If there’s one sauce that deserves special praise it’s pesto. From penne pasta to a gourmet Caprese panini the bright green appearance and rich herby flavor complement all sorts of dishes—especially those from Italy the sauce’s native country. But like so many great things it doesn’t last forever. If you’ve ever wondered how long pesto stays fresh and tasty after you open it it’s time to solve that problem once and for all.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
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 Cooking tips | 2022-06-14 16:02:52 |  785 Views |
Can pesto go bad?
According to the USDA’s FoodKeeper app refrigerated pesto should be eaten within three days of opening for best freshness and quality. However some home cooks online claim that opened store-bought pesto can last up to two weeks in the fridge depending on the brand (the “fresh” refrigerated kind spoils faster) while homemade pesto only lasts for a week. The inconsistency comes down to the issue of shelf life versus expiration dates.
To the confusion of many consumers the “best before” and “sell by” dates on store-bought foods refer to the point at which the product no longer tastes fresh rather than when it is unsafe to eat. In the case of pesto the sauce may be well past its expiration date. Luckily there’s an easy way to tell when pesto is best left off your pasta. If it’s gone from bright green to dull brown the sauce is not only less appealing it’s likely taken on an unappealing even funky flavor.
While some condiments never really go bad because they contain shelf-stable or fermented ingredients pesto is not one of them. Unfortunately the standard sauce recipe—basil garlic cheese salt olive oil and pine nuts—contains a few things that aren’t immune to the ravages of time. Pesto only stays fresh as long as its most perishable ingredient: basil.
