This easy peasy Sun Dried Tomato Pesto is a diverse sauce with lip smacking flavors. It’s a quick 5-minute vegan and gluten free spread for your toast or toss it with pasta.
I love the tangy yet herb flavor of the dried tomatoes. Its one my favorite go to ingredient for any Italian dish. Sometimes, I experiment with my salads with it also.
Moreover, I like to have dips and sauces in my refrigerator for easy access to snacks. But this sauce topped all my favorites and now it’s always in demand in my home
Ingredients for Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Oil packed Sun-Dried tomatoes
Pine nuts
Fresh Basil
Garlic
Nutritional yeast
Crushed black pepper
Salt
Water
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
How to make Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Firstly, I combined all the ingredients in a blender (except extra virgin olive oil) and blended it smooth. I tested it by opening the blender. If you find it little dry add another 2 tbsp water and blend it further for a smoother texture.
Secondly, I spooned it out in a serving bowl and stirred in the extra virgin olive oil and served it.
It tasted so good that we licked every bit of its first batch. So, therefore, I actually blended it quite a few times so I can click some images to share with you all.
Expert tips
- While measuring sun dried tomatoes make sure to not drain the oil. Its oil is flavored with herbs and enhances the taste of this pesto ten times.
- More importantly, use high speed blender to blend this pesto to a smooth texture.
- It is to be noted that raw pine nuts meaning unsalted and unroasted works well for this recipe. Also, use fresh basil because it brings out the delicious taste of this pesto which dried basil won’t be efficient enough.
This can be stored in an air tight glass container in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks. The oils may solidify so bring it to room temperature before serving.
It is salty along with being mild tangy with a hint of nuts and aromatic herbs.
Sun dried tomatoes are loaded with vitamins and minerals but since they are packed with oil they tend to be higher in calories. In this recipe, I have tried to reduce the oil consumption by adding water to blend. Thereby, trying to reduce the calories as much as possible while maintaining its deliciousness. With the addition of fresh basil and pine nuts this sauce definitely has an edge.
This recipe makes about 1 ½ cups and the serving size is about 2 tbsp per person.
Green pesto is basically a combination of pine nuts and basil along with other ingredients. Whereas, this pesto consists mainly sun-dried tomato along with pine nuts, basil and other ingredients.
You may also like:
Vegan Ranch Dressing
Vegan Tzatziki
Sriracha Mango Dip
Other Italian recipes that might interest you:
Vegan Pizza Rolls
Spaghetti Aglio e olio
Vegan Habanero Cauliflower Spaghetti
Other recipes with sun dried tomatoes that you may explore:
Farro Kidney Beans Balls
Tempeh Parmesan Burger with Habanero Dip
Tofu Sun Dried Tomato Burger
Did you make it?
If you get a chance to make this recipe then please leave your feedback in the comments below along with the ratings. In addition, you may tag @kiipfit on Instagram because we would love to see what you cooked. Moreover, you may explore more delicious recipes via my cookbooks.
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 cup oil packed sun dried tomatoes
- 1/4 cup raw pine nuts (unroasted and unsalted)
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a high speed blender combine all the ingredients (except extra virgin olive oil) and blend it smooth. While blending if you feel that the pesto has become dry and its tough to blend further add 2 tbsp more water and then blend again until smooth. (Do not add further water).
- Spoon it out in a serving bowl and do a taste test. Adjust salt if required. Stir in extra virgin olive oil and serve over toast or toss it with pasta.
Notes
- This recipe can be refrigerated for about 2 weeks in an air tight glass container.
- If you toss it with pasta then make sure to garnish with more fresh basil to enhance its flavors.
- This recipe makes about 1 ½ cups of pesto and the serving size is 2 tbsp per person.
Nutrition
Sam says
This looks amazing. I can’t wait to serve it with my favourite penne pasta. I love the sundried tomato flavour in there.
Gunjan says
Let me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Amanda Mason says
This was delish! I made it and served it over zucchini noodles to make it a low carb meal. Easy to make!
Gunjan says
Thank you Amanda for trying it out and appreciating it as well. I am so happy that you all like this pesto so much. You made my day!