This sundried tomato pasta is in regular rotation here. It is quick, easy, economical and delicious! It’s also very adaptable to variations, for an always-satisfying pasta dinner.
This sun-dried tomato pasta is so full of flavour and ready in about 30 minutes! Simply add a simple salad or some roasted vegetables to complete the meal or add cooked chicken or shrimp to add a protein, if you like.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Pasta – use any shape of pasta you have or enjoy. I’ve used Bucatini here.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes – this pasta works best with sun-dried tomatoes packed with oil. I usually start with a 210ml/4oz jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil. I use all the sun-dried tomatoes and some of the oil, then refrigerate the remaining oil to use for other things like salad dressing, for example.
If you only have dry sun-dried tomatoes, be sure to rehydrate well and coat with a bit of olive oil before processing.
Basil – it’s hard to beat fresh basil in this pasta, but if you don’t have any on hand, dried basil is just fine.
How to make sundried tomato pasta
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan and basil to a food processor.
- Blitz together into a paste.
- Saute garlic in olive oil in a skillet, then add the sun-dried tomato paste to the skillet.
- Boil pasta, scooping out some of the pasta cooking water to use for the sauce.
- Add the cooked pasta to the skillet with the sun-dried tomato mixture.
- Add some of the pasta cooking water to the skillet to loosen the sauce.
- Drizzle with a bit of cream.
- Add more Parmesan and basil to the skillet.
- Warm and toss in the skillet, adding a bit more pasta cooking water, as needed.
Variations
- Add a protein to this dish! The flavours here pair really well with cooked chicken or shrimp.
- Simply add more or less cream or change the type of cream used, to dial this dish up or down.
What to serve with sun-dried tomato pasta
It’s hard to beat a simple salad with pasta, though this dish would also be nice with any green vegetable.
Making ahead and storing
Pasta is generally best enjoyed freshly cooked. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.
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Get the Recipe: Sundried Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz. (225 g) pasta
- 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained, but reserving oil
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 6-8 leaves basil, or 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste, optional
- 2 teaspoons reserved sun dried tomato oil, or olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 cup pasta boiling water, plus more as needed
- 1 cup half and half cream (10% b.f.), or 1/3-1/2 cup heavy, whipping cream
- 2-3 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- 2-3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, shredded
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
To serve:
- Additional fresh basil leaves, chopped
- Additional Parmesan cheese, shredded
- Red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of well salted boiling water until al dente. DO NOT DRAIN before reserving about 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water.
- While pasta is cooking, add the drained sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, basil leaves and tomato paste to a food processor. Process until the mixture is broken down into a mixture of small chunks.
- In a skillet, heat a teaspoon or two of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil over medium heat. *You can refrigerate any remaining sun-dried tomato oil and use for other purposes, as well. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, if using and cook 45-60 seconds until fragrant. Do not brown. Add processed sun-dried tomato mixture and stir together with the garlic. Turn off heat under skillet until pasta is ready.
- When pasta is ready, scoop out about 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water and set aside. Drain pasta and transfer pasta to skillet with sun-dried tomato mixture. Add 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and cook over medium heat until the sun-dried tomato mixture has loosened well. Add a bit more pasta cooking water, if needed. Add the cream and stir in. Cook to warm through. Add the basil and Parmesan cheese, along with some salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately garnished with additional fresh basil and shredded Parmesan.
Notes
More pasta recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I ended up halving the recipe. The sauce has amazing flavour. I should have made the whole recipe because my husband asked if there was anymore.
So glad you enjoyed it, Elizabeth and yes, it’s hard to beat sun dried tomatoes for flavour :) Thanks!
Will leftover sauce freeze well?
Thanks
I made this tonight and it was fantastic! I’m definitely adding it to the rotation.
So glad you enjoyed it, Ashley! Thanks so much :)
As with all your recipes Jennifer – this looks amazing!!! I will definitely be trying it out this week. Thank you!
Thanks Linda :) I love this one as I can easily change it up depending on my mood. Sometimes I use just a little heavy cream for a pasta that highlights the sun dried tomato chunks. Other times, I add more of a lighter cream, for more of a creamy, saucy sun dried tomato sauce. And of course you can add a protein, as well. A very adaptable pasta!