Creamy Tomato Pesto Recipe Sicilian Pesto

Sicilian pesto is delicious because it uses fresh ricotta, which adds a creamy texture and wonderful flavor. This tomato pesto recipe is easy to make in 5 minutes in a food processor or blender. Toss it with your favorite pasta for an outstanding, family-friendly weeknight dinner. Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian and gluten-free diet. You can make it vegan by using vegan ricotta and vegan parmesan cheese.Don’t have time to read the full blog post? JUMP TO RECIPE HERE!

What is tomato pesto?

Ingredients and substitutions for tomato pesto

How to make tomato pesto

Serving suggestions

Variations

More pesto recipes

Storage & Make Ahead

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More tomato recipes

The result is a creamy, cheesy, and perfectly balanced tomato pesto recipe that you can serve with your favorite pasta shape—casarecce pasta is the most traditional. To make this recipe vegan, substitute our homemade vegan ricotta and vegan parmesan for their non-vegan counterparts. Similar recipes: sun-dried tomato pesto, red pepper pesto, kale pesto.

Basil

Fresh basil leaves are the main ingredients in Sicilian pesto. The basil flavor is exquisite with ricotta, parmesan cheese, and tomatoes.

Tomatoes

Use fresh tomatoes that are just ripe. We recommend vine tomatoes and roma tomatoes. If you are looking to use sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, here’s our sun-dried tomato pesto recipe.

Ricotta

Fresh cow ricotta is what’s used in the traditional Sicilian pesto recipe. The freshest, the better. You can substitute vegan ricotta for regular ricotta.

Grated Parmesan cheese

You can use grated Parmesan cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, or a vegan parmesan.

Pine nuts

Substitute almonds or walnuts for pine nuts.

Extra virgin olive oil

Substitute regular olive oil for extra virgin olive oil.

Garlic

Garlic is optional. Fresh garlic is best. A small garlic clove is more than enough.

Salt and Black pepper

We recommend sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. To make the pesto a little spicy, add a pinch of red pepper flakes. Add all the ingredients to a food processor: tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, ricotta, grated parmesan, salt, black pepper, and extra virgin olive oil. Blend for 1 minute or until creamy. You might need to scrape the sides of the food processor once or twice. Taste and adjust for salt before serving with your favorite pasta. To serve tomato pesto with pasta, cook the pasta al dente (with a bite), reserve a cup of pasta water, drain the pasta, then add it to a large mixing bowl. Add a generous dollop or two of tomato pesto and toss well. Add a few tablespoons of reserved pasta water if the pesto is too dense. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, and basil leaves on top.

Cavatelli Orecchiette Trofie Paccheri Rotini or fusilli Farfalle Penne

Of course, this easy pesto recipe is also delicious as a spread on crostini or as a filling for a sandwich. Here’s the recipe for sun-dried tomato pesto.

Red pepper pesto

This is another delicious red pesto, but this time, it’s made with red peppers blended with garlic, almonds, pine nuts, parmesan or nutritional yeast, salt, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, and olive oil. Here’s the recipe for red pepper pesto.

Parsley Pesto

Vegan Pesto

Basil Pesto

Arugula Pesto

Refrigerator: Transfer the pesto to a clean, airtight container or jar and cover it with a thin layer of olive oil. Close the jar and keep it in the fridge for 3 days. Freezer: Transfer the tomato pesto to a small jar, close it, and freeze for up to 1 month. You can also freeze it in smaller portions, such as ice cube trays. Thaw and reheat: Defrost in the refrigerator. Toss with a warm pasta.