Red Pesto With Sun-Dried Tomatoes And Basil (8 Min, Vegan)
- Updated on Feb 12, 2016
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Sometimes a recipe creation can take many, many attempts – a single, simple looking recipe can go through so much behind the scenes it’s almost unbelievable – amounts are changed, cooking methods and times are altered and even whole ingredients are added or removed.
It gets made again and again, taste tested multiple times and sometimes even thrown away completely.
This is not one of those recipes. This red pesto with sun-dried tomatoes and basil was pretty much perfect from the off.
Taking inspiration from our green basil pesto and cutting out the cheese, it all just fell into place and we knew we were on to a winner.
Then something else happened. We left it in the fridge overnight before trying it again. And you know what? Holy shitballs batman. It tasted even better!
The flavours first infuse then diffuse, and this red pesto became an absolute beast. I might be biased (I am) but this red pesto is far and away the best I have ever tasted, be it homemade, store-bought or restaurant conceived.
What’s more, it’s quick, easy, cheap and vegan. Need I say more?
The Joys of a Good Hand J…Blender
These bad mofos really make cooking easy.
If you’re just starting out in the culinary world we have a kitchen essentials list to help you on your way, but no matter what you end up grabbing for your kitchen, a hand blender should be right at the top of your list.
So versatile, they can be used for many a style of recipe. Pesto of course, but pancakes, soups, smoothies and spreads will suddenly become second nature.
Even better for blending sticky ingredients (like in this red pesto) is a food processor.
These are the heavy duty lads called in when you’ve got a lot on your plate (sorry), or at least need to get a lot on your plate.
For high volumes we recommend something like this to handle large portions.
Health Benefits – Red Pesto with Sun-Dried Tomatoes And Basil
Let’s turn the limelight to the king of herbs – basil. Did you know the word basil is actually based on the Greek word “basileus”, meaning king. There’s a reason for that.
According to the studies, essential oils in basil reduce inflammation, that may well be useful in treating arthritis.
Also, it can help to protect against unwanted bacterial growth and can even act as an anti-inflammatory too (Brilliant Basil)!
How does all this help you? I don’t know, but make sure you eat some basil leaves every now and then!
Ingredients
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 cups basil, fresh
- ½ cup cashews
- 3 tbsp olive oil (use less if you use the oil from the tomatoes)
- 10 tbsp water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 clean jar with lid
Optional
- If you want a little more “fire” in the pesto add a chili or chili flakes. Red goes great, unsurprisingly 😉
Instructions
- Throw all the ingredients into a food processor or use a bowl and hand blender. If you don’t have any of those tools try to cut all the ingredients into very small pieces and try to mix and mash them together using a fork or heavy rolling pin.
- Just pour the mixture into the jar and tadaaaaaa! You have your own little jar of lovely red pesto.
- Use it as pizza base, in a wrap, with pasta/zoodles or try in combination with our fantastic vegetarian quesadillas 😀
NOTES
Nutrition
Comments
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26 comments
O yum! Pinned this bad boy! I love the smokiness of sundried tomatoes!! They are so good!
hahaha, thanks! Yess, really worth a try 😀
Seriously amazing stuff right there! I love sun dried tomatoes. This is getting made soon.
That color is gorgeous and these ingredients have me salivating! What a great pesto idea! Love that you added sun-dried tomatoes to this. I imagine this would be so delicious on so many things too! Great recipe!
Thanks Brandi!! All props go to Kat 😀
Yeess, I’m a huge fan too
Yum. Perfect for Pizza!
Loving the sound of this. Sun dried tomatoes are the best!!!
absolutely!! 😀
My daughter loves pesto, so this will be a fun twist to try!
Yess, it’s deffo worth a try, soooooo good I promise!! 😀
Okay, now I’m craving pesto! I want this stuff on pasta and sandwiches ASAP. I can already tell it’s going to be difficult to leave it alone in the fridge overnight!
lol, that was more true than you think 😉
Ooh this sounds good, I love the use of cashews in this version – they make everything so much creamier!
Yess!!!! Cashews FTW!
This pesto sounds delicious. I love what sitting in the fridge for a day or two can do for foods like this!
Sun dried tomatoes in pesto are my favorite! Awesome recipe!
OMG awesome post y’all! This pesto sounds like it will be delish on so many things. Pinned! 🙂
Thanks 😀
WoW, this is such a great combination for a Pesto. I love Sun-dried tomatoes and this is definitely going in my ‘ToDo’ list.
Great to hear Molly! Let us know when they’re done 🙂
Sounds amazing! Definitely going to give this a go, thanks. Have a feeling this may just disappear…but if it doesn’t, how long would this keep for?
hahhaha, it will be gone quickly, I’m sure 😀
Defnitely at least 8 days. Until then I snacked up everything.
Wow this sounds so quick and easy to make, thanks for sharing 🙂
you’re very welcome, Davina! It’s been a big hit at parties already 😀
Just wondering how long this would keep for?
Hi Emily! With this one I’d say you’ve got at least a week, probably two. There aren’t any animal products and if you layer a tiny bit of oil over the top and tightly seal you’ll be good to go for a while 🙂