I had an all-American weekend full of good friends and food, punctuated by flashes and booms. It was overwhelmingly fun. You know what I mean? Since we’re all in the same boat, I thought I’d share my three-day holiday weekend recovery plan with you today.
Here it is: organic whole grain pasta, tossed with tons of roasted veggies and homemade sun-dried tomato pesto. It’s fresh, filling and leftovers keep well for lunch. Just what the doctor ordered.
Sun-dried tomato pesto has been on my list for ages now, so when my friends at DeLallo asked me to create a recipe that highlights their fantastic sun-dried tomatoes, I knew just what to make. Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes are perfect for pesto, since you can pour all of that delicious, tomato-infused extra-virgin olive oil right into the food processor.
My pesto is a riff on traditional basil pesto, with sun-dried tomatoes in addition to fresh basil. Sun-dried tomatoes are super rich in umami flavor, so they easily fill the place of Parmesan, although you can certainly add some cheese if you’d like.
I like my pasta with tons of vegetables, so I roasted up a big pan of balsamic summer veggies to go on top. I think it would be fantastic with roasted broccoli and winter squash, too. Feel free to play around with pasta shapes, too. Curly shapes really grab hold of pesto, but penne would work, too. To really lighten it up, cook up some fettuccine or linguine and supplement with squash noodles like I did last summer. Yum.
You can go in a lot of different directions with this pesto. Spread it on a sandwich or toast, serve it as a vegetable dip, or thin it out with extra olive oil (or even some water) and use it as a sauce for any number of things. Let me know how you like it!
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta with Roasted Vegetables
- Author:
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Italian
Homemade sun-dried tomato pesto with pasta and roasted vegetables is an easy weeknight dinner! Easily made gluten free and/or vegan (see notes). Recipe yields 4 to 6 main servings.
Ingredients
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
- One 6.7-ounce jar DeLallo sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil*
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, plus extra for garnishing
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt, to taste
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Totally optional: ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan or nutritional yeast, to taste
Pasta and roasted vegetables
- 8 ounces whole grain pasta (I used DeLallo’s organic whole wheat gemelli, but rotini or penne would work well, too)
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 1 medium yellow squash, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper (or orange or yellow), diced
- 1 medium yellow or white onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- To roast the vegetables: Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. On a half-sheet pan or other large, rimmed baking sheet, combine the diced zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper and onion. Drizzle the olive oil mixture over the vegetables, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss with your hands until the vegetables are evenly coated. Arrange the vegetables in a single layer. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, tossing halfway, until they are cooked through and golden.
- To cook the pasta: Bring a large post of salted water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package directions. Before draining, reserve about 1 cup pasta cooking water. Transfer the cooked pasta to a large serving bowl.
- To make the pesto: First, toast the almonds in a small skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant and starting to turn golden on the edges, about 4 minutes. In the bowl of your food processor (a blender might work, too), combine the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil, the basil, toasted almonds, garlic, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Blend, scraping down the sides as necessary, until the contents are mixed together and roughly uniform. Drizzle in the olive oil while running the machine and blend until you’ve reached a relatively smooth, pesto-like consistency. If you’d like to add Parmesan, stir it into the pesto now. Taste and stir in additional salt and pepper, if necessary. The pesto will be thick, but we’ll thin it out with cooking water soon.
- Pour the pesto into the warm pasta and drizzle in ¼ cup reserved cooking water. Toss to combine, adding more splashes of cooking water to thin as necessary. Toss in the roasted vegetables. Sprinkle with some chopped fresh basil and serve.
Notes
Recipes referenced during the making of this recipe: Giada’s penne with sun-dried tomato pesto, Minimalist Baker’s sun-dried tomato pesto pasta and my spicy roasted ratatouille spaghetti.
*Sun-dried tomato notes: My jar amounted to about 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes and ¼ cup olive oil.
Make it vegan/dairy free: Don’t add Parmesan. Feel free to mix in some nutritional yeast for some cheese-like flavor, but the sun-dried tomatoes and toasted almonds are pretty rich in umami as it is.
Make it gluten free: Use gluten-free pasta.
Make it nut free: Skip the almonds altogether.
Serving suggestions: I’d serve this with a fresh green salad, like this apple salad or this arugula salad. I really enjoyed it with leftover Greek broccoli salad!
Storage suggestions: This recipe keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for several days.
▸ Nutrition Information
This post was created in partnership with DeLallo Foods and I received compensation for my participation. Opinions are my own, always. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support C+K!
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
Totally the perfect summer meal! DYING for this!
