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15-Minute Meal – Tomato Pesto Pasta (Vegan)

Richa GuptaTue Jun 21 2022
French/ItalianVeganLunchMain
15-Minute Meal – Tomato Pesto Pasta (Vegan)

Light, creamy and delicious – Tomato Pesto Pasta. It is made with my flavourful and highly addictive tomato pesto. This meal is very quick and easy to make and gets ready in just 15 minutes. That means you don’t need to spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing a party meal at home. Yes! This recipe feels like a party on a weekday.

Make it over lunch, brunch, or dinner. Throw in some veggies for some extra nutrition and crunch.

Story Time

We both love pasta and Jatin is a fan of basil pesto pasta. He loves it a lot. He makes it the traditional way – using a mortar pestle. He believes that you can’t get that same flavor and aroma in a mixer grinder. That’s true.

So, a long time back, on a random day, I saw a big jar of sun-dried tomatoes in our refrigerator. We had that jar for a long time and since sun-dried tomatoes taste so good, I thought what if I make a pesto out of it. Trust me, I did not see that recipe anywhere. But then I forgot about it. Last year when we moved to Munich, Germany, I saw tomato pesto on the aisles of supermarkets here. It reminded me that I also wanted to try it at home. Finally, I did that and it turned out just how I imagined it to be. Wao! It is quite addictive that I finished it with bread, and crackers, and even made sandwiches from it. You must give it a try. It has that umami flavor of sun-dried tomatoes and the creaminess of cashews. The flavor of basil and a slight hint of garlic will make you dream about it for days.

If you don’t have time, watch the video instead and if you enjoy it, please Subscribe to our Youtube channel too.

Easy Swaps

  1. Tomato Paste: Although, it adds a unique flavor and color to the pesto. But if you can’t find it, then increase the quantity of sun-dried tomatoes by 1/3 Cup in the recipe.
  2. Pasta: Use any pasta of choice and boil them as per the packet instructions.
  3. Veggies: Add any vegetable like mushrooms, bell peppers, celery, aubergine, onion, tomatoes, etc.

Is this recipe Vegan?

Yes. This tomato pesto pasta recipe is totally plant-based and vegan. It doesn’t have any cheese to it. Instead of cheese, I added cashew and nutritional yeast to the pesto recipe. These ingredients make the pesto creamy and cheesy.

More vegan recipes on the website: Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Muffins, Vegan Dum Biryani, Kung Pao Tofu.

How to cook Pasta?

Pasta is easy to cook but if you won’t pay attention then it is very easy to ruin it. Overcooking makes it soggy and mushy and it doesn’t taste good. Follow the below-mentioned tips to cook pasta just perfectly:

  1. Cook it as per the packet instructions.
  2. Take a large pan to boil pasta. Small pans overcrowd the pasta and make them sticky and mushy.
  3. Add ONLY SALT in water to boil pasta. NO OIL is needed.
  4. Add pasta only when water starts to boil.
  5. Keep stirring in between to prevent them from sticking with each other.
  6. Pasta takes around 10 – 12 minutes to cook. Keep an eye and take a bite of it to see if they are cooked. Boil only until they are just cooked. Then remove from the flame and drain off the water.

How to store Tomato Pesto?

You can make a big batch of tomato pesto and refrigerate it for up to 7 to 10 days.

If you want to store it for a longer time, then put it in the freezer. It can last for more than a month. Whenever you want to make a tomato pesto pasta recipe, take out the pesto from the freezer well in advance to thaw well, or else, put the jar in hot water and de-freeze the pesto.

Tomato pesto

How to use Tomato Pesto?

You can use homemade tomato pesto to make pasta, salads, and sandwiches, or you can even eat it as a dip with crackers or bread. It tastes very good with soft and moist ladi pav (dinner rolls or milk bread).

