This delicious vegan sun-dried tomato pesto, enhanced with the addition of fragrant rosemary, offers a bold and savory flavor that is sure to satisfy. The taste of sun-dried tomatoes is expertly balanced with the woodsy notes of rosemary for a truly unique and delicious pesto experience.

Red pesto with rosemary leaves in a small white bowl.

Do you pesto as much as we do? Try our vegan spinach pesto, red pesto tofu pasta, or vegan pesto pasta. You can find even more vegan pasta recipes here, as you can never have enough inspiration. Am I right?

What to expect from this recipe?

Classic Italian pesto is made with pine nuts, fresh basil leaves, Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, and salt, mixed with olive oil, and crushed in a mortar. One variation is red pesto, alias pesto rosso, or pesto alla siciliana. It is made with sun-dried tomatoes, which have a strong aroma but still taste nutty, oily, herby, and garlicky like regular pesto.

This vegan sun-dried tomato pesto recipe uses cashew nuts instead of pine nuts and the addition of fresh rosemary leaves. These two subtle changes make this pesto a unique and flavorful twist on the classic Italian sauce. Expect a bold and savory flavor profile with every bite. We love this recipe so much. Even our kids enjoy red pesto pasta, so we make it often. Probably every two weeks, if not more.

Large white plate with red pesto spaghetti topped with green-yellow tofu cubes, shredded cheese and basil leaves. There is a small bowl with leftover red pesto in the corner and parmesan cheese on top of a grater.

Ingredients

Get ready to whip up a batch of homemade vegan sun-dried tomato pesto with these fresh and flavorful ingredients:

Sun-dried tomatoes → You can buy them dry or canned in oil. Both can be used in this recipe, but we prefer the canned diced version as it is easy to blend.
Fresh basil leaves
Fresh garlic clove → If you are in a hurry, you might use garlic powder or granules. However, fresh ingredients always give a stronger flavor and better texture. Especially when it comes to pesto.
Vegan Parmesan cheese → We love using this brand, but the easiest substitute is nutritional yeast.
Cashew nuts → This can be substituted for almost any nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.).
Extra virgin olive oil
Rosemary
Salt and black pepper

? You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Instructions

Preparing the ingredients

If you use dry sun-dried tomatoes, then soak them in hot water for 2-3 minutes.
If you use canned ones, you can skip the soaking and use them as they are. No need to drain it. There is no reason you shouldn’t use the olive oil from the can.
To make blending easier, slice the garlic clove after peeling it. Especially if you plan to use an immersion blender.
Wash and pick the leaves of a rosemary twig. Don’t use the brown stem part.
To make blending easier, chop the vegan Parmesan cheese.

Making the pesto

Add all vegan pesto ingredients to a food processor (soaked tomatoes, cashews (not soaked!!!), clove of garlic, vegan Parmesan (or nutritional yeast), olive oil, rosemary, salt, and black pepper).
Blend until you get a pesto sauce consistency. You can see in the below picture how our red pesto turned out.

Cooking tips

Chopping makes it easier. We recommend pre-chopping the ingredients, especially sun-dried tomatoes, garlic cloves, and vegan Parmesan cheese, to make blending easier.
How to save time? You can make pesto in 5 minutes if you use canned, diced sun-dried tomatoes since you don’t need to soak those.
How to make it cheaper? Use nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan cheese and sunflower seeds instead of cashews. We have a vegan spinach pesto recipe where we did just that.

Variations

Spicy: Add 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to make it fiery.
Pesto without basil: We made this recipe countless times without fresh basil leaves. The flavor and the texture will be slightly different, but it was truly delicious with only a teaspoon of dried basil.
Other green herbs: If you don’t like rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes pairs well with basil, oregano, thyme, and marjoram.

Serving ideas

Looking for ideas on what to serve with vegan red pesto? The possibilities are endless with this versatile and flavorful sauce.

Try spreading it on sandwiches, crostini, or tortillas. Skip cream cheese here and add pesto to make veggie pinwheels.
Tossing it with pasta to make red pesto pasta (see below photo).
Use it as a marinade for roasted vegetables or grilled vegetable kabobs.
Drizzle it over vegan cauliflower steak or tofu steak.
Give a unique twist to any vegan risotto.
Use it as a dressing for pasta salads or grain bowls.
Use it as a topping or a swirl for vegan minestrone soup.

Equipment

Food processor vs immersion blender. We recommend picking a food processor only if you make a large enough batch. Otherwise, it will not do the job properly. We always use an immersion blender if we were to make only 2 servings. We have a strong Bosch blender that has no difficulty blending cashew nuts and the other ingredients into the right consistency.

Storing tips

Fridge: You can keep any homemade pesto in the refrigerator for 3-4 days without a problem. Oil will help preserve it longer. If the oil has a pungent odor or the taste is off, don’t use it.
Freezer: Any pesto is perfect to store in the freezer for up to 6 months. Since it is rich and filling, you need approx. 2 Tablespoons of it per serving. Using an ice cube tray to freeze them in small portions is a popular option. Later, you can transfer it to a freezer-safe storage bag to save space.

More vegan pasta sauce recipes

Browse through our vegan pasta sauce recipes or choose one from the below list: