Pasta with sundried tomato pesto boasts of lots of flavor and lots of vegetables. It is an easy dinner recipe that comes together quickly. You can use any of your favorite seasonal vegetables and give it your personal touch.
If you hold off on the butter and the parmesan at the end, it is a vegan dish. And if you are following a gluten-free diet, use your favorite gluten-free pasta to fit your diet.
This is versatile, colorful, and with vibrant flavors - make some extra and have leftovers for lunch.
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Ingredients
- penne pasta; gluten-free if required
- olive oil
- butter (optional)
- garlic cloves
- red chilli flakes; or to taste (skip for a milder taste)
- bell pepper
- eggplant
- cherry tomatoes
- black pitted olives
- sundried tomato pesto
- fresh basil leaves for garnish
- grated parmesan; optional
Equipment List
This is a pretty straightforward stovetop recipe. (if you are looking for a recipe on how to use Instant Pot to cook pasta, check out my Cajun pasta recipe which I prepared using an Instant Pot).
You will need the following equipment/utensils to prepare the dish:
- Large pot to cook pasta
- Colander to drain pasta
- Small bowls and cups
- Cooking spoons
- Chopping board & knife
- Measuring cups/spoons
- Box grater/Microplane to grate a fresh block of parmesan
Step by Step Instructions
Full recipe + measurements + video can be found in the recipe card below.
prep work
wash and dice bellpepper, eggplant and mushrooms.
halve the cherry tomatoes lengthwise
chop the pitted black olives
finely chop the garlic
mise-en-place (get everything ready)
cooking
Cook the pasta according to the package directions
while the pasta is cooking, we can prepare the vegetables.
heat oil and butter on medium heat.
add chopped garlic and red chili flakes (if using). Fry until aromatic.
Add bell pepper, cook for 2-3 minutes, then add eggplant. Sprinkle some salt and let the eggplant cook (just starts to get tender; don't let it get mushy). Add the mushrooms. Mix the sundried tomato pesto and fry for a minute or two. Now add the cherry tomatoes followed by olives. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Drain the cooked pasta (reserve ½ cup pasta water) and toss the pasta with the vegetables. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve hot garnished with basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
What Other Pasta Shapes Would Work?
Any pasta shapes that would work in the pasta primavera recipe would be perfect to use in the recipe.
Penne
Bowtie pasta
Any spiral-shaped pasta like fusilli, gemelli will also be good.
What are the Other Vegetables You can use?
Think of any seasonal vegetable you want to incorporate into your diet:
- zucchini
- yellow squash
- asparagus
- broccoli
- spring onion
- shallots
- onion
This recipe is a good way to use up some of the half-used vegetables in your refrigerator. Dice everything and toss it into the pan.
The quantities I have given for the vegetables are what I use for my family. It is not a hard & fast measurement and you have a lot of leeways to use your favorite vegetables. But make sure that there is a good balance of vegetables and pasta.
Alternative Measurements
Like I said, earlier, these measurements need not be very precise.
1 cup= 250 ml. Typical US cups are 240 ml. You can use the standard US cups for this recipe without any problem.
- 250 grams bell pepper - approximately 2 cups diced
- 300 grams eggplant - approximately 4 cups diced
- 125 grams mushrooms - approximately 2 cups diced
- 80 grams cherry tomatoes - approximately ½ cup halved lengthwise
- 50 grams pitted black olives - approximately ½ cup chopped
- 225 grams pasta - approximately 8oz.
Meal Prep Tips
Typically, I use two burners on my stove whenever I prepare pasta - one to cook the pasta and one to cook the sauce. I start with boiling the water for pasta first. Once I start cooking the pasta, I start working on the sauce, in this case, start cooking the vegetables. Usually, the sauce and the pasta get ready almost simultaneously, which lets me add the freshly drained pasta to the sauce.
You can cook the vegetables and save the "sauce" in an air-tight container for 2-3 days and reheat them thoroughly before adding freshly cooked pasta. Make sure that the vegetables are cooked just enough. (They will get cooked again when you reheat).
Leftovers?
Save leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. This can be reheated on a stovetop or in a microwave wave.
More Pasta Recipes
- If you enjoy Indian flavors, this masala pasta is a must-try.
- A simple summer-y pasta with fresh asparagus!
- Garbanzo beans & pasta - simple, and filling!
- Cajun spices and spinach makes this pasta delicious and super flavorful.
- A simple pasta alfredo bake loaded with vegetables
Additional Tips
- 1 CUP = 250 ML. (US cups are typically 240 ml. You can use US cups with no significant change to the dish).
- 1 TEASPOON = 5ML; 1 TABLESPOON= 15 ML
- Grams to cups measurements – we strive to provide these conversions as accurately as possible. There might be some slight variations depending on the brand, weighing scale, etc.
- serving size - this serves 3-4 people. adjust the serving size to suit your dietary needs.
- Do not overcook the pasta.
- Do not overcook the vegetables - keep them tender crips to get the best results.
Pasta With Sundried Tomato Pesto
Ingredients
- 225 grams 8 oz penne pasta
- 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ tablespoon butter optional
- 2-3 large garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon red chilli flakes; or to taste
- 250 grams bell pepper
- 300 grams eggplant
- 80 grams cherry tomatoes
- 50 grams black pitted olives
- 1-2 tablespoons sundried tomato pesto; adjust to taste
- Salt to taste
garnish
- fresh basil leaves for garnish
- grated parmesan; optional
Instructions
- how to make pasta with sundried tomato peasto
- prep work
- wash and dice bell pepper, eggplant, and mushrooms
- halve the cherry tomatoes lengthwise
- chop the pitted black olives
- finely chop the garlic
- mise-en-place (get everything ready)
- cooking
- Heat a large pot of water. When it comes to boiling, add salt. Cook the pasta according to the package directions
- While the pasta is cooking, we can prepare the vegetables.
- Heat oil and butter on medium heat. Add chopped garlic and red chili flakes (if using). Fry until aromatic.
- Add bell pepper, cook for 2-3 minutes, then add eggplant. Sprinkle some salt and let the eggplant cook (just starts to get tender; don't let it get mushy). Add the mushrooms; cook for a few minutes just about the mushrooms to start getting tender. Mix the sundried tomato pesto. Now add the cherry tomatoes, mix well. Next, add the olives. Mix well to combine everything. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Drain the cooked pasta (reserve ½ cup pasta water) and toss the pasta with the vegetables. Taste and adjust the seasoning. If the pasta seems dry, add a little bit of reserved pasta water and mix well.
- Serve hot garnished with basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
- 1 CUP = 250 ML. (US cups are typically 240 ml. You can use US cups with no significant change to the dish).
- 1 TEASPOON = 5ML; 1 TABLESPOON= 15 ML
- Grams to cups measurements – we strive to provide these conversions as accurately as possible. There might be some slight variations depending on the brand, weighing scale, etc.
- serving size - this serves 3-4 people. adjust the serving size to suit your dietary needs.
- Do not overcook the pasta.
- Do not overcook the vegetables - keep them tender crips to get the best results.
- Do not add the salt all once. The olives and the pesto have salt in them. I sprinkle a little salt after adding eggplant to help with the cooking. taste the vegetables after adding pesto and olives and add more salt if required.
- Save leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. This can be reheated on a stovetop or in a microwave wave.
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