Hermione @ Hermione's Pantry
This looks wonderful! I make lots of variations of green pesto (kale etc) but I’ve never made homemade red pesto, I will definitely be making this soon! I also love tonnes of vegetables in my pasta too. H x
Kate
Thanks, Hermione! I’ve yet to find a pesto that I don’t love. :)
Francine
This recipe looks amazing. I have a whole bunch of sundried tomatoes but not oil pack, how much oil would you recommend I use to adjust once I rehydrate my tomatoes? Love you blog!!!
Kate
Hi Francine! That’s a good question. My jar amounted to about 1 cup [hydrated] sun-dried tomatoes and ¼ cup olive oil, so you’ll use a total of 1/2 cup olive oil in the pesto.
cecilia
Sounds delicious!!! Cant wait to make this!
★★★★★
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
Love the sound of that sun-dried tomato pesto, so good!
The Working Foodie
I literally made this today but I didn’t get a chance to make my own sundried tomato pesto. I’ll definitely have to try making it myself!
Kathryn
Mmmmm looks delicious, definitely need to try this out sometime soon. Thanks for sharing : )
Ellé Simpson
My goodness that looks so delicious! Thanks for another great recipe x
Erin @ The Almond Eater
Like you said, this looks like exactly what the doctor ordered! Looks delicious.
Cassie Tran
Yummy! Sun dried tomatoes are sooooo delicious!
Eileen
This pasta sounds so good right now. Eat ALL the summer vegetables!
Kate
All of them!!! :)
Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life
Oh Kate! I’ve just had lunch and now I’m hungry all over again! I love sundried tomatoes – they are the perfect addition to nearly any savoury dish! I cannot wait to try this pesto with some buckwheat pasta and roasted winter veggies :)
Todd & Susan
I saw this recipe today while browsing the site for dinner ideas….
Bing! Got an idea from the opening page.
Only a couple subs / changes:
– I used the Pattypan squash(-es) we had on hand
– Omitted adding cheese & basil to the sun dried tomato pesto (added it once plated)
It had super-flavor, loved the roasted veggies & it made enough for tomorrow ;-)
Over dinner we discussed other uses of the pesto – we now have some more dinner ideas!
Thank you.
Kate
Thank you, Todd and Susan! Your version sounds so good! :)
Medeja
So many vegetables and + pesto! This pasta dish is a really great meal!
Deborah @ The Harvest Kitchen
I always have homemade pesto of some sort in my fridge (arugula, basil, spinach). But this looks like it might be a new favorite of mine with the sun-dried tomatoes!! Sounds and looks totally yummy!! Great recipe!!
Kate
My kind of girl! Hope you love this pesto, Deborah.
Alexa @ Sweet Little Kitchen
This looks like the perfect summer pasta recipe! I’ve actually never had sun-dried tomato pesto before (I know, have I ever lived?) but I am motivated to make it. Also loving the picture-perfect balsamic roasted summer veggies!
Kate
Well, I’d say it’s definitely time that you tried sun-dried tomato pesto! Bet you’ll love it. :)
Joelle
I made this tonight with slight variations. I did the pesto as directed and it was delicious. I switched up the veg a bit – sweet walla walla onions, fresh chunks of garlic, mushrooms, and zucchini. My husband’s not eating gluten so I served this over edamame spaghetti (I know…sounds weird, but is oddly delicious). All in all, we both loved this dish. Thanks! It is quite rich, but very good.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Joelle! Your version sounds great to me.
Anna
yumm such a delicious combination :D
Ashley
This was delicious! I made it as directed, except I forgot to save any of my pasta water (as always), but it turned out great. The leftovers for lunch for a few days are the best part! Loved it :)
Kate
Thanks, Ashley! Glad it turned out well for you!
Kelly
This is my kind of meal and I love that you mentioned a nut-free option! We have nut-allergies in our house.
Joanne
I love it when I make a pasta dish and can’t tell whether I”m eating pasta with veggies or veggies with pasta…and this is totally that kind of pasta!
Kathleen
This was delicious! It was “approved” by two ten year old boys, one three year old boy, a 37 year old boy and the twin boys currently sitting in my belly. LOL My 10 year old was worried because he had a new friend over for dinner and asked me to “not be too hippie” when cooking. Friend asked me to give his mom the recipe. SCORE!
Only question: how can I store the pesto sauce if I want to make that and use it later on? and for how long?
Cheers and thanks again!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Kathleen! So glad you’re whole crew enjoyed it! I have leftover pesto in my fridge that still looks good one week later. Be sure to seal it well in a jar. I’m not sure quite how long it will last… time will tell. :) You could also freeze it in ice cube trays and then transfer the the cubes in a freezer-safe bag. They’ll keep longer that way!
