Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta

When most of us think of pesto pasta, we think of basil pesto pasta. But, other pestos exist outside the realm of basil pesto, like this sun-dried tomato pesto pasta! 

This dish is a combo of paccheri pasta and butter beans, tossed in a creamy sun-dried tomato pesto sauce. It’s simple, easy to make, and super filling! 

So, if you’re looking to switch up your regular basil pesto pasta, make this instead!

Ingredients For This Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta 

Here’s everything you’ll need for this creamy sun-dried tomato pesto pasta + some brand recs! 

For The Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

• Sun-dried tomatoes: Duh! I used oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes because they have lots more flavor than vacuum-packed sun-dried tomatoes. And I know it’s a bit of a splurge, but I love Seggiano’s oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes – they’re packed in olive oil and have just a few ingredients. 
• Extra virgin olive oil 
• Cashews and pine nuts: I prefer to use a mix of both nuts because pine nuts are crazy expensive. And by using a small amount of pine nuts, the flavor still shines through in the pesto + the cashews help bulk up the sauce and add texture. That said, you can use all pine nuts if you prefer. 
• Tomato paste 
• Fresh garlic 
• Kosher salt 

For The Pasta 

• Paccheri or any tube-shaped pasta: I’m a big fan of Seggiano products, particularly their pasta. Again, it is a little pricey, but their processing and methods for dried pasta are impeccable! 
• Butter beans: I like adding these in for an extra protein boost, but you can leave them out if you prefer.
• Cashew milk or any creamy milk
• Black pepper 
• Nutritional yeast or parmesan if you’re not plant-based/dairy-free
• Fresh basil for garnish 
• + The homemade sun-dried tomato pesto

Let’s Chat Pesto 

Let’s get this straight! Pesto isn’t a recipe, it’s a technique that refers to crushing fresh herbs or any ingredient with oil, cheese, and a few other flavors. Most of us refer to Genovese basil pesto when we think of pesto, which consists of pine nuts, basil, parmesan cheese, olive oil, and garlic. However, other pesto variations exist, case in point, this sun-dried tomato pesto.

The reason I bring up the whole “pesto isn’t a recipe, it’s a technique” is because you can easily swap in other nuts or add in other flavors to put your spin on this recipe. For example, feel free to replace the cashews and pine nuts with 3/4 of walnuts instead. Or you can add in 1/4 cup of grated parmesan if you like. 

A Few Notes

• Make the sun-dried tomato pesto on the weekend. That way it’s super easy to whip up this dish during the week! I have this recipe on rotation for usually weeks on end, so I’ll whip up the pesto on the weekend and store it in the fridge for whenever I need a quick dinner. 
• Use a large tube-shaped pasta. Paccheri, rigatoni, or any large shell pasta shape is my favorite pasta for this dish as it catches the sauce nicely. I feel like spaghetti or linguine is too delicate of a pasta shape to hold a thicker sauce like this pesto. 
• Use the same pot for both the pasta and sauce. No need to dirty another pan, just make the sauce in the same pot you used to cook the pasta. 

So excited for you to make this dish! If you like this pasta, you have to try my creamy basil pesto pasta next (if you haven’t already).

If you have any questions at all, feel free to leave a comment below or send me a DM on Instagram. 

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