This Sun Dried Tomato Pesto is absolutely bursting with flavour. Better still, it couldn’t be easier to make!
This is one of those absolute staples that’s always lurking about in my fridge. From a quick lunch to a delicious dinner, I slather this on just about everything. Let’s take a closer look at what the fuss is all about shall we?
Homemade Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Sure, Basil Pesto is great, but sun dried tomato pesto?! You’re in for a treat. I quite often pair regular pesto with sun dried tomatoes, the flavours complement each other so nicely. So, sun dried tomato pesto is a no-brainer for me.
You can get store-bought sun dried tomato pesto from nearly everywhere, BUT, homemade is truly is so much better. Store bought Pesto is one of those things that varies so much from brand to brand. I like to make my own pesto as you know exactly what’s going in, and you can easily adjust it to your preferred taste.
Plus, homemade pesto is SO easy to make, it would be rude not to. First things first, let’s see what you’ll need:
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Ingredients
- Sun Dried Tomatoes – I always use ones from a jar because they’re packed with so much flavour. You can use ‘dried’ sun dried tomatoes or semi-dried tomatoes, but you might need a little extra oil in when blitzing.
- Fresh Basil – Pairs delightfully with the sun dried tomatoes. It must be fresh! Don’t use dried basil.
- Garlic – Just 1 clove will do the job. Again, avoid garlic powder or pre-minced garlic in vinegar, it’ll throw off the flavour.
- Parmesan – Freshly grated is best!
- Pine Nuts – These add a nice bit of texture to the pesto and a mellow background flavour.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – This gives that classic pesto flavour. It also gives the pesto a nice, silky texture.
How to make Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
If you have the time and patience, you can make sun dried tomato pesto in a pestle and mortar, but in most cases, a food processor works just perfectly. The advantage of using a pestle and mortar is that you arguably get more flavour because you’re bursting the cells in the ingredients, as opposed to very finely chopping them. But again, a food processor is just fine.
How to make Sun Dried Tomato Pesto in a Food Processor (quick summary)
- Add all of your ingredients to a food processor, apart from your extra virgin olive oil.
- Turn on motor, then gradually pour in your oil until desired texture.
- Taste test for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta
One of the most classic ways to use sun dried tomato pesto is to toss it through pasta. Just a few tips if you’re going to do that:
- Off heat – Make sure you toss the pasta and pesto in a bowl off of the heat. If you do it in a pan, it’ll turn the pasta greasy. You also run the risk of burning the basil. Pesto doesn’t need to be cooked.
- Pasta water – To loosen things up you’ll want to toss the pesto with a good splash of leftover starchy pasta water. This will emulsify the fats in the pesto and help turn the pesto into a light, glossy sauce.
Recipe Tip
If you want some additions in with the pasta, I add a pinch of chilli flakes. The gentle heat really compliments the sun dried tomatoes. In the past, I have stirred through both grilled chicken and sausage, both of which work great. Roasted veggies also work great.
How to use Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Alongside a classic pesto pasta, here are some of my other favourite ways to use sun dried tomato pesto:
- Spread in a sandwich, like my Halloumi and Chorizo Grilled Cheese (pictured below).
- I love it in my 2-ingredient Creamy Tomato Pasta.
- I add a good dollop of it to my Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken.
- You can use it as a pizza base.
- As a flavour booster for your next ragu/meat sauce.
- With cheese and crackers.
If you’re after some more pesto recipes then check out these beauties:
Deliciously Different Types of Pesto
Okay, let’s tuck into the full sun dried tomato pesto recipe shall we?!
How to make Sun Dried Tomato Pesto (Full Recipe & Video)
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Spatula
- Fine Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups / 180g Sun Dried Tomatoes (use jarred ones, more flavour)
- 1 packed cup / 30g / 1oz Fresh Basil
- 1/2 cup / 40g Freshly Grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup / 4 tbsp Pine Nuts, toasted if desired
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup / 80 – 125ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil, or as needed
- 1 small clove of Garlic
- 1/2 tsp Salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- Add all of your ingredients to a food processor apart from the olive oil and turn on the motor. Slowly pour in your olive oil until you reach your desired texture, stopping and scraping the side if needed.
- Taste test for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 1 week (see notes).
- For classic pesto pasta: Drain the cooked pasta and place it in a large bowl off the heat. Toss in your preferred amount of pesto with a splash of pasta water. Use the pasta water to turn the pesto into a light, glossy sauce that clings to the pasta. For reference, I typically do around 1/3-1/2 cup for 200g/7oz pasta (serves 2).
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto FAQ
Depending on how strict a vegetarian you are, it may not be as parmesan does often contain animal rennet. To make it vegetarian, use a vegetarian hard cheese alternative.
Pine nuts give pesto a nice bit of texture, but they are rather expensive. To get that crunch without a hit to the wallet, consider almonds, pistachios or walnuts. If you have a nut allergy then you could try sunflower seeds.
It typically is – yes. In Italy, Pesto Alla Genovese refers to basil pesto. Whereas Pesto Rosse (Red Pesto) refers to a variation with sun dried tomatoes. Having said that, sometimes you’ll see red pesto using red peppers with/without sun dried tomatoes.
Some people use the oil from the sun dried tomatoes, and whilst it does have added flavourings, it’s actually mostly vegetable or sunflower oil, which both lack in flavour. For a classic pesto flavour, use extra virgin olive oil. You can store the sun dried tomato oil and use it for other recipes.
This sun-dried tomato paste looks fantastic! I want a big scoop of this on top of a great sandwich or pasta.
Oh yes! SO good in a sandwich!!
I love sun dried tomatoes! I can’t wait to give this a try. Coincidentally- I just heard you on Elaine’s podcast!
Oh that’s awesome! Hope I didn’t bore you with my waffling too much
I was going to say: I would love this pesto to always sit in my fridge. But I guess I am not the only one 😉 Delicious recipe that can save me so many times – thank you!
Haha, my fridge is considered empty if there’s no pesto in there! Thanks Elaine 🙂
Yummm I think I’m going to try several versions of this, pine nuts, walnuts, oh my. Spunds so good. Thanks so much for this!
Thanks Rosa, Enjoy!
I see that you can replace the pine nuts with other nuts. I don’t have pine nuts but I do have almonds and walnuts. Which one is better to use?
Almonds will give more of a crunch so go with that if you like a more textured pesto 🙂