Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Mozzarella Pearls
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Quick, simple and family-approved — this pasta with sun-dried tomato pesto and fresh mozzarella pearls is delicious hot or cold.
Quick, simple, and family-approved, this pasta with sun-dried tomato pesto and fresh mozzarella pearls is perfect for a weeknight supper and can double as a vibrant pasta salad for a cookout. Pair it with a simple arugula salad and warm, crusty bread. For a heartier meal, grill some Italian sausages to serve alongside. The pesto makes enough for two dinners and freezes beautifully, too.
“The sun-dried tomato pesto was absolutely delicious! Hubby and I both went back for seconds and hubby is still talking about it the morning after.”
What You’ll Need To Make Pasta With Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. (Add enough salt so that the water tastes like the sea.) Cook the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente. You’ll need to reserve some of the cooking water for the sauce. It’s easy to forget to do this, so I always set a liquid measuring cup out as a visual reminder.
Meanwhile, make the pesto. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the sun-dried tomatoes with their oil, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, sugar, basil, pine nuts, Parmigiano-Reggiano and olive oil.
Pulse, scraping down the sides as necessary, until the mixture is finely puréed. Divide the mixture in half. Set aside.
Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water (you’ll need it for the sauce), then drain the pasta.
Add the pasta back to the pan. Add half of the pesto and stir to combine, adding the reserved pasta water little by little, until the pasta is well-coated and moistened. I usually use about 3/4 cup of the pasta water, but you may need more or less. (Refrigerate or freeze the remaining pesto for another meal.)
Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and red pepper flakes, if necessary. Right before serving, toss in 2 tablespoons chopped basil and the mozzarella pearls (it’s important to do this right before serving so the cheese doesn’t melt from the heat of the pan).
Transfer to a serving dish or pasta bowls and serve with more grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
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Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Mozzarella Pearls
Quick, simple and family-approved — this pasta with sun-dried tomato pesto and fresh mozzarella pearls is delicious hot or cold.
Ingredients
- 12 oz pasta, such as fusilli, penne or farfalle
- 1 (8.5-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more for the pasta water
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 (8 oz) tub fresh mozzarella pearls, drained (alternatively, use a fresh mozzarella ball and cut into chunks)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. (Add enough salt so that the water tastes like the sea.) Cook the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente.
- Meanwhile, make the pesto. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the sun-dried tomatoes with their oil, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, sugar, basil, pine nuts, Parmigiano-Reggiano and olive oil. Pulse, scraping down the sides as necessary, until the mixture is finely puréed. Divide the mixture in half. Set aside.
- Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water (you'll need it for the sauce), then drain the pasta. Add the pasta back to the pan. Add half of the pesto and stir to combine, adding the reserved pasta water little by little, until the pasta is well-coated and moistened. I usually use about ¾ cup of pasta water. (Refrigerate or freeze the remaining pesto for another meal.) Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and red pepper flakes, if necessary. Right before serving, toss in 2 tablespoons chopped basil and the mozzarella pearls (it's important to do this right before serving so the cheese doesn't melt from the heat of the pan). Transfer to a serving dish or pasta bowls and serve with more grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- Note: If you'd like to serve this pasta dish at room temperature, wait until the pasta is cool to add the mozzarella pearls.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 697
- Fat: 28 g
- Saturated fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 83 g
- Sugar: 15 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 31 g
- Sodium: 533 mg
- Cholesterol: 50 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi Jenn,
Looking forward to trying this one! Quick question though: your red pesto includes 1/4 cup olive oil in this recipe, but you don’t seem to add any olive oil to the red pesto recipe of your grilled cheese sandwich… maybe just an oversight? thanks!!
Hi Marine, That’s correct – this one needs more to moisten the pasta. 🙂
Hi Jenn:
I’ve got packaged sun dried tomatoes. Can I use them and add 3/4 c olive oil? I haven’t made it yet but am a big fan.
Hi Susan, I think it would work, but that you’d need to rehydrate the tomatoes first. Am I’m not 100 percent sure how much olive oil you’ll need to add to make the pesto, but I’d start the 3/4 cup that you mentioned and then add more if necessary. Hope you enjoy!
I made this recipe last night for my family and it was incredibly delicious AND easy. We loved the mozzarella pearls!
Perfetto!
Hi Jen,
I am going to make this tomorrow night but would like it as a main dish so I want to add a protein to it. I was thinking shrimp – any recommendation on how to do that? I would use uncooked tail on frozen shrimp.
Thanks as always!
Hi Elizabeth, I think shrimp would be great with this. I’d sauté them separately in a little olive with garlic, salt and pepper, then add them to the pasta along with the pesto. Keep in mind that you may need a bit more than half of the pesto sauce. I’d love to know how it turns out!
It was delicious! I did just what you suggested – sauteed the shrimp with some butter and garlic and added it in. The pesto is incredibly easy – I made the pesto and then put the dish together right after work in about 15 minutes. The flavor is great and I’m excited to figure out what to do with the rest of the pesto!
So glad you enjoyed it, Elizabeth. I love this pesto on grilled cheese sandwiches with fontina or even smoked gouda.
Very good pesto!! Could not find mozzarella pearls so I left them out and added more parmesean-reggiano.
Questions: how long can I refrigerate the other half of the pesto before freezing? And, can I reheat the left over pasta with pesto sauce?
Glad you enjoyed it, Diane! I’d say you could keep the pesto in the fridge for up to 3 days before freezing. And yes, you can definitely reheat the pasta with pesto sauce; just keep in mind you may need to add a bit of water or olive oil to re-moisten it.
I really liked this recipe but my family didn’t. I think if I made it again, I would happily skip the mozzarella pearls. To me, they just add more fat to the recipe without a huge taste payoff. The sundried tomato base recipe is so yummy, I could probably eat it by the spoon.
The pesto is absolutely delicious! My mind is spinning with other uses for it.
Glad you like it! It’s wonderful on grilled cheese, too.
HI Jenn….I purchased a ball of burrata for your tomato salad…would this be a good substitute (cut up of course) for the pearls? Thank you in advance…you rock the kitchen world!
Hi Gail, While it would be delicious, I don’t think burrata would work here as it has a much softer, runnier consistency than the mozzarella pearls. Sorry!
🙏
Looking for a new pasta salad to serve at a picnic. This looks delicious. Can it be served cold?
Hi Susan, I’d serve it room temperature if possible otherwise cold will work. I’d love to know how it turns out!
Could walnuts be substituted for the pine nuts?
Yes definitely, Pat – I often do that.