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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Would walnuts work in place of the pine nuts here like you use with your basil pesto? I love eating too much to go through pine mouth. Thank you!
Sure – enjoy! 🙂
Usually when a recipe calls for me to bust out the cuisinart I start to sweat a little. Oh no, the pulsing thing. This recipe changed all that; it was so quick and simple. Came out absolutely delicious. It was a little salty for me at first (which is odd bc I’m a fiend for salt). I’d decided the next time I’d eliminate the 1/2tsp and just have the salt from the pasta water. However, the next day, the saltiness had subsided to where it was perfect. This website and my Ina Garten books are all I need to make incredible food, without fail, every time. Thanks for another winner.
I love sun-dried tomatoes. When I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it. So Good. I have also made the pesto added a bit more oil and served just the pesto with slices of toasted baguette.
Perfect way to use my ever-expanding basil! Quick question. Sometimes when I make pesto it comes out incredibly bitter. Do you have any tips for that? I’ve read it’s bc I used a food processor. Thanks for any advice.
Hi Dawn, I don’t think it would be your food processor. What brand of olive oil are you using?
I don’t know the name but I always buy what you recommend. Thanks for the response. I made this last night and it was incredible.
I enjoyed this dish so much that I literally ate it for breakfast! The nooks and crannies of the fusilli pasta caught the delicious sauce beautifully. To suit our taste for spiciness (my partner is from Mumbai), I doubled the amount of garlic and chili pepper flakes. Thank you, Jenn! I’ve only tried a handful of your recipes so far, but they’ve all been delicious.
Okay – this is my third review today of recipes we’ve recently tried – my husband wants to know if you’ve moved into our house because we’re always using recipes from your website or cookbook! Once again, this one was SUPER DELICIOUS! That pesto is out of this world – the flavors really pop without any singular ingredient stealing the show. (We’ve had other pestos that are way too heavy on the garlic.) We had the pasta dish on Monday and I just used the pesto again last night as a spread for a grilled chicken sandwich. SO GOOD!
Can’t wait to see what my next venture will be. Whatever it is I know it will be scrumptious!
❤️
The pesto has become a family staple. It so easy and adds so much flavor to pasta night. Once in the fridge, the kids can break it out if they are making their own lunches. We even use it as a spread for crackers. It is delicious. Thanks.
Hi Jenn, I thought I’d make this for a bbq, but just found out that a guest is allergic to tree nuts. I know that pine nuts are an important ingredient in pesto, so do you think it will still be good if I omit them? If so, would you recommend any other changes? Thank you!
Hi Donna, I wouldn’t leave the nuts out as they play an important part in the pesto. I haven’t tried this with anything like pepitas or sunflower seeds so I can’t say for sure how it will turn out, but you could experiment with that. I see online that there are some nut-free pesto recipes, so you may want to give one of those a try.
I was afraid that might be the case. Your recipes are all so good that I don’t want to experiment 🙂
I’ve decided to make your Fusilli Alla Caprese instead and I’ll try this one another time. Thanks so much for your reply!
My husband mistakenly made this dish without the pine nuts and it turned out fine with no other modifications.
Thanks for the info Val 🙂
This is delicious!! Second time I have made this and it’s a hit. Love the mozzarella pearls and the fresh basil. Very quick and easy. Thanks Jenn for another winner.
I made this last night and it was really delicious! Even my über-picky son liked it, so that says a lot. Thanks for all of your great recipes!