This vegan sun-dried tomato pesto served over pasta is sure to please your palate and your tummy! It's so hearty, filling, and delicious! It's easy to make with cashews, pine nuts, garlic, and olive oil. A bit of nutritional yeast provides the cheesy flavor - you won't even notice there is no parmesan cheese. Everyone will love this vegan and gluten free meal and they will definitely be asking for seconds!
Vegan sun-dried tomato pesto sauce coating tender pasta is comfort food at its best. You will definitely want to make this easy, delicious recipe on repeat! It tastes incredible and is simple enough to whip during the busy work week.
Sun-dried tomato pesto is my favorite kind of pesto. If you've never had it, now's the time to give it a try! This meal is crowd pleasing and one the whole family will enjoy.
Vegan Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta Ingredients
The combination of noodles, sun-dried tomato pesto and broccolini is super flavorful! Here’s the list of what you need to make it:
- For the Pesto: The vegan pesto is made with boiled cashews, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, nutritional yeast, fresh garlic, onion powder and salt.
- Olive Oil: For cooking the chickpeas and broccolini (or broccoli).
- Broccolini: Use broccolini or broccoli to increase the nutrition in this meal.
- Chickpeas: For a boost of plant-based protein and fiber.
- Gluten Free Pasta: We really like Ancient Harvest gluten-free pasta, but feel free to use any pasta that you prefer. If you are not gluten-free, any pasta will do.
How to Make Vegan Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta
This recipe has a few steps to follow, but is so easy to make. Here's how:
Step 1 - Boil the Cashews : Heat a small pot on the stove to medium-high heat. Pour in 1 cup of water and cashews. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and reduce temperature to low. Set timer to 20 minutes.
Step 2 - Make Pasta : While waiting for cashews to boil, cook your regular or gluten-free pasta as instructed on the package.
Step 3 - Sauté the Broccolini and the Chickpeas : Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, broccolini florets and chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until chickpeas are golden, about 10 minutes. Once cooked, set your pasta, broccolini, and chickpeas aside.
Step 4 - Make the Pesto : Once cashews are boiled (they will be tender and break easily), drain the water from them and transfer to a food processor. Then, add your olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, nutritional yeast, garlic, onion powder, and salt. Blend on high until the cashews, pine nuts, and sun-dried tomatoes are broken down and the contents are blended together. It should take less than a minute.
Step 5 - Serve: Mix the sun-dried tomato pesto with the cooked and cooled pasta, and the crispy chickpeas and broccolini. Enjoy warm or cool!
Expert Tips & Variations
- Make Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 6 hours before you plan on serving it. It's great served warm, room temperature or even chilled.
- Change it Up: If you feel like adding more veggies, some great additions are artichoke hearts, red onion, sautéed zucchini or mushrooms.
- Pasta Types: For this pesto pasta, any pasta shape will work. We really like fusilli or bowtie pasta, but other great choices are penne and rotini.
- Serving Suggestion: We like to serve this dish with a simple salad. Toss mixed greens with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Feel free to add toppings to your salad such as red onion, cherry tomatoes, and croutons. It also pairs well with garlic bread!
Frequently Asked Questions
Pesto can be added to hot or cold pasta. It is helpful to reserve ¼ to ½ cup of the pasta water and add some of it to the pasta and pesto mixture. The pasta water makes the oils from the pesto stick to the pasta better. It is a great technique.
This sun-dried tomato pesto will last about a week in the fridge. It will firm up, so just let it return to room temperature before using it again. If you have leftovers, you can also freeze the pesto for about 6 months.
Yes, this will freeze well for up to about 6 months. We like to divide up the pesto in an ice cube tray to freeze in small portions.
More Vegan & Gluten Free Pasta Recipes
Vegan Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
- ½ cup boiled cashews
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 8 oz jar of sun-dried tomatoes
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Other Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cup broccoli or broccolini florets
- 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 package Ancient Harvest gluten-free pasta
Instructions
- Begin by boiling the cashews. You will do this by heating a small pot on the stove to medium high. Pour in 1 cup of water and cashews. Bring the entire pot to a boil. Once it’s reached a boil, cover with a lid and reduce temperature to low. Set timer to 20 minutes.
- While waiting for cashews to boil, cook your Ancient Harvest pasta as instructed.
- Then, heat a large skillet to medium high, pour in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, broccolini florets and chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until chickpeas are golden, about 10 minutes. Once cooked, set your pasta, broccolini, and chickpeas aside.
- Once cashews are boiled (they will be tender and break easily), drain the water from them and pour them into a food processor. Then, add your olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, nutritional yeast, garlic, onion powder, and salt. Blend on high until the cashews, pine nuts, and sun-dried tomatoes are broken down and the contents are blended together. It should take less than a minute.
- Mix the sun-dried tomato pesto with the cooked and cooled pasta, and the crispy chickpeas and broccolini. Serve warm or cool!
Notes
Nutrition
The recipes on Peanut Butter and Jilly can easily be adapted to fit a vegan lifestyle, a gluten-free lifestyle, or both depending on the ingredients you use. Please review the ingredients lists carefully and refer to our recommendations in the Notes of the recipe card to make this recipe compatible with your needs. Nutrition information provided is an estimate, and will vary based on specific brands of ingredients used and cooking methods.
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