Don’t you love when you discover a new food that blows your mind, despite the fact that others have been raving about it for ages?
Some of mine:
- Avocado (I “hated” avocado until I ate my face off w/ guacamole in Mexico, 2007)
- Mushrooms (anyplace, anytime)
- Beets (raw, cooked, juiced, I like them all)
- Tofu
- raw cacao powder (a recent baking discovery…I’m obsessed!)
- Dark chocolate (it took me a while to appreciate the intensity, but now I love it)
My latest cooking discovery: Sundried Tomatoes!
Where have you been all my life?
I can’t seem to stop putting them in my food. My first recipe was Sundried Tomato Cheezy Kale Chips. Sundried tomatoes are just so flavourful and fun to add into so many dishes.
For some reason, I could not get the thought of sundried tomato basil pesto out of my mind.
I made two trials of this pesto using both oil-packed (shown today) and non-oil packed sundried tomatoes. Both worked wonderfully, however the recipe changes slightly which I will note below. If you are using non-oil packed tomatoes, be sure to soak them in water for at least 1-2 hours before making this pesto. Finally, look for organic, sulfite-free sundried tomatoes if you are concerned about consuming sulfites.
Don’t mind the upside down sea salt. It’s a long story that resulted in an exploded bottom with salt spilled over every nook and cranny of the kitchen. I won’t mention any names (cough, husband, cough). It now rests upside down with tin foil covering the jagged plastic bottom.
You will need about 20 grams of fresh basil which is equal to a 1/2 packed cup. Really pack it in so it’s overflowing!
Much like my Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto, this pesto isn’t the prettiest to look at, but it sure tastes incredible!
Ok, maybe itis kinda pretty with the right lighting! It’s a sunny & orange sundried pesto.
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5 from 3 reviews |
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Lightened-Up Sundried Tomato Basil Pesto Pasta
By
This lightened up pesto has just 1/4 cup of olive oil, but I promise you won’t know the difference . The sundried tomatoes, walnuts, and basil create an extremely flavourful pesto that goes wonderfully with pasta, sandwiches or wraps, or mixed into some grilled vegetables. Can’t have nuts? Just leave them out. The addition of the walnuts was more of an afterthought than a main ingredient.
Yield
3/4 cup
Prep time
Cook time
0 Minutes
Total time
Ingredients:
For the pesto
- 2 garlic cloves
- 20 grams fresh basil leaves (1/2 cup packed)
- 55 grams (about 7) oil-packed sundried tomatoes (see notes)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 6-8 tbsp water
- 3-4 tbsp walnuts (toasted, if preferred)
- Fine grain sea salt + pepper, to taste (I used 1/4 tsp salt)
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
For the pasta
- Your choice of pasta
- Walnuts, chopped and toasted
- Fresh basil
- Sundried tomatoes, chopped
- Pesto
Directions:
- In a food processor, with the machine running, drop in the 2 garlic cloves to mince. Now, drop in the basil and process until finely chopped.
- Pour in the olive oil, with the machine running, along with the tomatoes, nutritional yeast (optional), and water (add slowly as needed). Process until mostly smooth.
- Pulse in the walnuts until chunky and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition Information
Tips:
If using dry, non oil-packed sundried tomatoes, soak 30 grams in a bowl of water for 1-2 hours until very soft. Reserve the soaking water and use it in the pesto. I used 9 tbsp of soaking water, but you may need less or more depending on your preference.
Served with toasted crunchy bread, this meal was one to remember. I didn’t think I would ever like a pesto more than my Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto, but this one is now tied for first!
If you find yourself with leftover pesto, I recommend spreading it on a sandwich or wrap, along with roasted veggies, spinach, and avocado. Mmmmm, yes I highly recommend that. Or just mix some pesto into some roasted veggies for a tasty side dish. It should keep for a week in the fridge, but I doubt it will last that long.
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{ 160 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh wow, this looks delicious! I’m with you on the sundried tomato craze… I recently found some dried organic ones at a local health food store and have been adding them to every meal possible! My fave so far has been rehydrating them and blending with roasted red peppers to make a dip/spread (the recipe is here: http://eat-spin-run-repeat.com/recipes-2/?recipe_id=6021879).
PS where are your wooden bowls from? They’re gorgeous!!! (And so are the photos, but I know that’s because there’s one crazy talented lady behind the camera.) ;)
They are from a garage sale…heh :)
I cannot believe you didn’t like avocados – one of my biggest joys in life!! Glad you’ve come around to the right side
This sounds and looks incredible! I always thought I didn’t like sundried tomatoes and then one day I had them on a pizza and Boom! I loved them. Now I eat them on pizza, in salads and pastas and sometimes I just grab a handful to munch on while I’m cooking dinner. I just bought a ginormous bag of sundried tomatoes at Costco, so now all I need is the basil and I can make this!
I love mushrooms TOO Angela! The texture is one that I think I’ve heard people say they “HATE” or “LOVE” more than any one food item. {
lovers say “wonderful”
haters say “rubbery”}
But I’ve not been around for too long ;). Thank you for this recipe, Angela. We FINALLY broke into that giant sun-dried tomato container and we made a tossed pasta salad with it~ your looks really nice
I just discovered sundried tomatoes too! They’re awesome in this vegan recipe from The Kitchn:
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-braised-coconut-spinach-chickpeas-with-lemon-164551
I love anything that lets me stew them though. They’re great in a big stew of quinoa cooked in veggie broth, then mixed with tomato sauce, chick peas, and chipotle peppers! :)
Wow that looks great!
I really enjoyed it, although I made it with collards instead of spinach b/c I think spinach gets too wilted when it braises. That’s just a matter of personal taste though. :)
Totally agree about sundried tomatoes. One of my favourite ingredients! Your food always looks so amazing.
Oh yum!!! I love sundried tomatoes…so intense in flavour! Im going to try this tonight!! Thanks!!!
Hope you like it!
I love sun dried tomatoes, too bad my husband can’t eat them, but he loves basil, so maybe this combination will be a winner in our house!!
This looks fantastic!!! I love pesto in all of this delicious permutations :D
I bought sun dried tomatoes at my health food shop the other day and they contain no sulphites (used to help preserve dried fruit and is in some wines) the brand is Ceres Organics, they are a dried tomato and are dark in colour but they still look good, I will be using some to make this pesto which sounds delish
Sundried tomatoes are super easy to make in a dehydrator!
I love sundried tomatoes, I love pesto, so I how could I not love this?? Awesome recipes!
I was the same way with avocado. I started eating them on a trip to California in 2008 and couldn’t stop (we won’t talk about what that does to your bathroom experiences… LOL!).
Gorgeous looking dish! I love SDTs. I even began adding a little of the “juice” from them in regular basil pesto.
same exact thing with avocados… minus the whole mexico part. But seriously, once I actually tried them I realized my hate for them was completely made up in my mind!
This looks amazing! I wish you were here to cook me up a batch of this right now! :-) This looks like a super easy, great weeknight meal that you can make over and over again. I can’t wait to try this.
Ooh and I like your new picture. :)
I made this original version, but wonder what you reckon to roasting the garlic first? Do you think it would enhance or impede the flavour? I only ask as even though I love love love garlic, sometimes it upsets my tummy when eaten raw….
I am craving pasta now!!
I think roasted garlic would taste amazing. I think that’s what I did in my roasted tomato pesto recipe if I recall. :)
Oh this sound amazing!! I’m a huge fan of pesto, so I’m sure I’ll love this variation. Can’t wait to try it out!
Oh yum! I love sun-dried tomatoes and this looks right up my alley! I never make pesto though…my husband is allergic to tree nuts, peanuts, and sunflower seeds, so I never know what to sub in.
To be honest this pesto tastes good even without the nuts at all. The addition of walnuts was more of an afterthought than a main ingredient.
I love sundried tomatoes! This looks fantastic!
I make all of my own sundried tomatoes every year – I buy a big bin of tomatoes at the farmer’s market during tomato season, put them in my dehydrator overnight, and voilá! They taste just like the real thing and last me all year! I can also make them raw if I want. I’m sure you could also make them in the oven.
I can’t wait to try this in my dehydrator!!
Yum! That looks delish. My husband recently discovered sun-dried tomatoes and has been eating them a few times a week; I bet he’d like this dish! I realized that I like them even more than before, too, which works out well for both of us. :)
I love sundried tomatoes. I think one of the best pasta salads I ever had with pesto was in St. Thomas and it had pasta, pesto, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, and golden raisins oh and sundried tomatoes. It was fantastic. Now I just have to use a vegan type parmesan cheese and all will be right in the world :)
Golden raisins sounds fun! It’s funny…our bread had raisins and cranberries in it and I thought it would taste weird, but I really enjoyed the salt and sweet contrast with the pesto.
Your list of discovery foods looks very similar to mine. I would add eggplant too. It’s not up there with avocados and mushrooms but I used to hate it and now it’s slowly showing its better side.
agree…I *almost* put it on the list, but I don’t quite love it yet. It’s getting there slowly perhaps! I do love this eggplant parmesan recipe though: http://ohsheglows.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6005393
love the flavors in this pesto! it sounds completely addictive…
I’ve got basil growing in the back yard!
Love sundried tomatoes, and love this pesto idea! I’m eating low-carb in May, so pasta is out, but I’m drooling over how wonderful it would be paired with some tofu & veggies in lettuce wrap…
A lettuce wrap is a fun idea! Might have to try that.
Or eat with spaghetti squash or zucchini ribbons!
I used to make a bread with sundried tomato, but haven’t used it in years.
I just got my own basil plant and wasn’t sure I’d find enough recipes to use it for (though all my friends are obsessed with your basil-avocado pasta sauce!). Can’t wait to try this – thanks!
Bread with sundried tomatoes sounds amazing!
I could find the recipe for you if you’d like!
Btw, my friends picked this pasta recipe as the main for our dinner party this week!
That looks amazing. I could go for some right now! Now!
I’ve been enjoying your posts – even though I’m not much of a cook. I had to let you know that I have the same love affair with avocados. I get a little panicky if I don’t have a ripe one in the kitchen. I put them on everything!
Glad you share my love for them :) Thanks for reading Laura!
I just ate breakfast, but if that pasta was sitting in front of me right now, I’d devour the whole thing!!
I was the same way with mushrooms. When I was younger, my mother loved mushroom pizza, and I would pick the mushrooms off one by one. Now mushroom pizza is one of my favorites!! Funny how taste buds change over time.
Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you, what a compliment! Im the same with mushrooms…love them on pizza too
Angela,
I ave the SAME EXACT upside down salt container in my spice drawer. LOL The creation of how mine came to be was much less dramatic than yours (No explosions) and less messy, but I can’t wait to use it all up so I can have a “normal” salt-using experience again. :) It’s the little things, right?
For some reason this makes me happy to know that I’m not the only one! but I do feel your pain. hah. Eric dropped it on the floor and the bottom exploded out….Im still finding salt in weird places.
Can’t wait to try this! It sounds amazing!
I too, didn’t like avocados until a few years ago. Now a day doesn’t go by that I’m not adding avocado to something. Cilantro was another that wasn’t on my favorite list until about 6 years ago. Now I love it too!
YUM! I wish there was a simple method of copying recipes I want to try, and organizing them all – I’ve got to get a system down! I tend to cook mostly from what sounds good vs. trying recipes… it’s so easy to get bored when you don’t experiement with other thoughts, flavors, etc. Thanks for the post! :)
Sundried tomatoes are one of my fave things! When I was strictly vegan I made all kinds of raw nut “meats” and one was a “taco meat” that involved sundried tomatoes and to this day, it’s one of my fave raw, vegan, GF, etc EASY eats.
And I love basil & pesto…hungry now!
it’s so funny you mentioned this because Eric said they taste like sausages! LOL. I will have to try the nut meat…I was thinking theyd be good in a veg burger too.
we loved your first version of this and used it on pizza- which was awesome-, i’ll have to try this one! ps- your crazy woman pudding looked so good that I had to try my own version (we didn’t have all the ingredients) and it was such a great breakfast. Of course- I gave credit where it was due- thank you for your inspiration
I’ve had it on pizza too…so good! Glad to hear you made a spin off of the pudding & enjoyed it. Those recipes are fun to play around with!
Looks amazing! I have a crazy love for sun-dried tomatoes, I don’t buy them often because I am notorious for using them in a meal and then sitting down to eat the entire container of them while the food is cooking. Must practice self-control!
I was just going to ask about the kind of bread that was as it looks great!
Cranberry & Raisin? I’ll have to look for that. Interesting pairing with the pesto.
