Sun dried tomato pesto is a super tasty sauce that can take any basic dish from good to amazing. It’s delicious on chicken, salmon and pasta, and on the table in less than ten minutes.

A spoon holding sun dried tomato pesto above a small white bowl. Pine nuts and basil are blurred out in the background.

I think my love for pesto is well documented already on this baby blog. As I write this post, less than a month into blogging, I already have three recipes for or featuring pesto. Check out my recipes for Walnut Basil Pesto, and Pesto Butter Salmon. Oh, and don’t forget Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Chicken (in fact, make this recipe as the base for that amazing main dish)!

I think “most featured” is an honor that pesto quite deserves. Homemade pesto is a delicious sauce that elevates basic ingredients like pasta, chicken or salmon to something really special. And, as a bonus, pesto is super simple to make. If making pesto seems intimidating, please trust me – you cannot mess this up.

All you need is a food processor or high speed blender, and a handful of fresh ingredients to make pesto. The appliance does all the work, no chopping or mincing required. There are a few steps that help bring the sauce together (for example, streaming in the olive oil while the food processor is working), but between you and me, even if you just throw everything in, turn the processor on and walk away, you will end up with something super delicious that your family will love.

A close up of a bowl of sun dried tomato pesto, with a few pine nuts and basil leaves in the background.

Ingredients

To make sun dried tomato pesto, you need a few simple ingredients (exact measurements are in the recipe card below):

Sun-dried tomatoes: Choose sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil for this recipe. You will use the whole jar – the tomatoes and the oil. You will most likely see some herbs on the ingredients list like basil, oregano or rosemary – that’s totally fine, and will just add flavor to your pesto.
Fresh basil leaves
Parmesan cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
Pine nuts: You can substitute other types of nuts in this recipe in place of the pine nuts. I often use walnuts in pesto. This recipe could also be made with almonds for a traditional Italian pesto rosso.
Garlic cloves
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Step One: Add garlic, pine nuts, basil, and the whole jar of sun dried tomatoes with olive oil to your food processor. Pulse until everything is finely minced. (Don’t add the extra olive oil, we will get there in a minute).

The bowl of a food processor on a marble background. The food processor contains sun dried tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and pine nuts, not yet blended. — Whoops, forgot the garlic. No worries! I just added it in the next step. Pesto is forgiving!

Step Two: Add the Parmesan cheese and pulse a few more times until combined.

The bowl of a food processor on a marble background. The food processor contains sun dried tomato pesto after initial blend. The pesto has small chunks.

Step Three: While the food processor is running, stream the olive oil in until the pesto reaches a nice smooth consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The bowl of a food processor on a marble background. The food processor contains sun dried tomato pesto after streaming in olive oil. The pesto is thick and creamy.

Spoon this into warm pasta, use it to make Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Chicken, or drizzle it over bruschetta for a delicious meal!

Storage

Pesto freezes beautifully. You can freeze a larger amount of pesto in a glass canning jar. Put the pesto into the clean jar, and then drizzle a thin layer of olive oil on top to prevent the pesto from turning brown where it touches the air. Leave an inch or two of space at the top of the jar so the pesto can expand when it freezes.

I also love to freeze individual portions of pesto in an ice cube tray. This makes it super convenient to use in recipes in smaller amounts. Put the pesto in an ice cube tray and top each cube with a little olive oil. Place in the freezer. When frozen, remove the cubes and store them in an airtight freezer bag to enjoy all winter long!