Pesto Rosso is simply pesto made with sun-dried tomatoes. This vibrant red pesto is a tasty and delicious addition to anything you serve it with.
Sun-dried tomatoes already have their own intense flavour from being dried. When you blend them with the other Pesto Rosso ingredients, you end up with a sauce that’s packed with delicious flavour!
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Quick and easy – this recipe is so simple and fast to make. It is also a nice change from the fresh basil traditional green pesto.
Basic ingredients – all of the 6 main ingredients are basic, regular pantry items.
Adaptable and versatile – there are lots of Pesto Rosso uses! It can be a dip, a spread, a condiment or an ingredient in recipes with sun-dried tomato pesto.
Low carb – there are little to no carbs in this red pesto recipe!
Ingredients You Will Need
Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the quantity of each ingredient used and the full detailed recipe for this delicious sun-dried tomato pesto! Keep reading for more details on the ingredients, substitutes and step by step instructions on how to make it.
Almonds – This recipe uses roasted almonds. You can substitute them with nuts such as toasted walnuts, pine nuts, macadamias and cashews. You can also make a nut-free version by using pepitas, sunflower seeds or toasted hemp seeds.
Sun Dried Tomatoes – Sun dried tomatoes are available in all supermarkets. They are completely dried, and have a lot of flavour. You can also buy semi-dried tomatoes, but their flavour is not as intense.
Garlic – I like to buy Australian Garlic whenever possible, as the flavour from freshly minced garlic cloves is much better than from the jars of minced garlic.
Lemon – During lemon season, use a zester to collect the zest, and store it in a jar in the freezer. You can also freeze the juice, in tablespoon-sized serves in ice block trays, and transfer the portions to an airtight container.
Chilli Flakes – If you are not a fan of spicy food, chilli flakes do not add a lot of heat, but are good to have for the flavour!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) – Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the least processed and my preferred variant of olive oil to cook with.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is very easy to make this into a nut-free pesto! Simply substitute the nuts for pepitas, sunflower seeds or toasted hemp seeds.
You can swap the almonds for walnuts, macadamias, or cashews.
Any pesto sauce is best used within 2-3 days of making it. If it has been left in the fridge longer, I would use it in a recipe where it gets cooked.
Yes, it is. Personally, I prefer it fresh but if you would like to make it in a large batch, you can freeze it in portions in an airtight container.
How To Make It
This recipe is so simple that you hardly even need instructions to know how to make red pesto!
It is as quick and easy as gathering your ingredients and blending them together! You can’t get simpler than that.
What to Serve With It
One of the simplest ways to serve it is as a dip with some keto crackers or an easy stir-through sauce for pasta. You can leave it slightly chunkier if you prefer dips with texture.
It is delicious as a sauce on plain grilled protein, similar to chimichurri. You can stir it through zoodles or cauliflower mash or use it in place of pizza sauce on a keto fathead pizza.
This recipe goes amazing in our Marry Me Chicken recipe. It has a creamy red pesto sauce that is one of the best keto sauce recipes I think I have made!
More Recipes To Try
If you enjoy Italian flavours, you might like to try some of these other easy keto recipes as well!
- Homemade Italian Seasoning Substitute
- Keto Chicken Alfredo Pizza
- Zucchini Pizza Bites
- Italian Meatball Minestrone Soup
- Keto Pesto Recipe
Try this easy pesto with our Easy Zucchini Slice. A perfect match if you ask me!
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Sundried-Tomato Pesto Recipe (Pesto Rosso)
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (0.3 cup) almonds or toasted walnuts, see notes
- 3/4 cup (0.75 cup) sun dried tomatoes in oil
- 1 clove (1 clove) garlic finely minced
- zest and juice of half a lemon
- 1/2-1 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) red chill flakes to taste
- 1/2 cup (0.5 cup) extra virgin olive oil
- salt flakes and black pepper to season
Instructions
CONVENTIONAL METHOD
- Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
THERMAL METHOD
- Place all the ingredients into the mixer; chop 3 sec/speed 7. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
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