Forget Mayo, I’m going to make a sandwich with your pesto and crusty bread if I can find it:)
omg, I will be making THIS! Looks so amazing, Angela. I love sundried tomatoes- especially in pasta!
haha the upside down salt… too funny. Kevin did that with white rice flour once. I’ll never forgive him for that. He dropped a huge bucket of it when he was looking for his passport before leaving on a business trip. Why he thought the passport would be in the pantry is beyond me. Then he scurried off to the UK leaving me with a kitchen/pantry filled with flour everywhere. It even got on the ceiling. Ugh.
nice going away present! hah
Hi Angela, looks great! I’m not sure if anyone has mentioned these yet, but they are fantastic. Extra moist but not oil-packed, and smoked- yum!
http://www.amazon.com/California-Sun-Dry-Tomatoes-Julienne-3-Ounce/dp/B001LQTDZA
This is unbelievable — not only do I have the ingredients for this on hand, but I’m confident both my husband and I would inhale this delightful, healthy, vegan recipe. My lucky day.
I like to stir pesto into rice, particularly when I have company over. It seems so high-end. . . ;)
mmm that’s a great idea!
I can appreciate the lighter side of good food!
I like the intense flavor and convenience of sundried tomatoes, but I like the texture of roasted tomatoes even more–I saw your comment above and searched for that roasted tomato pesto and can’t wait to try both!
This looks amazing! Also, I just got on the green monster train.. outstanding! I’m kicking myself for not having tried it earlier. :-)
Glad to hear that!
You know you are always onto a tasty meal when pesto is involved!
Ahh I wish I liked sundried tomatoes since I absolutely love your other pesto recipes! I did recently post a recipe for a roasted red pepper pesto inspired by you though. It was pretty delicious if I do say so myself. Also, that salt incident sounds totally like something I would do!
That sounds yummy! Glad you are enjoying them Diana.
I’ve made something similar to this and it was much tastier with the dried tomatoes. When I used oil packed tomatoes it didn’t have the same tomato hit. I also find it works better if you aren’t distracted and use pecans instead of walnuts!
Sun-Dried Tomatoes are a staple in our house- I have to restrain myself from putting them on everything. This looks soooo good, and that crusty bread is calling my name!
P.S. I love your new logo- It’s so cute! :-)
This looks delicious! I never used to like sundried tomatoes, but now I love them! Same goes for avocado. On the other hand, I’m still not a big fan of mushrooms!
Looks amazing! Can’t wait to try this when I get home.
I find sundried tomatoes a bit acidic and overwhelming sometimes and put myself off them but recently I discovered sunblush tomatoes and I could eat a whole jar very easily. Ignoring the pretentious name, they are so much sweeter and juicier and… heavenly?!
I will have to keep an eye out for those!
I was so cocky in thinking I had sun-dried tomatoes(I just moved/unpacked AND should have known better!),,,anyways I used some leftover cherry tomatoes and roasted peppers for the pesto over zucchini noodles,,,loved it! Will make again…with the sun-dried tomatoes next time :)
haha glad to hear it worked out anyways :)
Thats crazy you used to not like avocados! My mom always made fresh guacamole growing up, so I have always loved them, but I never used to think to eat them in other dishes, before I change my unhealthy eating habits… I have about 1 a day haha :) although it gets a little pricey
This is really weird but the same thing happened to my salt so now I have to keep mine upside down as well! haha
This looks amazing! I love pesto!
Thats funny! There is strength in numbers…heh
This recipe has been a GODSEND!! Last year i harvested about 70 pounds of tomatoes…those that didn’t get snacked on we roasted and made into the roasted tomato version of this pesto. AMAZING!!! I froze alot of it and we have been enjoying it all winter long. It freezes beautifully… We used the last of it up last week… : (
This is such an amazing recipe along with your avocado pasta recipe… they rank 1 and 2 on my list of all time pasta favorites!!! Looking forward to this year’s crop of ‘maters so i can make more… Thank you so much!
Wow thats a lot of tomatoes!!! Amazing. So glad to hear you are enjoying the recipes Lindsey!
Oh my gosh. I have been having a borderline obsession w/ sun-dried tomatoes recently. I can’t get enough and have been digging for recipes. Can’t WAIT to try this one–looks amazing!
This is lovely! I was just checking out some of your older recipes and was going to try the roasted tomato pesto recipe, but I like how this one is lightened up a little. I have family coming into town this weekend and might just try both and see which one we all agree on:) Sun-dried or roasted? I’m sure either will be wonderful!
