Dinner doesn’t get a whole lot easier than this easy Red Pesto Tagliatelle. Using just six ingredients and with cooking time just 15 minutes, it’s perfect for dinner on busy days.
When it comes to preparing Quick Dinners, it doesn’t get a whole lot quicker than Pasta. And this pasta dish cooked with red pesto, tomatoes, basil and parmesan cheese is super quick and easy.
If you happen to be looking for more ideas, 25 Weeknight Pasta Dishes (Cooked on the stovetop) has so much to offer. And for days when you have more time, there’s always room for my Chicken and Spinach Lasagna or the Beef and Cheese Cannelloni.
- Difficulty – You won’t make an easier recipe! There is no skill required and if you can cook pasta, you can make this recipe!
- Taste – This quick and easy pasta dish has very subtle flavours. You can really taste the blistered tomatoes as well as the fresh basil. But the overall component is the red pesto!
- Serving – This dish will easily make four portions.
Ingredients
- Pasta – I used dried tagliatelle for this pasta dish.
- Tomatoes – Cherry/grape tomatoes will work best.
- Olive oil
- Sauce – I used a store bought jar of red pesto.
- Cheese – Freshly grated parmesan cheese.
- Herbs – Fresh chopped basil.
- Salt– Just a little to season.
REMEMBER, The full recipe and instructions is found at the end of the post in the recipe card.
Instructions
- Cook tomatoes – In a medium sized skillet set over medium heat, add the olive oil and cherry tomatoes. Give a good shake and allow to cook down for about 10 – 12 minutes until they are blistered and soft.
- Cook pasta – While the tomatoes are cooking, cook and drain the pasta according to the package.
- Combine and serve – In a large serving bowl, combine the pasta, cooked cherry tomatoes, red pesto, parmesan cheese, fresh basil and salt. Stir well to combine and serve immediately.
Recipe Tips
- Cooking times – This dish comes together pretty quickly. It’s best to cook the pasta while the tomatoes are cooking so they are both ready at the same time.
- Serve fresh – Please serve this dish fresh off the stove. The flavours and textures are best if you serve it as soon as it’s cooked.
Substitutions
- Pasta – I used tagliatelle pasta but you could easily use spirals, penne pasta, spaghetti, or short cut macaroni as well.
- Cherry/grape tomatoes – If you don’t have cherry tomatoes, you can use regular cooking tomatoes. Just be sure to roughly dice them up.
- Fresh herbs – I chose to use fresh basil for this recipe, but you don’t need to add if you don’t have any. Or alternatively, you could use dried parsley or even fresh parsley.
- Sun dried tomato pesto – This is convenience item an I don’t often suggest using prepared sauces or ingredients. However, for this dish, I did use a jar. Alternatively, you could use straight sun dried tomatoes. Just be sure to drain the oil and dice them really small. A small jar would work perfect for this recipe.. However you could substitute the sun dried tomatoes for sun dried tomato pesto. Just use about three tablespoons.
Serving
Serve this easy pasta dish with some Garlic Knots and maybe a light Classic Caprese Salad to have a bigger meal. Alternatively you could even serve this pasta dish as a side to the Chicken Tenders in a Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto is pesto made with sun dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and olive oil. Sometimes it has the addition of pine nuts as well. It gives a great flavour to pasta dishes for a quick and easy dinner like this one.
No, these are two very different things all together. Sun dried tomatoes are tomatoes they are dried and dehydrated and often packed in oil. Tomato paste is a concentrate made from cooked tomatoes.
Yes, these are ready to consume. Just make sure to drain them and pat the excess oil off with paper towels.
Green pesto is made by combining pine nuts with basil, parmesan cheese, garlic and olive oil. Red pesto is made with sun dried tomatoes or even roasted peppers..
Sun Dried Tomato & Bacon Spaghetti
Sun Dried Tomato Skillet Pasta
Easy Red Pesto Pasta Salad
Red Pesto Tagliatelle
Ingredients
- 8 oz tagliatelle
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup red pesto
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese finely grated
- fresh chopped basil
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a medium sized skillet set over medium heat, add the olive oil and cherry tomatoes. Give a good shake and allow to cook down for about 10 – 12 minutes until they are blistered and soft.
- While the tomatoes are cooking, cook and drain the pasta according to the package.
- In a large serving bowl, combine the pasta, cooked cherry tomatoes, red pesto, parmesan cheese, fresh basil and salt. Stir well to combine and serve immediately.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
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