo for a sandwich spread.
  • Mix a little pesto into your favorite pasta salads, potato salads, and coleslaws.
  • Mix a little pesto into your favorite chicken salads, tuna fish, or shrimp salads.
  • Spread a little pesto on crostini or crackers and top with shrimp, sliced beef, or veggies.
  • Mix a little pesto into some sour cream and mayonnaise/yogurt for a delicious veggie or chip dip.
  • Use pesto as a sauce for pasta or mix a little into your favorite tomato sauces.
  • Spoon pesto over a block of softened cream cheese for a spread that is great with crackers and veggies.
  • Spoon a little pesto over tacos or your favorite Mexican dishes.
  • Mix pesto with a little more olive oil and vinegar for a simple vinaigrette dressing for salads.
  • Mix pesto with a little more olive oil and lime juice and use as a marinade or sauce for chicken, beef, shrimp/fish, or pork.
  • Use pesto as a sauce for homemade pizza.
  • Or my personal fave…just eat it straight-up with a spoon!

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

As easy as this pesto is to make, it does make a bit of a mess and your counters and food processor may be a little dirty.  Sorry about that. :)   The cilantro pesto is totally worth the mess but it may take you a few minutes to clean it all up.  To make the job a little easier, I have a great package of cleaning products courtesy of Full Circle!  Full Circle has a lot of great earth-friendly cleaning tools and a great mission to make a variety of products made from sustainable and renewable resources.  I was very impressed with the products, they are reasonably priced, stylish and sturdy, and they worked well too!  The giveaway winner will receive a Magnet Kitchen Towel, package of Walnut Scrubber Sponges, Vegetable Brush, Glass Cleaner, and Potato Brush with Eye Remover.  These products use recycled plastic, renewable bamboo, organic cotton, and more!  I can’t wait to try out some other Full Circle products!

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

My personal fave it the Magnet Kitchen Towel!  It sticks right to your fridge (or oven, dishwasher, etc.) and it is SOOOO soft!

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

 

SNAPPY GOURMET – FULL CIRCLE GIVEAWAY:

(Check out my GIVEAWAY page regularly for more giveaways!)

Prize:
Full Circle has graciously offered to give one reader a variety of products which includes a Glass Cleaner, a package of 2 Walnut Scrubber Sponges, a Vegetable Brush, a Potato Brush with Eye Remover, and a Magnet Kitchen Towel.  (Value of total prize is approximately $30)

TO ENTER:
You have up to 10 chances to win so you can leave up to 10 comments (1 VALID comment = 1 entry). To enter, leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry using the comment form below on THIS blog post…

Mandatory Entry-
1) Leave a comment telling me what kitchen cleaning or cooking chore do you hate the most?   (1 entry)

Bonus Entries-
2.) Leave a comment(s) if you follow Snappy Gourmet on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST, and/or receive my posts automatically (by EMAIL or RSS Feed). (1 entry each, no more than 4 total)

3) Leave a comment(s) if you follow Full Circle on FACEBOOK and/or TWITTER. (1 entry each, no more than 2 total)

4) Leave a comment if you have posted about this giveaway with the link (http://snappygourmet.com/giveaways-enter-now/) on YOUR FACEBOOK page, YOUR TWITTER account, or if you pinned this giveaway to YOUR PINTEREST boards.
Include something like “I just entered to win a prize package from @snappygourmet & @fullcirclehome #giveaway http://snappygourmet.com/giveaways-enter-now/” . (1 entry each, no more than 3 total)

NOTE: COMMENTS MUST BE LEFT HERE ON THIS BLOG POST TO BE VALID! Comments left on Snappy Gourmet’s Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest page, sent by email, or anywhere else will NOT count and will not be entered in this giveaway. I will be using random.org to choose winning entry(ies). The number next to your comment here on this post is your entry number. If the comment(s) with those chosen number(s) are valid and follow all rules, they win, if not, new number(s) will be chosen.

OTHER RULES:
Up to 10 entries per person (no automated entries or cheating allowed). Entries that are not valid and multiple entries will not be considered and will be thrown out when choosing winners. Each entry must be a separate comment and not a reply to a comment and not multiple entries within one comment. You must be 18 years or older and a United States Resident to enter. Prizes will be mailed to U.S. addresses only and can not be mailed to P.O. Boxes. Contest is void where prohibited by law. Giveaway is free to enter and no purchase is necessary. All entries must be received by Tuesday, June 19th, 2012, 11:59pm EST.

WINNER SELECTION:
Snappy Gourmet will choose a winner using Random.org based on the number of valid entries on or around June 20th, 2012. One prize per person. Winner will be notified by email and have 3 days to respond with their address before an alternate winner will be chosen and notified. Prize(s) may be sent by me or the sponsor of this giveaway.

DISCLOSURE:
Prize was supplied by Full Circle. Snappy Gourmet received the above mentioned products to try but did not receive any other personal compensation. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Good luck!

