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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Lightened-Up Sundried Tomato Basil Pesto Pasta
Yield
3/4 cup
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
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.
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.
Tip:
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.
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!
My absolute favorite pesto. I make it all the time!!!