Yum! I made a sundried tomato basil pesto a while back and used it (thinned out with some tomato sauce) on a caprese pizza – so good! Yours looks divine, and I love the idea of using it on pasta. Definitely something I need to make again, soon! :D
I love sun dried tomatoes and always have them in my fridge! They make such a nice addition to grain and bean salads. I’ve never tried making pesto with them, but this recipe looks fantastic. Do you have any suggestions for making a nut-free version? Maybe pine nuts or sunflower seeds?
Seeds might work too, however it tastes good without any nuts at all. The addition of the walnuts was more of an afterthought than a main ingredient.
This pasta is just packed with amazing flavours!
This look absolutely fabulous!
Too funny. Avocado and mushrooms are two of my obsession foods. I will need to make this recipe asap!
I loved your Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto and if this one is tied for first, I am definitely going to have to give it a try! I can’t wait!
I hope you like it Theresa!
How much pasta?
The pesto will make enough for 3-4 servings, but I just made 2 and saved the rest for wraps.
Angela, come cook for me, please. Pretty please.
I’m trying to like avocados because I had it in a sandwich the other day (purchased, not made by myself) and it was amazing. However, I have no idea how to judge if an avocado is ripe or not when I buy it in the supermarket. I got one yesterday and it turned out it was rock solid and thus pretty disgusting to eat. Any tips you have for me?
Hey Clem, When it’s ripe it should be *just* soft to the touch. However when you press it with your thumb, it shouldn’t push inward super easy. It takes a bit of trial and error, I’ve found, but eventually you will be able to tell when it’s perfectly ripe. If it feels like a baseball in firmness give it a few days and do the push test again.
Great recipe! I too love sun dried tomatoes. I’m bookmarking this. Can’t wait to try it out. Thanks! I once made a savory sun dried tomato jam with onions. Ooh now there’s something you could maybe work with ;) I served it with crostini.
Thanks Angela, made this last night and it was a hit!
I love sundried tomaterz too! They’re SO tasty and SO versatile….I enjoy it in pastas too, & sometimes in salads. And I’m a fan of all your past-fear foods! But I haven’t tried raw cacao powder yet–I’m so curious now!
Love your photos… and the meal looks delicious!
Wowsa…this pasta looks amazing!!!!! I love sun dried tomatoes and pesto..mmm..mmm:)
OMG! I made this last night and it was uh-MAY-zing! I think I may actually love this more than regular pesto! Tossed it on some high fiber spaghetti with roasted asparagus, sauteed mushrooms and spinach and it was a fabulous dinner. My boyfriend loved it too! Thanks for the great recipe :-)
Hey Christine, so glad you enjoyed it! We are pretty crazy for it too.
Oohh I can’t wait to try this! I make the roasted tomato basil pesto every other week, just can’t seem to get enough of it! I did find a shortcut, since roasting the tomatoes in my apartments ancient oven takes FOREVER.. I use a can of organic fire roasted tomatoes and it came out just the same! Great for when you are short on time :) Heading out to look for sundried ones asap! Thanks Angela!
Great dish! My newest find is an avocado. I made gaucamole last week, with knowing I have an allergy to avacado, and all of a suddne when I had the gauc, nothing happened, I felt fine! Now I can’t wait to explore the world of avocado!!
Mmmm , this looks yummy, thanks Angela…
You should put your salt in a glass jar, it would go with your pretty pantry collection ;)
Have a great day,
Isa
thats a great idea actually!
This recipe is definately going in the “FAVORITES” section in my recipe book, right next to your Avocado Pasta! We are what we call Vegan-ish in our house (we still eat fish sometimes)… We used the pesto on top of tilapia and as sauce over Trader Joe’s Basil and Garlic Linguine. Oh. MY. GOODNESS! This was delicious! Thanks for another easy go-to dinner dish!
Thanks Patty so happy to hear that!
This looks yummy!! I am on a raw pesto with raw daikon noodles kick right now. I add spinach, which might make your pesto a bit more appealing?? Or it might end up looking like baby poo.. haha I am not sure.
haha either way Im sure it would taste great!
Oh my Gosh! I just made this and think I died and went to heaven! What an amazing recipe! I didn’t have the walnuts so I left them out and didn’t notice anything missing. I had cashews and considered throwing them in but didn’t at the last minute. I wonder how that would have tasted?
Glad you enjoyed it!
Along with delicious flavor that sun dried tomatoes add to the dishes they are a natural source of Vitamins C and a good source of iron. Love them!
