One serving of some supermarket pestos contains more salt than a McDonald’s hamburger. Photo / 123rf
One serving of some supermarket pestos contains more salt than a McDonald’s hamburger. Photo / 123rf
The sauce can have more salt and fat than a burger. The Telegraph asked the experts about everything pesto – and how to use it.
A dollop of pesto elevates your week night pasta and with its verdant, silky appearance, it’s easy to tell ourselves this condiment is a healthy option, too. Unfortunately, just one serving of some supermarket brands contains more salt than a McDonald’s hamburger and three times the fat.
Not all fats or pesto are created equal, however. Here’s a guide to the health benefits of pesto and the healthiest way to prepare it.
What does pesto actually contain?
A traditional pesto – sometimes called green pesto or pesto alla Genovese – has just a handful of key ingredients: basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, hard cheese and “maybe a bit of salt”, says Rob Hobson, a registered nutritionist and the author of Unprocess Your Life.
While these are still the basic components of any shop-bought pesto, many brands will add in “a lot of rapeseed oil and sunflower oil, and often potato flakes to bulk it out,” says Sophie Trotman, a registered nutritionist.
A standard supermarket pesto brand might also substitute out the traditional pine nut for cashews and use stabilisers and acidity regulators to up the product’s shelf life.
The health benefits of pesto
The ingredients in pesto contain a range of health benefits. These include:
Source of vitamins B12 and E as well as magnesium (from pine nuts and cheese).
“Basil also contains eugenol, an essential oil that’s anti-inflammatory,” Trotman says. “It’s also good to increase the diversity of plant foods we consume as this is great for our gut health.
“Pesto has basil, pine nuts and often garlic, so that’s three of the 30 different plant foods you should try to eat every week.”
Parmesan meanwhile is “a source of calcium and B12, which is very important for bone health and red blood cell production,” Hobson says.
High salt content from pesto could raise your blood pressure. Photo / 123rf
The potential health drawbacks of pesto
With the health benefits come the drawbacks. These include:
Weight gain, when eaten in large amounts (pesto is highly calorie-dense);
It is high in saturated fat which could outbalance the cholesterol-lowering benefits of olive oil;
A high salt content could raise blood pressure;
Additives and preservatives make many supermarket pesto options into ultra-processed foods.
Weighing up the pros and cons of pesto
Ultimately, all of the health benefits of pesto only stand true when it’s consumed in moderation, Trotman says – but so do the downsides, “given that most of us are only eating a spoonful at a time”.
“Pesto can be quite high in calories, so try to stick to the recommended serving size [around 50g],” she says. “It’s healthiest to make your own pesto if you can, so that you can control what goes into it in terms of its salt content too.”
Hobson agrees. “Some pestos will have additives that you don’t recognise in them, which makes them ultra-processed foods,” he explains, which have been “linked to numerous health conditions”.
“When choosing a jarred sauce it’s important to check the label at the front for a product’s nutritional properties, and then check the back to find the one with no or the least additives.”
The healthiest way to eat pesto
If you eat pesto regularly, and you would like to do so without worrying about your heart health or waistline, the best way to consume it is by making your own (see below for recipes).
“The beauty of making your own pesto is that you can add really healthy ingredients to it,” says Hobson. “Some people add things like spinach, peas or different types of nuts for extra nutrients and you can decide for yourself how much cheese to add, which can help reduce the salt and sat fat content.”
Failing that, fresh supermarket pesto is your best bet, as it tends to contain fewer additives and less salt. As the vitamin C in basil “can degrade”, you’ll feel the most benefit here too if you go for a fresh product, says Trotman.
Pesto can be healthy, depending on which you choose, how you prepare it and how much you consume.
While shop-bought pesto can be cheaper and have less calories than other jarred sauces, “they’re also less rich, so you might be tempted to use more of the jar or even the whole thing”, Hobson says. So, “a whole jar of pesto between two people could be hundreds of calories each, even before you’ve considered the pasta you’re using and any other ingredients in your meal”.
Also by cutting the olive oil, basil and pine nuts, then, you’re left with a much less nutritious (and delicious) meal.
Having said that “I think pesto can be a healthy addition to a balanced diet”, Hobson says, if you limit yourself to “a tablespoon’s worth” of a good-quality pesto per meal you use it in.
Trotman agrees that pesto can be healthy as part of a well-balanced diet. “It’s good to have some of these really tasty foods in our diets so that we can feel satisfied and happy with our meals.”
