Sun-dried tomato pesto a delicious and fun twist on many people’s favorite pasta sauce. This versatile sauce comes together quickly and can be served in a variety of ways, whether you’re want a pasta dish, a delicious sandwich spread or even a dip for fresh veggies or garlic bread. Read on for our simple yet delicious homemade sun dried tomato hemp pesto!
Pesto is such a adaptable sauce, traditionally made with basil, olive oil and pine nuts. This version of pesto takes it up a notch from traditional, with sun-dried tomatoes, roasted peppers and hemp hearts instead of pine nuts. Hemp hearts are such a great addition to any recipe, but in this one they are more than an addition.
Hemp hearts have a great texture, especially when ground in a food processor, they have a subtle nutty flavor and apart from being delicious, they are incredibly healthy. Hemp hearts are known for their health benefits, providing vital amino acids, protein and the ability to aid in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. With the hemp hearts comes a dash of hemp oil, another heart-healthy addition to this high-healthy fat sauce. Fresh and flavorful.
This recipe pesto sauce recipe is easy to prepare, and will easily become a family favorite. Keep this is the fridge for last minute meals or even store in the freezer for future pasta nights. Let’s get to the saucy goodness.
Sun-dried Tomato Hemp Pesto
Ready in 10 minutes
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients
- 1 8 ounce jar of sun-dried tomatoes, oil included
- 1 8 ounce jar sweet piquillo peppers OR roasted red peppers, drained
- ¾ ounces fresh basil leaves
- ¾ ounces fresh parsley, stems removed
- 6 tablespoons hemp hearts
- 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon hemp oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
Preparation
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until everything is combined.
Tips
- This delicious condiment can be used to flavor soups, grilled meats or simply eaten as a dip with toasted crostinis or whole wheat crackers.
- For a simple, quick and easy lunch, toss 2 tablespoons of sun-dried tomato hemp pesto with 6 ounces of cooked hot pasta and a tablespoon of parmigiano reggiano!
- Omit the chili flakes for a mild version.
- Add you favorite CBD oil to the food processor for some extra goodness!