What an amazing meatless dinner. I’ve got all these ingredients handy too :)
Angela – I tried this yesterday with my husband! We don’t have a food processor, so we used a blender and minced the nuts/garlic ourselves – it still turned out DELICIOUS! I <3 whole wheat pasta.
For about a week I had this odd craving for pesto. I never really give it much thought, I’ll eat it when it’s there but not really a shopping list essential.
I think it must have been because I bought a pesto and balsamic dressing the other day and I remembered how good pesto was.
Then my work colleague that pesto and pasta for lunch and it smelt amazing, I definitely need to make some, if not at least buy a jar!
With sundried tomatoes, I find it hit and miss, sometimes they are delicious and sometimes they have a really odd taste to them. I prefer the ones you get from the deli.
I made this for dinner tonight. Everyone enjoyed it and ate it all including my 8 year old, picky eater. Delicious meal, as usual, when I cook recipes from your site.
yay that is great news!
Angela, this recipe was amazing. My boyfriend (who is pretty picky) loved this pesto and so did I :) I used pistachios instead of walnuts (since it was what I had on hand) and it turned out great! The bf has decided to have the left over pesto for dinner again tonight :)
So glad you enjoyed it Gwen! (Sorry for the delayed reply) :)
Summer basil = pesto.
In other words, DA BEST!
I just made this and WOW! is it good!
This looks so good! I made your roasted tomato pesto and loved it, and I’m excited to try this recipe too! I think the pesto would also be really good on spelt pizza with loads of spinach :)
I made this and it was incredibly delicious! I tossed it with Spinach filled ravioli but I can’t wait to use it as a dressing for grilled vegetables, as a dip for crostini next to a glass of red wine, as part of a summer antipasto platter – the options are endless! :)
On a side note – I somehow accidentally managedto drop my 1/4 cup measuring cup into my food processor after i drizzled in the olive oil. It was metal so I think it did a number on the blade of my food processor – maybe this will give me the excuse I’ve been looking for to buy a new one.
So glad you liked it Susan! Sorry to hear about your food processor blade!
This pesto is awesome! I had raw cashews on hand, so I substituted those for the walnuts. I will definitely make this again! Thank you for sharing, I really enjoy your blog!
We made this for dinner tonight but used sundried tomato basil spaghetti and added some sauteed cherry tomatoes .. It was amazing!!
Not-So-Pro-Tip: If you don’t have time to soak your tomatoes you can get them set up in the soaking water for a few minutes, then microwave them (still in the water) for about 20 seconds. It’s like a fast forward.
This pesto is SO GOOD!! I ate it on lightly-sauteed julienned green and yellow squash. My mom took a bite on her way out the door to dinner and said she’d rather stay in and eat the pesto! It was super quick & easy to make; I’ll definitely be making this over and over again. Thank you!!!!
hah love to hear that!! I cant wait to try it over julienned zucchini too.
I am new to vegetarian/vegan dishes– I am not a total convert but I do meatless meals for my family. I am trying to understand what is nutritional yeast and what is it for.
Thanks—-
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made this for dinner last night for my parents and they loved it. It now will become a staple in my kitchen! I am new to your site and I can’t wait to try your other recipes!!!
It just tried this last night and it is wonderful, quick, and easy! I added mushrooms to mine as usual. I may add even more veggies the next time. It probably won’t make my regular rotation of meals since I tend to avoid pasta and oil most of the time. Two things that make me put on weight very easily!
It is so good we put it on raw spiralized zucchini (somebody also made it with sauteed julienned zucchini) and we use soaked sundried tomatoes and then use the water from the tomatoes were soaking in – no oil! So yummy!
Did you make the bread you paired with this pasta? If so, will you share the recipe? It looks phenomenal! =)
Sadly no, it`s from a bakery ;)
Hi, i was just wondering how many people this serves? is it just one? :) it looks delicious! thanks x
We had this for dinner the other night with some tomato basil bread from Panara. Everybody loved the pasta, we will be having this one again and again, thanks for the recipe!
Can you also serve this dish cold?
Made it tonight…delicious!! Thank you!
Hi Angela,
I made this recipe this week. I must say this is one of the best dinners I’ve had in a long time. Just delicious and I did not miss the meat for one minute. I’m not vegan but looking for healthier things to fill my diet. This is great! I had the left pesto on a sandwich today.
Thanks,
Lori
I made this last night and it was AHmazing! Such a great flavor-can’t wait to try the roasted tomato pesto tomorrow night! Thanks for all of your amazing recipes, Angela. I pretty much exclusively cook from yours! As someone relatively new to the vegan kitchen, it has been so great.