Alyssa
I made this last night and am eating the leftovers for lunch as we speak. I added some sauteed tofu for an extra boost of protein, and I have to say it is delicious! I’m a Parmesan cheese addict, and this recipe doesn’t need one ounce of it! Amazing!
LOVE your recipes, Kate. Always simple, healthy and DELICIOUS. Haven’t met a C+K recipe I didn’t like. Keep it up!
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! Thank you, Alyssa!
marisa
This looks amazing Kate!! I’m sure you’ve answered this somewhere else, but I have to ask, who makes those dishes / where are they from?! They’re gorgeous and I’m looking for a new set!
Kate
Thanks, Marisa! They’re from Sur la Table and on sale right now! Ikea also has some that aren’t too far off, but I think these are prettier. Here’s a direct link (affiliate).
Lin
Just finished eating this wonderful meal. Thanks so much. Its better than it looks, if that’s possible.
Kate
Hooray, thanks Lin!
Jim
This looks like an excellent recipe. I can’t wait for the yellow and zucchini squash to be available fresh at our local farmers’ market.
I’ve always loved roasted vegetables but have made them primarily during the cooler months. This seems like just the ticket to extend them into the summer as well.
I’ve just discovered you and can’t wait to try some of your other recipes as well! That Spicy Roasted Ratatouille with Spaghetti also sounds fabulous!
Incidentally, the DeLallo flagship (and only) store is actually located in the Pennsylvania county where I live. Their products are very well known here and are carried by most local grocery stores too.
Kate
Jim, thank you for saying hello! I usually save roasted vegetables for cooler months, too, but this summer hasn’t been unbearably hot yet. Hope you love it! I get to visit the DeLallo flagship this fall and I’m really looking forward to it.
Jim
Be prepared for a real treat! The DeLallo store is quite the food emporium and is a local landmark, and has been for many years. The Olive/Antipasti bar they have there is truly a sight to behold! It’s hard to leave that store without spending a good amount of money, but it is money well spent.
If you have never been here, southwestern Pennsylvania is quite beautiful in the Fall. Our abundant hills, valleys, rivers, and streams make for a very vibrant display of autumnal color as the trees change from green to a riotous multi-colored display – a feast for the eyes to be sure.
Enjoy!
Jane
This recipe is great! I made it the day before I wanted to serve it, and left it out about 1/2 hour before serving thinking the flavors would come out a bit more. It was a hit – and even good the third day as leftovers. The almonds really add to the “deliciousness”. Love your website too.
Kate
Thank you, Jane! Happy to hear it!
Jennifer
Just made this for dinner tonight. It is so so very good. I couldn’t stop “tasting” the pesto. It is great for those meals that you need to make ahead as well.
Kate
Thank you so much, Jennifer!
Delila
Kate! This dish is indescribably delicious! My fiance and I had it for lunch, dinner, and breakfast. Absolutely amazing. My fiance and I have made the life changing decision to be vegetarians and I cannot thank you enough for your website. This has truly been a godsend! We look forward to meals now more than ever and we try making a new recipe every week and throughout the week make some of our favorites. I stumbled across your website through a Yahoo article and it came right at the turning point in our lives. Thank you for sharing and making my life so much easier! I cannot wait to try our next recipe and will be making this again for a get together this weekend.
Kate
Delila, thank you so much for your sweet comment! I’m so happy to hear that you’re enjoying my recipe so much. Yay for more veggies!!!
Cherie misas
Made tonight for dinner and followed recipe exactly. So yummy, couldn’t stop eating it. No leftovers!
Kate
Yay, thanks Cherie!
Kat
Just made this and loved it. As with all of your recipes I’ve tried, this proved to be flexible as I substituted my favorite veggies (mushrooms, broccoli, sweet potatoes, zucchini and asparagus). I never have pesto anymore because of a late-surfacing nut allergy, never realized I could make something even better than a restaurant (with your help of course)! A new favorite.
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Kat! So glad you enjoyed it!
Evelyn
This was so delicious! I was a little bit skeptic since I never made pesto without Parmesan cheese and I don’t really like nutritional yeast, but I wanted to give it a try since I wanted to eat plant-based tonight and your recipes never fail me. And it turned out to be so delicious! I’ll probably gonna this pesto over and over, and I loved the sweet/sourness of the balsamico giving the veggies extra body. Thank you for this lovely recipe!
Kate
Yay! Thanks, Evelyn! I’m glad you were willing to give Parmesan-free pesto a shot. Those sun-dried tomatoes really do the trick, I think!
