Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta (Printable Version)

Vibrant pasta with sun-dried tomato pesto, basil, and Parmesan. Ready in 30 minutes for a delicious meal.

# What You Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 14 oz dried pasta (penne, fusilli, or spaghetti)

→ Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

02 - 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained (reserve 2 tbsp oil)
03 - 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
04 - 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (or walnuts)
05 - 2 garlic cloves
06 - 1 cup fresh basil leaves
07 - 2 tbsp reserved sun-dried tomato oil
08 - 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
09 - Juice of 1/2 lemon
10 - Salt and black pepper, to taste

→ To Serve

11 - Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
12 - Extra grated Parmesan cheese

# How To Make It:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
02 - While the pasta cooks, prepare the pesto: In a food processor, combine sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, and basil. Pulse until finely chopped.
03 - Add the reserved sun-dried tomato oil, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. If the pesto is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of the reserved pasta water to loosen it.
04 - Toss the drained pasta with the sun-dried tomato pesto in a large bowl, adding more pasta water if needed to create a silky sauce. Serve immediately, garnished with fresh basil leaves and extra Parmesan.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It transforms in just 30 minutes from pantry ingredients to a restaurant-worthy dish that will make your kitchen smell like an Italian trattoria.
  • The pesto keeps beautifully in the fridge for up to a week, meaning you can have an impressive meal ready even faster on those nights when cooking feels impossible.
02 -
  • Reserve that pasta water like its liquid gold, as I once learned the hard way when my sauce clumped into a tight mass that refused to coat the pasta.
  • The food processor works better than a blender for this pesto, giving you better texture control and preventing the basil from becoming a bitter, overprocessed mess.
03 -
  • Make double the pesto and freeze portions in ice cube trays, then transfer to freezer bags for instant meal starters that will keep for three months.
  • When reheating leftover pasta, add a splash of water and cover with a damp paper towel before microwaving to revive the sauce without drying it out.
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