This does look very yummy. Can’t wait to try it. I printed a copy for myself and my adult daughter. (Is there any way your website could direct it to print full-page, rather than teeny tiny print? I’m thankful you have a print button – my website doesn’t!)
Amanzing recipe! I’m trying to get my family into a healthier lifestyle, so I’m definitely going to make this pasta next week! I had one little question.. For how many servings did you use the pesto? We are with four, so I would like to know if the pesto is enough..
Thanks!
This pesto is gorgeous! My daughter had it for lunch and wanted it again for dinner. We made it the 1st time with sun dried tomatoes in oil and added no extra oil. The color was a beautiful red. For dinner, I used soaked in water sun dried tomatoes and added just a drizzle of oil into processor. We are trying to do more low-fat meals. The color was also very red and not orangey at all. This will be a go-to favorite. My daughter thinks you are a genius and trusts your recipes more than any other vegan recipe site. Thanks so much Angela!!
Hi from Quebec!! I just wanted to tell you how much I’m enjoying your site. This recipe is the first I’ve made and it was absolutely delicious!! My kids loved it!! Thanks so much and keep up the great work. I can’t wait to buy your book.
Another one of your winning recipes that my fiance and I can’t get enough of! Thank you so much for the time you dedicate to this blog. Many of us out there are indebted to you! Can’t wait to try everything on this site and in your books! :D
I bought the Kindle version of your book and this is the first recipe I have tried. It was very easy to make with no super exotic ingredients and my family really loved it. I served it with quinoa pasta. Thank you for a great dish!! We have been trying to become vegan for about two months now and I’m proud to say that we are about 80% there! So far your book has been the best that I have seen for healthy vegan food that looks and tastes good.
I don’t have walnuts in my pantry right now…only almonds or cashews. Would you recommend one over the other? Or should I just leave them out?
Thanks!!
This looks incredible; what a fun dessert to serve in the summer! Hope you had a lovely weekend.
Cannot wait to make this! Thank you for sharing your fabulous recipes!
Hi, I just made this delicious recipe! I am vegan and gluten free so this was a wonderful recipe for me. I used gluten free Penne rice noodles, and made toasted gluten free Udi,’s whole grain bread to dip in my olive oil, and herb bread dip.
I used an Australian sweet red wine to soak my dried tomatoes in, but added a little water at the end to make enough liquid for the blender. The sweet wine complimented the tomato’s.
Also a note about using end of year basil…Fall is fast approaching and I decided this would be a great way to use the end of season basil. It was! I suggest soaking it in water in a colander to get any dead leaves and unwanted visitors nesting in your basil out.
I made a Meyer lemon and olive oil dressing for the spinach, petite red and yellow sweet peppers, onion, cucumber, tomato, herb, and toasted pumpkin seed salad. This went well with the pesto salad. I placed them side by side on my plate but ended mixing them together at the end because they paired well together. Oh yes, I poured a glass of the red wine to go with it. This was an amazing meal, perfectly timed for using the last of my basil.
I wish I could share the pictures with you.
For meat eaters, you can add chicken to the pasta, and even feta cheese. A great addition!
Thanks again!
That all sounds delish, Jane!! Glad you enjoyed it :)
I’m late to the party here but I made this pesto on the weekend for an event. I used it on rigatoni and made a cold pasta salad. It was a hit!
Hey Kelly, So happy this was a hit! I love cold pasta salads…the best!
How long can I keep this pesto in the freezer, for future use?
Hey Janelis, I’m not positive, but I would guess up to 1 month. If you try freezing it please let us know how it goes!
It’s funny how new foods, that you never even thought you liked, suddenly taste amazing–like your sun dried tomatoes. I experienced this when we went plant-based. It took a few weeks, and then my taste buds began to change.
I eat a lot more variety now (5 years later) than ever before.
Another crazy thing is that I used to dislike anything spicy. Now, at Asian restaurants where the spiciness is on a scale from 0-10, I usually go for six. That’s a huge change, because I used to do zero!
Just got on the zoodle train and of course, first stop for sauces/recipes is OSG! I am so excited to try this recipe. Just have one question, if using the oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, do you measure 55g with the oil or should I drain some oil out before weighing?
Hey Mich, I measure after draining off the oil. Hope this helps!