Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta With Parmesan and Basil
Make this creamy sun dried tomato pesto pasta in just 15 minutes for a flavorful weeknight dinner! It’s the perfect low effort, high reward meal when you’re craving elevated comfort and classic Italian flavors.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces linguine
- 1 cup sun-dried tomato pesto
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
- 1 small lemon juiced
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ounce parmesan cheese sliced into thin shards
- 8 to 10 leaves fresh basil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and boil until al dente according to package directions. Make sure to reserve some pasta water for the sauce.
- Add the sun dried tomato pesto to a large frying pan over low heat with a half cup of the pasta water. Stir well to combine and let the sauce warm up so that it’s lightly steaming, then stir in the lemon juice.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the frying pan with the sauce. Toss to combine.
- Plate the pasta with a finishing drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, parmesan shards, and fresh basil leaves.
Notes
Sun dried tomato pesto - We strongly recommend using homemade pesto for the best flavor and texture. Our sun-dried tomato pesto recipe is ultra creamy yet light and fresh, so it’s the perfect base for a pasta sauce. It only takes about 5 minutes to make with sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, toasted almonds, fresh basil, and a food processor.
Finishing oil - We recommend using a high quality extra virgin olive oil for drizzling over the pasta before serving, like Bertolli (easy to find) or Bona Furtuna (more specialty). This simple ingredient elevates this dish with little effort and takes the flavors from good to great!
Recipe timing - The sauce will only take a few minutes to warm up, so start this once the pasta is almost done cooking. This will help you avoid having the sauce sit on the stove for too long (which could dry it out), or get cold, before the pasta is ready.
How to get parmesan shards - We like to use our mandoline to slice thin shards of parmesan right from the block. If you don’t have a mandoline, use the slicer side of a cheese grater or a vegetable peeler.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 864kcal | Carbohydrates: 114g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 502mg | Potassium: 482mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 452IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 323mg | Iron: 3mg
