We Tried Trader Joe’s Lemon Pesto

When Trader Joe’s revealed Lemon Pesto as one of their upcoming summer products, I just assumed it would be in the refrigerated section. But as you can see, it’s not. It’s shelf stable. If you’re a home cook who usually has lemons and parm (or Pecorino Romano) around, this product probably won’t be for you. It’s easy enough to make a quick lemon sauce with some pasta water and call it good.

But if you just want something fast, done in basically the time it takes to boil noodles? Trader Joe’s Lemon Pesto is good for a jarred product. Boil and drain some penne, saving about 1/3 cup of pasta water. Put the hot pan back on the stove (heat off). Drop 2 T. of the lemon pesto in the pan. Add the noodles and a splash of pasta water, stirring until it reaches a saucy consistency that clings to the pasta. For me, it didn’t need any more cheese. So I topped it with some chopped parsley for grassy freshness and a few cracks of black pepper. Voilà. Lunch.

It’s tasty. The lemon comes through, though it’s not a sharp, zingy, fresh lemon flavor. With sunflower oil as the first ingredient, it’s a little high in fat (25g in a 1/4 c. pesto serving). But the ingredient list overall is pretty clean. I’ll put the full list down at the bottom. With the jar’s curve, I just couldn’t get a shot where you could read the whole thing. I’m not sure how it’s kept shelf-stable beyond the fact that egg lysozyme is listed as an ingredient in the grana padano cheese.

Would I buy it again? For me, no. I’d just use the Bon Appetit Alfredo recipe (no cream required) and lemon it up.

Ingredients: Sunflower seed oil, lemon, water, grana padano cheese (milk, salt, rennet, egg lysozyme), almonds, sugar, lemon zest, salt, lactic acid, natural flavors, vegetable and fruit juice (for color), yeast extract, ground black pepper. CONTAINS: MILK, EGG, ALMOND.

Check out some other We Tried’s from Trader Joe’s:

Breaded Cheese Curds

Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dipped Joe-Joe’s