Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Recipe
A simple, no-cook sun dried tomato pesto recipe that blends the delicious flavors of traditional pesto, with its fresh basil, toasted pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese, with the bright burst of sun-dried tomatoes. This summer sauce uses whole ingredients and comes together in minutes!
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Ingredients
- 1 cup sundried tomatoes with oil
- 70 g pine nuts ½ cup
- 3 cloves garlic
- 25 g basil leaves, packed 1 cup
- 50 g parmesan cheese ½ cup
- ¼-½ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Add pine nuts to a cast iron skillet over medium heat. As the skillet heats up, stir to keep the nuts from burning.
- Sauté until the pine nuts turn light golden brown and fragrant.
- Remove from the heat and add to the bowl of a food processor.
- Add the sundried tomatoes with the oil, basil leaves, parmesan cheese, and garlic cloves to the food processor. Blend until smooth. It will have a rustic, homemade look to it and not perfectly smooth.
- Add extra olive oil for a runnier pesto sauce.
Notes
How to Use Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
There is a myriad of ways to enjoy this delicious pesto sauce:
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- Roast vegetables on a large baking sheet until they have a nice char on them. Then, toss the roasted vegetables with sundried tomato pesto and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar right before serving.
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- Make a quick and easy sun-dried tomato pesto pasta salad by adding pesto sauce to a large bowl of pasta. Serve it at room temperature.
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- Serve as an appetizer with slices of bread, like my sourdough baguette or sourdough ciabatta bread.
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- Think of it as a multi-purpose condiment that you can use on almost everything like pasta, salads, appetizers, pizzas, and sandwiches.
Tips
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- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a bit of spice.
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- Between the salt in the tomatoes and cheese, I felt that there was enough salt in the sauce. However, if you are using homemade sun-dried tomatoes, you may need to add additional salt. Season your sauce with ½ teaspoon salt and taste it before adding more.
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- Want to make this pesto sauce vegan and dairy-free? Swap out the cheese with nutritional yeast for that umami flavor.
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- Just one cherry tomato plant will supply plenty of fresh tomatoes for you to dry your own tomatoes from. However, if you aren't growing any tomatoes, just grab a jar at your local grocery store.
Storage
Spoon leftover pesto into an airtight container and top off with enough oil to seal the sauce. Refrigerate up to 4 days. These simple steps keep it from oxidizing and turning brown. When ready to use, stir the extra oil into the sauce and enjoy. Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Nutrition
Calories: 180.2kcalCarbohydrates: 9.4gProtein: 5.4gFat: 14.8gSaturated Fat: 2.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3.9gMonounsaturated Fat: 7.1gCholesterol: 4.3mgSodium: 115.3mgPotassium: 534.2mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5.5gVitamin A: 171.6IUVitamin C: 5.8mgCalcium: 92.6mgIron: 1.8mg
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