Spicy Cilantro Pesto
4.8 from 12 reviews

Print
Recipe type: Condiment
Author:
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: makes 1 cup
A Mexican twist on traditional pesto!
Ingredients
  • 4 cups cilantro, loosely packed (about 1 large bunch with end of stems cut off)
  • ½ cup grated Cotija cheese
  • ½ cup unsalted almonds, lightly toasted
  • 1-2 chipotles in adobo sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients except olive oil in food processor Process until everything is finely chopped.
  2. While food processor is running, drizzle in olive oil until pesto comes together.
  3. Store in fridge or freezer.
Notes
SNAPPY TIPS: If you are unsure about the chipotles, add just a little at first then add more as needed. SNAPPY SUBSTITUTIONS: You can substitute pine nuts for almonds. (For more recipes visit Snappy Gourmet at http://www.snappygourmet.com to sign up for an email/RSS subscription or visit Snappy Gourmet on Facebook or Twitter.)

 

I’m just a poor blogger and all I ask for is a little love to keep me going. :) So please don’t forget to ENTER my current giveaways for some great prizes! If you like this recipe, please follow me on FACEBOOK or TWITTER. You can also sign-up to receive my recipes and posts by EMAIL or RSS. My recipes are original creations and owned by me unless otherwise noted. Please do not steal or copy my recipes or pictures without my permission. Thanks for visiting Snappy Gourmet!

 

Some other cilantro recipes I thought you would enjoy:

 

 

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264 thoughts on “Spicy Cilantro Pesto & Full Circle Giveaway”

  12. Emily Skowronski

    The kitchen cleaning that I hate the most is doing dishes!!!!!! I dont have a dish washer, so I manually clean everything. It’s the worst…

    Reply ↓
  27. Deborah Rosen

    I hate cleaning the stovetop. I don’t have a lot of strenth in my hands and scrubbing around the burners is very difficult for me.

    Reply ↓
  45. Karen

    I receive your blog by email. Great recipe and a little different from mine. Copied yours to try. Thanks.

    Reply ↓
  55. Andrea D.

    I hate cleaning the dishes all the time but I hate them dirty. Thanks for the chance to enter.

    Reply ↓
  64. Christina Tong

    The kitchen cleaning I hate the most is cleaning the oven and the top stoves. Love your Spicy Cilantro Pesto, would try to make it as my son would love spicy food, it is good to go with the pasta, yum!

    attct[at]aol[dot]com

    Reply ↓
  82. Krystal

    I hate cleaning the stove… trying to get rid of all of the caked on food that fell into the drip pan.

    Reply ↓
  104. Julie B.

    I hate washing the food processor. With all of its parts it takes forever to wash, and if I’m not careful and clumsy, I could end up accidentally cutting my finger on the blade..ugh.

    Reply ↓
  125. Allison Luxenberg

    The kitchen cleaning chore I dread the most is the oil splatter on the stove. I make sure to clean it up after every meal I prepare. It is such a mess having to remove the burner plates and clean it up, hoping it will stop smearing and eventually stay on the cloth for good!

    Reply ↓
  135. KimR

    My least favorite kitchen chore is cleaning the ovens (and I have a self-cleaning ovens). Makes no sense!

    Reply ↓
  142. Margie

    Kitchen chore I hate the most is washing and drying dishes. We do not have a dishwasher so it’s manual labor for me :)

    Reply ↓
  151. Stacy

    I HATE doing the dishes! Even with a dishwasher, we still have to hand wash some things. I usually let my husband have this chore, but he was in a cast for 6 weeks (and will be on crutches another two more) so I’ve had to do it.

    Reply ↓
  156. Carolyn Daley

    I hate cleaning plastic ware. I love left overs because they make for easy meals, especially while I am at work. However, I hate cleaning plastics because things like spaghetti sauce is really tough to clean from a plastic container that has been sitting for a few hours.

    Reply ↓
  164. Jennifer Reed

    The kitchen cleaning or cooking chore I hate the most is emptying the dishwasher.
    repose4jr at gmail dot com

    Reply ↓
  174. Lucy Schwartz

    We have a kitty that is a character (some would say spoiled). He eats canned cat food and is a messy Marvin . In our case a Messy Nickolas. so the chore I hate is washing the kitchen floor!

    Reply ↓
  219. trisha mckee

    I detest doing dishes. Actually, the thought of doing dishes. Once I am actually washing dishes, I don’t mind it as much.

    Reply ↓
  252. Sheila Foley

    What kitchen cleaning or cooking chore do I hate the most? Shucking Corn!

    SHEILATF52 AT YAHOO DOT COM

    Reply ↓
  257. Sheila Foley

    I am now receiving your posts automatically (by YAHOO EMAIL and YAHOO RSS Feed)

    Love this giveaway!

    Reply ↓

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