Fiery red, filled with flavour, and just the right amount of heat, this Sun-dried Tomato Jalapeño Olive Pesto is a sophisticated sauce.

Pesto is a thing of beauty that can be creatively customized in a myriad of ways. While good old fashioned basil pesto is an eternal classic, mixing it up with fun new flavour combinations is a welcomed change.

While swapping out basil in a classic pesto for different herbs like cilantro or mint is always a great way to shake it up, this Sun-dried Tomato Jalapeño Olive Pesto takes it to the next level!

Sun-dried tomato is the base of this lovely pesto, with green and kalamata olives giving a savoury depth, and minced jalapeño adding the fire. Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients.

Ingredients in Sun-dried Tomato Jalapeño Olive Pesto

• Sun-dried tomatoes

I prefer to use dried rather than sun-dried tomatoes in oil. You can use the oil-packed variety if you like and reduce the olive oil in the recipe. The oil that comes in the oil-packed jars of sun-dried tomatoes is a bit of a mystery, and so I prefer to use the non oil variety, and add a quality olive oil to the pesto.

• Kalamata & green olives

You can use whatever your favourite variety of olives are! I like a combination of green and kalamata.

• Pine nuts

Of course every pesto needs a nut (or a seed if you are nut-free)! You can really use any unsalted variety of nut in pesto. Pine nuts are the classic, but I often use unsalted cashews. They’re less pricey and taste just as great.

• Fresh basil

Be sure to use fresh basil. Never, I repeat, never use dried herbs in a pesto. It’s just not right! You need the volume and consistency of the plant for a pesto. Plus, a pesto is all about quality ingredients being married together into a paste. Dried herbs cannot achieve this.

• Finely chopped jalapeño

Add more or less according to how much heat you like. If you’re not a fan of heat be sure to always remove the seeds in a recipe calling for jalapeño, as the seeds are the hottest part of the pepper.

• Nutritional yeast

In a vegan pesto nutritional yeast adds a complex cheesy flavour that is absolutely divine! Dare I say, it’s better than cheese in a pesto. It’s always chock full of vitamins and minerals too.

• Garlic, lemon juice & salt

To bring out the flavours

• Olive oil and water

Olive oil adds the fattiness and flavour, while water allows you to thin out the pesto a bit without having it too oily.

Different Ways to Use This Pesto

The best way to use this pesto is, obviously, on pasta. When making a pasta dish, you should always consider which type of pasta noodle is best for the sauce you’re using.

A pesto sauce is served best with longer cuts of flat pasta, like linguine, spaghetti or spaghettini. Pesto is also nice on pasta cuts with curves that hold the sauce within the noodle, such as rotini or the corkscrew shape of Fusilli.

Other ways I suggest to use this pesto is on pizza with crumbled tofu and my Quick Tofu Pepperoni Crumble! Stuffing homeade ravioli or pasta shells is also a great way to use pesto. This Sun-dried Tomato Jalapeño Olive Pesto would also be lovely in a tofu sandwich, wraps, or on crostini bread as an appetizer at parties!