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A homemade sun-dried tomato pesto recipe. Tomato pesto is the secret ingredient in my homemade minestrone soup. It’s delicious mixed with warm pasta too!
There. I’ve finally done it.
This is my absolute favorite recipe for homemade tomato basil pesto. One that took me quite some time to get absolutely perfect. But hey, it’s little successes like this one that make the whole process so worth it.
It’s classic basil pesto ingredients like, pine nuts, parmesan, olive oil, and of course, basil, along with a cup full of sun-dried tomatoes. And it’s a million times better than anything you’ll get from a jar.
Not only is this recipe simple, it’s also quick to make. You’ll need a food processor so you can get all the ingredients to blend seamlessly. A little bit of everything in each bite. For a twist on the classic, I add a pinch of red pepper flakes to add a little more dimension to the already outstanding flavor. If you’re not a fan of the heat, feel free to hold off on it.
Tomato pesto is the perfect sauce for a variety of uses. It’s cheesy, garlicky, and nutty goodness just can’t be beat.
Here’s just a few serving suggestions:
A small spoonful is perfect to flavor freshly cooked pasta.
A little bit would make boring old grilled chicken, so much tastier!
It’s also amazing smeared on french bread with a generous sprinkling of mozzarella or provolone on top. And just baked until the cheese is so bubbly and perfect that it makes your heart skip a beat. it’s like pizza but so much more sophisticated. YUM!
On this panini sandwich in between layers of melted mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves.
Ever heard of sun-dried tomato basil hummus? AMAZING. Here’s a basic hummus recipe, add as much or as little of the pesto as you’d like.
And last but certainly anything but the least, it’s the secret ingredient in my homemade minestrone soup recipe.
I listen, I promise!
I’ve had sooo many emails, Facebook messages, and comments from you guys asking how in the heck do I make the tomato pesto mentioned in my minestrone soup recipe? And each and every one of those emails and messages were shamefully answered saying I didn’t make it, it was store bought. But guess what! I don’t have to say that anymore *happy dance*
I’ve tested, retested, and just for good measure, tested it again and this homemade tomato pesto is simply perfection, albeit, I admit, it didn’t start off that way. Okay. I’ll stop sugar coating it. It was BAD. I completely forgot to add the garlic and I kept scratching my head because I couldn’t figure out why after three cloves of garlic it still didn’t have any garlicky pungency to it. My next run, I added 5 to be on the safe side and i’m pretty sure even after brushing my teeth a handful of times, the hubby didn’t want to be within two feet of me.Pouty-face. Oh, but the third time is the charm! Three cloves of garlic did the trick. You can say I have Goldilocks complex when it comes to my pesto, any yeah, it’s kinda true.
Instead of dishing out $6 on a jar of the store-bought stuff, I give you my easy tomato pesto recipe that takes just a couple of minutes to whip up and it won’t cost you anywhere near what the store-bough stuff does. Did I mention you get twice as much pesto that tastes 1000 times better.
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
5 from 19 votes
A homemade sun-dried tomato pesto recipe. Tomato pesto is the secret ingredient in my homemade minestrone soup. It’s delicious mixed with warm pasta too!
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor except the olive oil. Start the food processor and drizzle in the olive oil slowly while still mixing. Stop the machine, scrape down the sides, and adjust salt nad pepper to liking.
STORING: leftover pesto can be stored in a jar that has a tight fitting lid. Pesto can be refrigerated for up to one week. You can also place pesto into ice cube molds and frozen for up to 2 months.
A wife, mother, nutritionist, certified foodie, and a coffee lover. My husband Anees, our daughter, and I live near Houston. I love reading books, bingeing reality shows, and a good salted brown butter chocolate chip cookie!
Love this recipe! I grow basil specifically for this pesto. I like the spicy kick of the crushed red pepper flakes. I have to stop my sister and daughter taking this recipe over. It’s mine. No one else can serve it at a family fiction, only me. Note: pine nuts are very expensive so I used sliced almonds which are much mire reasonably priced. Still so yummy!
Oh, but the third time is the charm! Three cloves of garlic did the trick. You can say I have Goldilocks complex when it comes to my pesto, any yeah, it’s kinda true.
What type of salt do you use? Looking forward to making this and then your minestrone!
Hi Tami! I use kosher salt for almost all of the recipes unless specified 🙂 I hope enjoy the minestrone and the pesto! 🙂
Yes and it was easy and GREAT!
Love this recipe! I grow basil specifically for this pesto. I like the spicy kick of the crushed red pepper flakes. I have to stop my sister and daughter taking this recipe over. It’s mine. No one else can serve it at a family fiction, only me. Note: pine nuts are very expensive so I used sliced almonds which are much mire reasonably priced. Still so yummy!
So yummy. Was shy of a full cup of sun-dried tomatoes but it worked out great!
Thanks and can’t wait to try it in your soup tonight.
So glad you gave it a try, Kathleen! It’ll be delicious in the minestrone soup 🙂
This pesto was delicious in the soup. Thanks again.
Hi! I was just wondering what you could vegan alternative you could sub the parmesan cheese for, if possible?! :))
Cheers,
so excited to try this recipe!
I’ve only tried the recipe as written so I’m unsure. If you decide to try it with an alternative, I’d love to know how it went for you!