Holly
Hi,
Made this last night for diner and it was awesome! I added a little infused smoked chili pepper oil olive to the pesto. This gave the pesto a little more heat.
Thank you for a great new recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
Happy to hear it! Your chili oil sounds fantastic. Thanks, Holly!
stacy Rohr
Yum Yum Yum!! The combination of the pesto and the balsamic is perfect. I made this for my kids and they are already asking for me to make it again.
★★★★★
Heidie
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! My very picky 14 year old daughter and I cooked this together (a heart warming first, mind you) and she loved every bite!
Kate
Oh, that makes me happy! Glad you both enjoyed the pasta, Heidie.
Bliss
This was fabulous!!! Added more lemon than asked and was wonderful!
Alina FM
This is my new favorite pasta recipe! :D I love that is has many veggies and the pesto is delicious! Thank you for sharing! ^_^
★★★★★
Beatrice
Made this yesterday and am enjoying the leftovers for lunch at work….very very tasty. The pesto is amazing and the veggies roasted beautifully and filled the kitchen with a great smell thanks to the balsamic. Made a double portion of the pesto and have tried to freeze it in a small container for another day. We’ll see how that works out!
Thanks Kate for another great recipe! I love how you find tasty ways to incorpate veg in your pasta dishes and make them more balanced ;)
Kate
So glad you enjoyed it, Beatrice! And yes – let me know how the freezing process works out :)
Sarah
This is my absolute favourite pasta recipe! Easy to make as well. I’ve tried it with both nutritional yeast and with parmesan and both taste great.
★★★★★
Kate
Great! So glad to hear that both variations work well.
Andrea
I made this last night. It is excellent! My husband is very picky, but even he mentioned several times how good it was. Thank you so much for such a great recipe! Also, I wanted to let you know that I have pre-ordered your cookbook. I can hardly wait until it comes out!
★★★★★
Kate
I can’t wait for you to see it, Andrea! So glad you both loved the pasta.
Alex
I was googling pesto + vegetables and stumbled upon this recipe… awesome! My wife and I both loved this. Had to add another zucchini for lack of squash and also added some brown mushrooms. I was quite liberal with the garlic and Parmesan cheese, and garnished with some olives because that makes my wife happy. Excellent recipe! We are adding this to our favourites – don’t worry, we have an accreditation section on our recipe cards where the creators get acknowledged :) What would you recommend I try next from your website? Thanks!!
Kate
That sounds so delicious, Alex! Thank you for the recipe card attribution (too cute). Well, looks like you’re into some savory flavors, vegetable-rich, with some Italian inspiration. I’d definitely look into my Double Tomato Pesto Spaghetti with Zucchini Noodles or my Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Roasted Summer Vegetables. Both of those share a similar flavor profile, and are super popular with my other readers. I hope you try them!
Colleen
This was just delicious. I didn’t have slivered almonds, so used toasted pine nuts instead. Neither do I have a food processor, but the blender worked fine.
Thanks for another yummy recipe!
Kate
Awesome! I’m glad the blender worked out just as well.
Nicole
Just made this dinner and it was sooo good!!!! Everyone loved it
★★★★★
Kate
Awesome! Thanks, Nicole.
Dana K.
So, so good! We made this recipe tonight and it was absolutely delicious. Instead of the parmesan cheese, we used the nutritional yeast. This recipe is very easy to make.
The pesto itself turned out so yummy that I am probably going to make a few batches of the pesto and bottle it for Christmas presents.
I give this recipe two enthusiastic thumbs up!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Dana for your feedback! I love to hear that. I appreciate the review.
Gabby
Making this for dinner tomorrow! :) If using a jar of pesto, do I still add the cooking water? Also, the jar of pesto is 6.7 ounces. Do I use the whole thing?
★★★★★
Ellen E Rieger
This is delicious!! I was looking for a vegan recipe for my daughter and this had so much taste and easy to make.I will be making this again for sure. I followed th recipe exactly. Thank you for this fabulous recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Ellen!
Colleen
I love pesto, and roasted vegetables, so this is one of my favourites. But being short of basil (not readily available in the grocery stores where I live) so I have to rely on what I had growing outside. So I used up two kale leaves that I had in the fridge and some Italian parsley from the garden to make up the difference. And voilà! Not quite the same as the original, but still yummy!
★★★★★
Kate
Love it! Thank you, Colleen!
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★★★★★
Kate
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★★★★★
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Keto Genesis
I like this website it’s a master piece! Glad I discovered this on google.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you came across the blog too!
