Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto is an easy recipe that you can whip up in your food processor! Use for a pasta salad, with chicken, make it vegan or stir through pasta. Homemade pesto recipes are versatile with unlimited options!
Homemade dips are spreads have so many uses. Olive Tapenade recipes work on crackers or bruschetta for entertaining ideas. Throw some basil, feta and tomatoes together for the Easy Crostini. Or turn the Roast Capsicum Pesto into a dip!
The food processor makes the process of making pesto quick and easy!
Our Rocket and Cashew Pesto and Basil and Cashew Pesto can be used for our Bacon Pesto Pasta or Pesto Penne recipes.
Pesto can be used on flat breads, as a pizza sauce, as a dip or appetizer!
Use this sun-dried tomato pesto as an alternative to the rocket pesto in the Rocket Pesto Pasta.
For everything you need to know about homemade pesto, check out my How to Make Pesto Guide!
What to do with Sun-dried Tomatoes?
Sun-dried tomatoes are a popular ingredient and they can be used in many recipes.
Commonly used for pasta, salads, sandwiches and pesto, sun-dried tomatoes are rich in flavour and have a firm texture.
Use them in the Sun-dried Tomato Tapenade for a super easy appetizer!
You can purchase them in a jar with oil (great to use as an alternative to olive oil) or at the deli in smaller portion sizes. The deli version often comes semi-dried and does not package the tomatoes in oil.
Does Sun-dried tomato pesto contain nuts?
Nuts are one of the primary ingredients in pesto recipes.
Traditionally pine nuts are used and are a popular choice.
For the rocket and basil pesto recipes on the blog as well as this sun-dried tomato pesto, I have used cashew nuts.
I find it a robust nut that provides great taste and texture when making pesto.
How long does Sun Dried Tomato Pesto last
After making this pesto, store it in the fridge in a sealed jar with a lid.
The pesto will last for up to 1 week like this and can be used freely during that time.
To extent the life of your pesto, portion it out into zip lock bags and freeze it.
It will defrost quickly and with a simple stir is ready to go again!
How to use pesto:
There are many ways to serve pesto and here are a few of them:
- stir through pasta
- on flatbreads
- as a dip
- spread for toast
- as a pizza sauce
- spread on cooked meats like chicken and fish
- dressing for a salad
Try it as an alternative to the cream pasta sauce in the Smoked Salmon Spaghetti for an easy weeknight dinner!
Add a little bacon and dish up the Bacon Pesto Pasta for something quick and easy.
Once it is in the fridge, you will want to use it for EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING!
Sundried Tomato Pesto ingredients
We use simple, easy to find ingredients for this recipe. The photo below shows you what you need:
As you can see, we have:
- sun-dried tomatoes
- parmesan cheese
- cashews
- garlic
- reserved oil from jar (or use olive oil)
- lemon juice
The lemon juice doesn't go into the pesto until the very end where we taste the pesto and adjust the flavour!
For a vegan option, substitute the Parmesan cheese for your favourite vegan alternative.
How to make Sun dried Tomato Pesto
The photos below are step by step showing you how to make this pesto in the food processor:
- Add sun-dried tomatoes to food processor bowl (Photo 1)
- Add cashew nuts (Photo 2)
- Parmesan cheese (Photo 3)
- Garlic (Photo 4)
For an extra depth of flavour, try toasting the cashews in a pan on the stove for 3-4 mins!
Before and after is really where it is at with making pesto, as it allows you to not only see the ingredients, but then also see the result of blitzing these to make the pesto. It takes 10 seconds to go from before to after.
At the very end of blitzing, taste the pesto and use the lemon juice to adjust the flavour to your liking.
Sun-dried tomato pesto recipe quick info:
About the recipe:
- we only need 6 ingredients to make the pesto!
- bottled lemon juice is perfectly fine!
- you can toast the cashews or leave them as it (faster)
- I use roasted unsalted cashew nuts
FAQs about Pesto using Sun-dried Tomatoes
- this is a vegetarian recipe
- blitz the ingredients for less than 10 seconds
- keep the texture chunky not smooth
- you make make the pesto ahead of time
- the pesto will last for 1 week in the fridge
- the recipe makes about 1 cup of pesto
Your quick questions answered:
- This is a quick and easy recipe
- Store in the fridge in a sealed jar
- This is a FREEZER FRIENDLY recipe
- This is an EASY recipe
Expert tips:
These tips are to help you master this recipe from the 1st time you make it:
- add all of your ingredients to the food processor and blitz at the one time
- keep the blitz time short, it will take less than 10 seconds.
- once the ingredients are blitzed, taste the pesto, then add lemon and combine to get the flavour spot on and not bitter!
- freeze this recipe ahead of time and defrost, simply stir through before using
Use the pesto in place of a traditional tomato based pizza sauce!
Toast pita chips in the oven till brown and use the pesto as a spread for a light lunch. Read the How to Toast Bread in the Oven Guide for crispy dunking crackers to serve!
Dips, chips and spreads recipes
To make entertaining a breeze, give these ideas a go:
- Chicken Liver Pate
- Easy Green Olive Tapenade
- Grazing Platter (to feed a crowd)
- Basil and Cashew Pesto
- Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade
- Olive Tapenade
For an easy party idea, use the pesto as a feature on the Grazing Platter Board, with the Labneh Dip and Homemade Pita Chips.
Flatbreads, pita or pizza sauce, you are sun-dried covered with this pesto (haha!), grab your food processor and get to it!
Adrianne xx
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Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
- 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes Note 1
- ½ cup cashew nuts Note 2
- ½ cup parmesan cheese Note 3
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomato oil Or olive oil, Note 4
- 3 cloves garlic peeled, end cut off
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Sundried Tomato Pesto
- Add sun-dried tomatoes, cashews, garlic, parmesan cheese, and reserved sun-dried tomato oil to a food processor and blitz to combine
- Remove lid, use a spatula to scrap down the sides of the bowl, use a teaspoon to taste the pesto and add lemon juice to taste. Stir to combine.
- Stir pesto in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 1 week (makes 1 cup of pesto).
Video
Notes
- Note 1 I prefer buying the sun-dried tomatoes in the jar as the oil has incredible flavour and I use that in place of olive oil. You only have the option to do this if you purchase the sun-dried tomatoes in the jar as the deli version won't come packed in oil.
- Note 2 I use roasted, unsalted raw cashews. You can choose to toast them prior to adding them into the recipe. This adds a couple of minutes to the process of making the pesto, but is well worth it for the depth of flavour the toasted nuts provide.
- Note 3 There are a few different types and flavours of parmesan cheese out there. They also have different textures. The best type I find for making pesto is the extra bold and sharp variety. It will be in the fridge section.
- Note 4 When using sun-dried tomatoes in a recipe, I always use this oil (Note 1 above) and not olive oil as it is rich and a delicious complex flavour. If you purchase the deli sun-dried tomatoes, you can use olive oil. I encourage you to try the jarred version of the tomatoes if you can easily find them.
Helen of Fuss Free Flavours says
Gosh, this sounds amazing and utterly delicious. It is a great way to use sun dried tomatoes. So versatile too, but I think I would love to try it as a pizza sauce.
Adrianne says
Great thinking Helen! I have tried it couple of times as a pizza sauce and it is delicious! So good with parmesan cheese also. Cheers
Jessica Formicola says
I love pesto so much! I'm so glad to have found an amazing homemade recipes. Can't wait to try it out for dinner this week!