More recipes to try

  1. Vietnamese Summer Rolls
  2. Non-Fried Moong Dal Falafels
  3. Street-style Chowmin
  4. Vegan Basil Pesto Pasta (video only)

Tomato Pesto pasta

Now grab all the ingredients because you are ready to make this Italian treat at home. It is perfect for lunch, brunch, or dinner. If you try this recipe & like it too, please share the photo of your creation on Instagram and tag us @thefearlesscooking. We just love to see your recreation of our recipes.

Happy Cooking 🙂

Love from us

Richa & Jatin

15-Minute Meal – Tomato Pesto Pasta (Vegan)

Quick. Easy. Vegan.

A perfect summer recipe is here. It is quick and easy which means no more spending hours in the kitchen preparing a party-like meal at home. 

Make it for dinner and have a party feel on a weekday. 

1

Servings

10 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

Courses

Lunch Main

Cuisines

French/Italian Vegan

Ingredients

Tomato Pesto (serves 3 to 4)

Pasta (serves 1)

Steps

Tomato Pesto
  1. Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend into a smooth paste. 
  2. Take it out in a jar and drizzle some oil from the sun-dried tomatoes jar.  It adds a nice flavor to the pesto. Mix and your pesto is ready. 
Prepare Pasta
  1. Boil pasta as per the packet instructions. Drain off the water and keep it aside. 
    2. Keep some pasta water, if you want to add it to the pasta.
  2. In a pan, heat some oil. 
  3. Once the oil is heated, add garlic and saute for a few seconds. Do not brown them.
  4. Add the rest of the veggies and cook for a minute or two on high flame. Do not overcook. Keep the veggies crunchy.
  5. Add Pasta and mix everything well. 
  6. Switch off the flame and add tomato pesto as needed (1/4 to 1/2 Cup). Mix well and serve. 
Serving Suggestion
  1. Finish it off with a few basil leaves on top. Sprinkle some nutritional yeast. You can even place some sliced olives. 
  2. Serve it with some toasted baguette. 

FAQs

How to cook Pasta?
+
Pasta is easy to cook but if you won’t pay attention then it is very easy to ruin it. Overcooking makes it soggy and mushy and it doesn’t taste good. Follow the below-mentioned tips to cook pasta just perfectly:
  1. Cook it as per the packet instructions.
  2. Take a large pan to boil pasta. Small pans overcrowd the pasta and make them sticky and mushy.
  3. Add ONLY SALT in water to boil pasta. NO OIL is needed.
  4. Add pasta only when water starts to boil.
  5. Keep stirring in between to prevent them from sticking with each other.
  6. Pasta takes around 10 – 12 minutes to cook. Keep an eye and take a bite of it to see if they are cooked. Boil only until they are just cooked. Then remove from the flame and drain off the water.
Is Pasta healthy to eat?
+

Anything is unhealthy, if not consumed in moderation. Pasta is made of whole grains like wheat, durum wheat semolina, lentils, or millets. It is a part of a healthy diet. But apart from the type of pasta you choose, the toppings also play an important role. Include some veggies like broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, etc to add some crunch and nutrition to your pasta. Try and use homemade sauces as much as you can because there is no match of homemade food when it comes to health and nutrition.

What do you eat with Pesto?
+

You can eat pesto in many creative ways:

  1. Make pasta
  2. Use in salads
  3. Make sandwiches or just use them as a spread on bread.
  4. Soups
  5. As a dip for crackers
  6. Add in roasted veggies
How long does pesto last in the refrigerator?
+

Homemade pesto can stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 7 to 10 days. If you want to store it for a much longer time, keep it in the freezer.

What is tomato paste?
+

Tomato paste is a highly concentrated paste of tomatoes. It is prepared by cooking tomatoes for a long time till they reduce their moisture and are transformed into a paste. It adds a burst of umami flavor to the recipes like pesto, lasagna, curries, red Thai curry, etc.

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Image of Richa Gupta - Creator of The Fearless Cooking

Hi There!

Welcome to my kitchen. I am Richa - the human behind the lens. I hope you found something interesting to cook today. If you are still confused, then try my all time favourite   pesto pasta. You will love it.

And then we can learn more about each other. After all, everything feels good after a happy meal 😁

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