Red Pesto Sauce or pesto rosso is made with sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, basil, and a delicious amount of parmesan.
Sun dried tomato pesto is full of bright flavors and pairs wonderfully over pasta with a few fluffy cheddar garlic drop biscuits. It has lemon in it but is different from Lemon Chicken Orzo Pasta, another favorite italian dish of ours. IT'S PURE MAGIC.
Red pesto or pesto rosso is made with very similar ingredients to pesto alla genovese (green pesto), the version I grew up familiar with. Disclaimer: I am not italian, but I do love italian food. This is not a strictly traditional recipe. Some varieties also include roasted red peppers or pepper flakes for extra smokiness and spice.
You can make this red pesto the traditional way in a mortar with pestle, or in a blender or food processor like I prefer to do.
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Why You'll LOVE This Recipe
- Easy - red pesto pasta sauce is so simple to make! It takes less than 10 minutes, less time than it takes to cook the pasta.
- No cooking required - just blending!
- You can use it for EVERYTHING. Pasta, bruschetta, in a pesto cheese ball, over scrambled eggs or on avocado toast, on grilled cheese, etc. This is a breakfast, lunch or dinner sauce!
- It's a 15-minute dinner recipe, just like my pumpkin pasta sauce.
- This recipe makes a decent amount, so I like to use some and freeze some to use later! It's a great freezer friendly pesto recipe.
🛒 Key Ingredients
Many elements of the traditional ingredients of a traditional basil pesto are in this recipe, just different quantities. With a sun dried tomato pesto, tomatoes are the star of the show.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes - instead of basil as the man flavor driver, tomatoes are! Make sure to get the ones in olive oil, brands with added spices are fine and delicious. Don't drain them, keep the flavored olive oil inside the jar for the pesto!
- Pine Nuts - pine nuts are a traditional pesto ingredient, and are so yummy. Grocery stores usually have them in the baking isle or nuts and seeds section.
- Tomato Paste - a quality tomato paste helps to lift the flavor and intensify it. I like to get Italian tomato paste, it tastes amazing!
- Olive Oil - a pillar in a good pesto sauce. Quality extra virgin olive oil is essential.
- Garlic - fresh minced is best, I like to buy it in bulk, blend it, and freeze it in cubes to use for cooking.
- Basil - fresh fresh fresh! We don't use a lot, just enough to give the pesto flavor.
- Lemon - adds needed acidity and brightness, also helps to thin out the pesto rosso. You can add more or less depending on tastes.
- Pine nuts - this is a commonly used pesto ingredient for flavor and texture.
✏️ Substitutions
- Pine Nuts - slivered almonds or cashews would also work in this recipe. Walnuts are also a common nut used in pesto, but I feel the flavor is too heavy for this recipe.
- Parmesan Cheese - can be switched with pecorino romano or a reduced amount of nutritional yeast (not active dry yeast) for a vegan pesto option. I have not tested this substitution, and cannot give an accurate replacement measurement.
🆒 Variations
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a hint of spice!
- Different mild flavored nuts such as almonds, cashews, or macadamia nuts can give a slightly different flavor profile.
- Roast a red pepper and blend in for a roasted red pepper pesto variation!
🧑🍳 Instructions
Step 1. In a blender or food processor, combine the sun dried tomatoes, tomato paste, minced garlic, pine nuts, grated parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice, basil leaves, olive oil, and salt.
Step 2. Blend for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is pretty smooth and a deep red color. If it is light orange and there are basil bits visible, keep blending until the mixture darkens. Then serve! Serving suggestions are in the Frequently Asked Question section below.
📌 Top Tips
- Adjust recipe to your tastes. Prefer it more tart? Add a little lemon juice. Prefer it thinner? Add a few Tablespoons of olive oil. This recipe is very forgiving and easy to adjust!
- Use fresh ingredients - except the sun dried tomatoes! Fresh basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, and pine nuts are a must for a quality, authentic red pesto sauce.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe features sun dried tomatoes, tomato paste, pine nuts, olive oil, lemons, basil, parmesan cheese, garlic, and sea salt.
Red pesto (pesto rosso) uses sun dried tomatoes (fresh tomatoes are used more in pesto alla trapanese - sicilian pesto, with almonds instead of pine nuts), while green pesto mainly uses a large amount of fresh basil for the bulk of its volume. They both contain garlic, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, salt, olive oil, and basil. Several varieties use walnuts, almonds, or cashews in place of pine nuts.
Pasta! Cook your favorite variety according to package directions and serve it up with red pesto and freshly grated parmigiano romano or burrata cheese.
Veggies: Serve over roasted asparagus and orzo, roasted zucchini, eggplant, etc.
Chicken, steak, pork chops, or white fish - use as a marinade, stuff inside, or brush over cooked meat just before serving to make an unforgettable meal.
Bread - spread over crostinis, soft french bread, or in the middle of a melty grilled cheese sandwich. OMG.
Pizza- can be used in place of tomato paste pizza sauce.
Dip/salad dressing base - the possibilities are endless. Veggie dip, cracker dip, bread dip, cheese dip or add it to homemade tomato soup? You be the master of your own destiny.
Pesto butter- make a compound butter and elevate your roasted veggies and scrambled eggs to new heights.
You can use a few different methods: the traditional mortar and pestle, or food processor/blender.
Food processor/blender: combine all ingredients and blend until emulsified and smooth, it will be a thick sauce.
Mortar/pestle: In large mortar, combine pine nuts, basil, garlic, salt, lemon zest and juice.
Start working with the pestle, pressing and rotating it. Continue a few minutes until all the ingredients are finely ground. Add parmesan cheese and tomato paste and mix in well.
Chop sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces then add to mortar with other ingredients. Crush/pound 5-10 minutes until finely ground. Add olive oil as needed while mixing until full amount is added.
Red pesto will last up to 7 days in the fridge if you keep it stored in an airtight container.
NOTE: when it gets cold it will solidify so you'll want to warm it back up into a liquid before using or serving.
🍝 More Delicious Italian Recipes
Did You Try This Recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Make sure to leave a star rating and a comment below the recipe card. I love hearing from you, and it is so helpful to other readers! Better yet, share it with family and friends. Thank you!!
Trust me when I say that red pesto is the sauce of your dreams! If you're looking for a different, unique italian pasta sauce, this is one for the recipe box.
📝 Printable Recipe
Pesto Rosso Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- ⅓ cup fresh basil leaves (about 15 leaves)
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped about 1 Tablespoon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (one lemon)
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 oz. jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
If using blender or food processor:
- Combine all ingredients, including oil in jar of sun-dried tomatoes in blender or food processor.
- Blend/pulse until smooth and saucy, 1-2 minutes. It will be a thick sauce.
If using mortar and pestle:
- In large mortar, combine pine nuts, basil, garlic, salt, lemon zest and juice.
- Start working with the pestle, pressing and rotating it. Continue a few minutes until all the ingredients are finely ground. Add parmesan cheese and tomato paste and mix in well.
- Chop sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces then add to mortar with other ingredients. Crush/pound 5-10 minutes until finely ground. Add olive oil as needed while mixing until full amount is added.
Amanda says
I got a nasty sun burn the other day and this pesto sure helped! The sunburn is still there but I didn't much care whilst I was eating this with some fancy noodles and garlic bread. I tell ya, this will take ur mind of of whatever ails ya. Sunburn, bad breakup, that thing you did when you were a kid and have never told anyone about but it still haunts you, none of it matters when you're eating this stuff.