Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
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I was trying to come up with a fun recipe for chicken thighs, but somehow ended up making Sun-dried Tomato Pesto instead. I wasn’t in the mood to go outside and grill chicken, so I went with crostini instead. From dinner to appetizer just like that! Not that you need any bread, this stuff is amazing right off a spoon.
How many of you are trying to stick your spoon into your computer screen right now? If you have the ingredients on hand, you can whip up a batch in minutes!
How do you make Sun-dried Tomato Pesto?
Place the toasted walnuts, chopped basil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes including the oil into the bowl of a food processor.
Pulse a few times to combine the ingredients.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the olive oil, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese.
Pulse until the desired consistency is achieved. You may need to add additional oil if you prefer a smoother sauce.
Serve immediately
or pour into an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Can be stored for up to 2 weeks.
Soooo good!!
Recipe Notes & Tips
- I used Delallo sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil. If using a different brand, drain the oil and add an additional 1/4 cup of olive oil.
- Feel free to substitute pine nuts if you prefer, or even sliced almonds would work. Pine nuts go rancid rather quickly, so I do not keep them on hand.
- Cayenne pepper is added just as a subtle background flavor. Feel free to substitute crushed red pepper flakes if you prefer.
Recipes that use Pesto Sauce:
- Pesto Chicken Salad
- Caprese Bites – if I had Triscuits in the pantry I would have made these!
- Shrimp Pesto Pizza – roasted red pepper strips would be a nice substitution for the sun-dried tomatoes on top of the pizza
- Pesto Mac and Cheese – substitute the sun-dried tomato pesto for the kale pesto
- Roast Beef Pesto Panini
- Shrimp Pesto Pasta
More delicious Pesto Sauce recipes:
Enjoy!!
Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup toasted walnuts
- 1 cup fresh basil chopped or cut into thin strips
- 1 large clove garlic cut in half - or 2 regular cloves
- 13.4 ounces sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil 2) 6.70 ounce jars - do not drain
- ¼ cup olive oil use more if needed
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Place the toasted walnuts, chopped basil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes including the oil into the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse a few times to combine the ingredients.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the olive oil, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese.
- Pulse until the desired consistency is achieved. You may need to add additional oil if you prefer a smoother sauce.
- Pour pesto into an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Can be stored for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- I used Delallo sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil. If using a different brand, drain the oil and add an additional 1/4 cup of olive oil.
- Feel free to substitute pine nuts if you prefer, or even sliced almonds would work. Pine nuts go rancid rather quickly, so I do not keep them on hand.
- Cayenne pepper is added just as a subtle background flavor. Feel free to substitute crushed red pepper flakes if you prefer.
Nutrition
