This quick, no-cook sun dried tomato pesto blends tangy tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and olive oil into a bold, savory sauce- it’s ready in less than 10 minutes using a food processor or blender. Perfect for pasta, sandwiches, and more!
This recipe surprised me. When it comes to pesto, I usually make my classic Italian basil pesto or pesto alla Trapanese from Sicily, the latter being very tomato forward with almonds and a touch of fresh basil. Tossed with fresh homemade pasta or pillowy-soft gnocchi, pesto is a very easy no-cook sauce.
But sun dried tomato pesto (“pesto rosso” in Italian), caught my attention only after trying it at our favorite local restaurant. We scoffed it up with chunks of warm, crusty baguette and when 5 minutes passed without even a hint of conversation, I knew I needed to investigate this pesto further but at home in sweatpants with the music blasting.
Recipe Testing.
My first recipe tests were horrible. Too many sun dried tomatoes and not enough additional ingredients to balance their tangy sweetness. To adjust, I added a handful of pine nuts (and used the rest to make these soft & chewy pignoli cookies), lots of fresh basil, ditched extra salt because oil-packed sun dried tomatoes are salty enough, and cut back on the Parmesan cheese because again: salt.
I liked the results, and my recipe testers did too, nodding their heads with half smiles and full mouths. This red pesto has bold tomato flavor with a subtle, yet welcome creaminess from the pine nuts. And the best part? It comes together in less than 10 minutes in a food processor.
Helpful Tips:
- Sun dried tomatoes are sold two ways: in oil or dried. You need oil-packed sun dried tomatoes for this recipe. I got mine from Trader Joe’s.
- Use the specific quantity of sun dried tomatoes this recipe calls for. It’s the perfect amount. If you add more, the ratio will be off. It might taste too tangy, which was my initial problem when testing this recipe.
- Use fresh garlic. The flavor is less pungent and more sweet. My pesto comes out different every time depending on the freshness of the garlic.
- If serving this pesto with pasta (room temperature), here’s how to cool down pasta fast: spread out the cooked pasta in a single layer, onto a sheet pan. Coat lightly with oil to prevent sticking. Cool to room temperature. Then toss with the pesto. Use this tip for pasta salads too!
How To Use It.
Sun dried tomato pesto can be served in a multitude of ways. It’s excellent with pasta, on grilled sourdough bread, focaccia, or as a flavorful sandwich spread. The picture above shows this sun dried tomato pesto with rigatoni, fresh mozzarella and lots of fresh basil served at room temperature (when it’s served hot, the pasta absorbs too much sauce and it becomes dry).
More Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipes To Try:
- Ragù Bolognese Sauce
- Creamy Béchamel Sauce (For Lasagna, Pasta & More!)
- Authentic Pomodoro Sauce (Fresh or Canned)
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Bold, 6-Ingredient Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
- Prep Time: 5
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 1/2 cups 1x
- Category: Pasta Sauce
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This quick, no-cook sun dried tomato pesto blends tangy tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and olive oil into a bold, savory sauce- it’s ready in less than 10 minutes using a food processor or blender. Perfect for pasta, sandwiches, and more!
Ingredients
For the Pesto
- 240 g (8.5 oz) jar of sun dried tomatoes in oil
- 1–2 garlic cloves
- 60 g (1/2 cup) pine nuts
- 30 g (1 packed cup) fresh basil
- 25 g (1/4 cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil, as needed to loosen the sauce
To Serve (optional)
- 450 g (1 lb) rigatoni pasta
- Unsalted fresh mozzarella, torn into bite-size pieces
- Fresh basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
-
- Place the sun dried tomatoes (with oil) in a food processor. Add the garlic, pine nuts, basil and Parmesan cheese. Season with a few grinds of black pepper, if you like. Blend until smooth. It will look rustic, not perfectly smooth when finished. Taste and add more olive oil as needed to loosen the texture.
- Portion into a bowl or air-tight jar. Chill until ready to use, up to 4 days.
- If serving with pasta (room temperature): cook, drain and transfer the pasta to a rimmed baking sheet to cool. Spread it out. Coat lightly with oil. Allow to cool to room temperature before adding the pesto. Then, transfer to a large bowl, toss with some of the pesto, add the fresh mozzarella and garnish with basil leaves. Serve at room temperature.
Comments
Amanda says
This is delicious. Far better than shop bought but tastes professional!
Liz says
I just made this excellent recipe. Thank you.
Shaheen says
I recently tried making the homemade dried tomato pesto, and I must say it exceeded all my expectations. It was an absolute flavor explosion in every bite!
Noreen Siomos says
I’ve made this twice, the first time as written, and the second time I added lightly steamed broccoli florets and served it as a cold pasta salad. I appreciate that the recipe is in grams, it’s very easy to throw the ingredients together. I saved some time by processing chunks of Parmesan cheese in my food processor first so I wouldn’t have to grate the cheese by hand. Thank you so much for this recipe, it’s easy, delicious and perfect for summer!
Emilie Raffa says
This sounds fabulous. Absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing your tips and feedback. I’m going to give this a try!
Hal says
This looks like a great recipe for hot weather days. I got my one free warning not long ago, so anything low salt catches my eye. I’m presently offshore, but we’ll try this when I get back home
Sounds delicious!