This sun-dried tomato pesto is simply divine and so easy to make with simple ingredients. Fantastic on bread or pizza or tossed up with pasta.
I am in love with this sun-dried tomato pesto. It’s so simple and so good. In fact I’d go so far as to say it’s addictively good.
You will be looking for ways to use up this pesto. And it’s not hard at all to find them because it’s super versatile.
If you’re a pesto fan then also check out our classic vegan pesto recipe as well as our vegan pesto pasta. And for more sun-dried tomatoes try our sun-dried tomato cashew cheese spread and our sun-dried tomato vegan pate.
How To Make Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- First you just want to lightly roast your pine nuts for 5 minutes in a frying pan, just until they’re lightly browned.
- Then add them to a food processor along with some sundried tomatoes, olive oil, crushed garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, fresh basil leaves, salt and pepper and process until smooth.
- And voilà your pesto is ready!
Ingredient Notes
Sun-dried tomatoes. The best kind of sun dried tomatoes to use for this pesto are the ones in oil. You can let the excess oil drain off of them before using them, but they are juicy and flavorful and work great in this recipe.
Pine nuts. Roasting the pine nuts first in this recipe really adds a wonderful depth of flavor to this pesto so it’s highly recommended.
Serving Suggestions
It is divine tossed up with pasta, and any type of pasta goes wonderfully well with this pesto!
It is also divine spread onto toasted ciabatta or any toasted bread, or use it as a dip or spread it onto your pizza.
Storing and Freezing
Keep your pesto stored in an airtight container in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week.
It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months if you’d like to freeze it.
More Vegan Italian Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 cup Pine Nuts (136g)
- 1 cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes (210g)
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Garlic
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice Freshly Squeezed
- ⅓ cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes (20g)
- ¼ cup Fresh Basil Leaves Packed
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Add your pine nuts to a frying pan and roast (no oil needed, just a dry pan) for around 5 minutes, turning them over regularly until they are lightly browned.
- Then add the roasted pine nuts to a food processor along with the sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, crushed garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, fresh basil leaves, salt and pepper and process until well mixed.
- Serve right away or store in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Roasting the pine nuts adds a lovely depth of flavor to this recipe, however, if you’re short on time you can skip this step and just use the pine nuts without roasting them first.
- Sun-dried tomatoes in oil are best for this recipe, just let most of the oil drain off before using them.
- This recipe makes around 1 and ½ cups of pesto.
I tried this recipe and it came out absolutely great. I omitted the garlic, still it came out great. The reason is I wanted the pine nut taste and smell. I tried twice. Once I didn’t have basil leaves. So I substituted with basil paste – around one teaspoon from a bottle that I bought in the grocery store.
So glad you enjoyed it!
WOW WEE!!! This is THE MOST flavorful yumminess. I already made your other Pesto recipe his morning, and it is outstanding, however this is a total flavor bomb! I ran out of pine nuts making the other pesto, so I substituted toasted pecans. This is probably the 10th recipe of yours that I’ve tried, and you NEVER disappoint. Now I don’t even bother trying the recipe before I invite friends over, because I know your recipes are always perfection. Please keep sharing your wonderful treats, and I’ll keep trying to turn my family and friends into vegans! 🙂
Thanks so much Kimberli!
I just made this, and it’s amazing. Stuck my finger in the jar to test it, I can’t wait to smother pasta in it later, it tastes divine, better than any jar I’ve ever tried. I don’t even miss the parmesan!
That is so awesome Claire! Thanks so much for posting!
What can be used in place of pine nuts?
You could try walnuts.
Woah! Another 5 star review from me. I’ve never made pesto before but I think the toasted pine nuts really give it that extra dimension. I didn’t have fresh basil so I looked at other online vegan recipes when I read that spinach can be a good substitute. I then returned to the “mother ship” that is lovingitvegan and made yours with a little spinach instead of basil. I am going to grow some organic basil soon so will try again with basil. Thank you!
Hahaha ‘the mothership’ I love that! So pleased you enjoyed the pesto! Thanks a million Satin!