Vegan sun dried tomato pesto. It just sounds so fancy, amiright?
Now a CREAMY vegan sun dried tomato pesto PASTA, you say?
I feel like I should be sitting on a Sicilian beach drinking Limoncello 🍹.
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MAKING THE VEGAN SUN DRIED TOMATO PESTO
Although this dish sounds super swanky, don’t be fooled by how easy making your own vegan sun dried tomato pesto can be. Seriously 5 simple ingredients, a dash of salt and pepper, and a whirl in your fancy food processor is all you need to attain pesto perfection.
Of course, you can’t have vegan sun dried tomato pesto without sun dried tomatoes can you? I love using this brand which is packed in oil and retains it’s bright flavor and color (plus the oil in the jar is great for making salad dressings with!).
Once you have your tomatoes, the process is fairly standard. Fresh basil and garlic give this pesto a nice punch, while we use nutritional yeast in place of parmesan to make this dish plant-strong (💪🏽) and vegan friendly (🌱). You may use olive oil to bring it all together, but I prefer using the oil from jar of sun dried tomatoes for that extra kiss of flavor.
Once you have your vegan sun dried tomato pesto, you may store it in an airtight glass container and keep it in the fridge for 6-8 weeks.
I love using this pesto as a dip for crackers or bread, spread in a sandwich or panini, or even for finishing a soup with. The possibilities are endless.
TURNING YOUR PESTO INTO A PASTA SAUCE
Once you have your pesto, you can proceed to the next step of turning it into a decadently creamy pasta sauce to go with your favorite whole wheat penne or gluten-free farfalle (or your regular white rotini, if you’re #basic like me).
Although the pesto is magnificently tasty on its own, I love giving it a quick sauté with some onions to bring out the flavors.
And to add a mellow creaminess to the dish, we can use a quick blender blitzed cashew cream for a velvety finish.
Toss with your favorite pasta (save the pasta water to thin out the sauce, as desired), garnish with some freshly chopped basil and sun dried tomatoes, and BAM! you’ll have a meal ready so quick it would make Emeril Lagasse’s head spin.
So take my word – make this vegan sun dried tomato pesto and you’ll have a refrigerator staple that won’t last as long you’d think (because you can’t stop eating it!).
Eating it as a creamy pasta will become your new favorite thing.
Give this recipe a try, and comment below letting me know what you put the pesto on what kind of pasta noodle do you like with you creamy vegan pasta?
- 1 cup (150 g) Sun Dried Tomatoes in Oil
- 1 cup (30 g) Fresh Basil Leaves
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast
- ⅓ cup Olive Oil (or Oil from Sun Dried Tomatoes, for more flavor)
- 4 cloves (15g) Fresh Garlic
- ½ tsp. Salt
- ½ tsp. Pepper
- 1 batch Vegan Sun Dried Tomato Pesto (ingredients above)
- 8 oz. Pasta of your choice (reserve the pasta water to thin out sauce, as desired)
- ½ cup (75 g) Chopped Onions
- 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
- ¾ cup Cashews
- 1½ cups Water
- 1 tsp. Chili Flakes (or to taste)
- Chopped Basil and Sun Dried Tomatoes, for garnish (optional)
- Place the sun dried tomatoes, basil, nutritional yeast, garlic, salt & pepper, and oil into a food processor and pulse until it becomes a paste (I personally like it a bit more crumbly)
- In a high-powered blender, blend together cashews and water to make a cashew cream, and set this aside for later
- Heat the oil in a non-stick pan on medium-high heat and sauté the chopped onions and chili flakes for 3-4 minutes or until onions turn translucent
- Add one batch of Vegan Sun Dried Tomato Pesto to the onions and sauté briskly for one minute (careful not to let this burn)
- Add your cashew cream mixture to the pan and stir vigorously to combine
- Cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until you reach your desired consistency (add more water or boiled pasta water if you like a thinner sauce)
- Toss with freshly cooked pasta, and garnish with chopped basil and sun dried tomatoes
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