Chloe
Oh my god! I could not be happier about finding this recipe. I love it! The satisfaction after making your own delicious pesto! I love love love this! Definitely going to be making this one of my weekly / fortnightly meals. Aaaah!
★★★★★
Kate
Another one! I love it. Thanks for sharing and reviewing again, Chloe.
Hayley Morrin
I’ve made a lot of recipes from your site, and tried a lot of vegetarian recipes in general. My mom tries 99% of my creations, and she declared this dish one of the best things I’ve made by far. I agree it was so delicious! Next time I may go ahead and double the pesto recipe and freeze half of it to have on hand to make a really easy weeknight dinner.
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! I’m glad you loved it, Hayley. Thanks so much for your review!
Alex
Thank you for this recipe! It is a staple in our house, and I make it often for guests, always with rave reviews. I recently made it with roasted butternut squash and kale and it was fantastic. The cherry on top is that it is such a breeze to assemble – I even let my toddler help me assemble the ingredients!
★★★★★
Kate
That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your combination, Alex.
Sherry
Should this dish be served cold or hot? Am I able to make a couple days in advance and serve for a party at room temperature?
Thank you!
Kate
I like this warm!
Crystal
Just finished Sunday’s meal prep and made this for my and my husband’s lunches this week. This recipe is delicious and I’m so excited for my lunches. We’ll definitely add this to our regular rotation. We made a few changes, subbing in cashews for almonds and used onion, broccoli, and mushrooms for our veggies.
★★★★★
Ani
I’ve recently discovered this recipe and made it twice so far. My husband also loves it. I use the shop bought sun dried tomato pesto and it works fine for me. It’s a great tasting pasta and vegetable dish. I’ve added it to my go to recipes. Thank you for sharing this!
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! You’re welcome, Ani. I’m happy to hear you have made it twice already. Thanks so much for your review.
Dina
This was wonderful, Kate! Hubby and I loved it. I always come back to your blog and I always enjoy the recipes you have on it. Keep up the great work.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Dina! I’m glad you are enjoying the blog. I appreciate your kind review. :)
Judy
I loved this recipe as did my guest. Yet another great one from cookie and kate! THANKS! It is too early in NH for handfuls of basil so I used some I bought in a tube at the grocery store. Worked great!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad it was a hit and you were able to find some basil that works! I appreciate your review, Judy.
Allison Belliveau
Okay so my wife has been raving about this recipe ever since she taste tested the pesto while I was cooking it. I was making a batch for a friend who is going through chemo and her family. I just received a text from my friend saying the pasta is “heavenly.” This came from the mouth of their 7 year old! My wife also said it’s one of the best homemade meals she’s had. Thank you so much for this! Btw, I love your site and your recipes, you are always consistent and your food is so flavorful. Much love, Allison
★★★★★
Andrea Fowler
My garden produced an abundance of tomatoes this year already so I dehydrated then and used them in this recipe with squash from the garden as well and man was it delish. Everyone loved it and it was quick and easy to make. Oven baking the squash took the longest but no question this will be a favorite of this family’s! Thank you so much for the simple delish pesto. Also, I took your recommendation and paired it with your apple salad and used apples and strawberries and it was wonderful as well. Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Kate
That sounds delicious! I’m happy you loved it, Andrea.
Justine
Question….what is the measurement for the sun dried tomatoes? One 6 5/7 oz. jar? The link you have there takes me to sun-dried tomatoes sold in pounds and that are dried? I just made this and am pretty sure I used way too much!
Kate
Hi Justine, you will want one 6.7oz jar of sun-dried tomatoes. Unfortunately, I don’t have control over external links updating or changing. Thanks for brining this to my attention.
Ema
This was amazing! The sauce was so easy to make, I used basil paste instead of fresh basil. I didn’t have all the vegetables but it still turned out delicious. Will definitely be making again!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Ema! I appreciate your review.
M
Unsurprisingly, this dish was a delicious success! Kate, you have a serious talent for making (and instructing us to make) good food.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, M! I’m glad you love it.
Barbara
I enjoyed this as a nice alternative to a traditional basil pesto, which is too much basil for my taste.
With two minor adjustments, this will be a 5! 1) I’d cut the oil. I cut down the oil from the original recipe, but still found it too be too oily for my liking. 2) Next time, I’ll cut the pesto by 1/4 or 1/3…I like the pesto to complement the pasta (I increased the pasta a bit) and roasted veggies, and not be front and center.
Overall, a solid lunch/dinner staple.
★★★★
Debbie
I’d never made sun dried tomato pesto before today, it turned out great! It’s so easy and I love any meal that has roasted vegetables. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Debbie! I’m glad you enjoyed it.