I think it tastes fresher when the pine nuts, cheese and garlic are added before serving. Not frozen.
Love the idea of goat cheese. Will try that soon. Brilliant idea. Love Marcella.

We always add the cheese directly to our pesto before we freeze it. It always tastes great.

I also use the olive oil technique, and freeze with the cheese. Comes out great!

Thanks so much, everyone! Healthierkitchen, I think it was Marcella Hazan who gave me the idea to freeze without the cheese, and I love the idea of using goat cheese instead of parmesan. I will definitely give it a try.

I have done it both with cheese and without and have not noticed a difference, either. I even freeze it with the garlic, too and have not noticed a bad taste that some have mentioned on other threads. Just an idea though...I sometimes freeze the pesto without cheese so that I can choose whether to stick with parmesan or sub in goat cheese when I thaw the pesto. If you haven't tried it, goat cheese in the pesto is delicious. I think I first got the idea from a Marcella Hazan recipe a long time ago. I just use a few tablespoons at a time, to taste.

I just freeze it with the cheese, I don't think it makes much of a difference.

Well, I have frozen pesto with the cheese in cubes and to me it tasted fresh. I always put the pesto in an ice cube tray and then poured a little olive oil over to "seal" the flavor.