This Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Recipe is an absolute favorite. It has all the ingredients to a great pesto although the main ingredient is made with fresh parsley and not basil. Don't get me wrong, I love basil, and it's a must-have for certain recipes; however, parsley adds such a delightful taste and brightens the flavor of this pesto. It's an easy recipe that requires a handful of ingredients and a blender to do the work. This Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Recipe is effortless and can be dished up in less than 10 minutes. Marinara sauce can get boring, so starting today, step up your pasta and pizza game with this sun-dried tomato pesto and take your pasta and pizza to the next level.
HOW TO MAKE SUN DRIED TOMATO PESTO RECIPE
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Recipe is such an easy and low maintenance recipe. As noted above, it requires a handful of ingredients and most of these ingredients you may already have on hand. It's likely that you may not have the jarred sun-dried tomatoes in your pantry but hopefully this recipe will motivate you to head to the store to grab a jar.
Herbs: I chose to use fresh parsley although basil would have worked wonderfully too as basil is the main ingredient used in traditional pesto. Parsley is a great substitute for basil when you do not have basil on hand.
Sun-dried tomatoes: I love jarred sun-dried tomatoes. They're a pantry staple of mine, and they add a fun twist to pasta dishes and sauces. I absolutely love the flavorful oil that's infused with the taste and spices of the sun-dried tomatoes.
Aromatics: Fresh garlic is the main aromatic used. I only use two medium sized cloves or a 1 medium and 1 small as I do not want to over power the pesto with garlic.
Cheese: I used parmesan cheese only.
Nuts (optional): Nuts are optional; however, if you do add nuts toast them first before adding them to your pesto. Toasted nuts adds texture and a nuttier taste. For this Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Recipe, I didn't use nuts as one of my familiar members can't eat them. She doesn't have any nut allergies, but she doesn't care for them. But, really, I didn't even miss the nuts. She LOVES this sun-dried tomato pesto, so I chose not to use nuts, so she could enjoy.
Why buy store bought pesto when you can make your own in less than 10 minutes and only a few ingredients.
Looking to use up those jarred sun-dried tomatoes, check out this Skinny Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Shrimp Pasta recipe.
Have you substituted parsley for basil when making pesto? If you have or haven't, let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. I'd love to hear from you. I'd also appreciate if you'd follow me on Pinterest and Instagram.
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Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 cups flat leaf parsley (or 5 bunches of parsley)
- ¼ cup julienne sun-dried tomatoes (in olive oil) DO NOT DRAIN (your favorite store brand)
- 2 garlic cloves (2 small cloves or 1 medium & 1 small)
- ¼ cup reserved oil (from the jar)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I used light tasting EVOO)
- ¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- ½ tsp salt (more or less to taste)
Instructions
- Wash and DRY flat leaf parsley. (I use a salad spinner to dry the parsley). When parsley is dry, place on cutting board with parsley stems going in same direction and cut off most of the stem. (This step isn't really necessary since you will be blending everything but is something I like to do).
- In your blender or food processor, add parsley, whole garlic cloves (with skin removed from garlic), sun-dried tomatoes, & salt. You would also add in the nuts at this step. If your blender or food processor doesn't have the opening to drizzle in oil, also add the oils AND blend all ingredients until you reach your desired consistency. This step shouldn't take long at all. Add in parm and give a quick whirl.
** If you have the option to drizzle in the oils see next step ** - Place the top on your blender or food processor and begin to blend while drizzling in the oils at the same time. Blend all ingredients until you reach your desired consistency. This step shouldn't take long at all. Add in parm and give a quick whirl.
- Taste test to ensure you have enough salt. Add more if needed.
- This will make about 1 to 1.5 cups. I only make enough to use on that day for a given recipe.
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