Sun Dried Tomato Sauce

Elevate your weekly dinner routine with this super quick and easy sun-dried tomato sauce recipe. Bursting with Mediterranean flavors, it’s a simple way to add a delicious twist to your meals. In just five minutes (and with a pound of freshly cooked pasta), you’ll have dinner on the table that rivals any fancy restaurant.

Aromatic basil, pungent garlic, and zesty tomatoes combine for the ultimate Italian flavor. With the addition of cashew cream, this dressing becomes incredibly velvety and smooth. Once you make this sauce, you’ll say goodbye to store-bought sauces and hello to homemade goodness!

If these tomato-drenched images are tempting you, it’s time to take action and start blending!

Why You’ll Love this Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

If photos of thick, rich tomato sauce and perfectly cooked pasta don’t tempt you, then we’ll have to share many other reasons why you must try this recipe. After one flavorful forkful, it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll be hooked. A wonderful addition to your weekly meal planner, as well!

• Fabulous Sauce in 5 Minutes – Who says that creamy sauces require tons of time and effort? This one is unbelievably quick and easy!
• All You Need is a Blender – Not only is this sauce effortless, but there’s no need for a bunch of fancy equipment. Add all ingredients to a blender and off you go.
• Healthy and Delicious – Because every ingredient is added by you, there are no preservatives, added chemicals, or anything you don’t want in this sauce. Choose to use organic ingredients (if you wish) and making it fresh that day means a more delightful flavor.
• Oil and Sugar Free – Most jarred and canned pasta sauces contain added oil and sugar. These ingredients help to make the sauce taste better since they’re on the shelf for a while. This sun-dried tomato dressing is based on whole-food ingredients, so it is naturally oil-free and sugar-free.

Key Ingredients

This unique blend of ingredients guarantees the most flavorful sun dried tomato alfredo sauce. One bite will transport you to a sun-drenched villa in Italy with its creamy texture, rich flavor, and tomato-y tang. The only decision you’ll need to make is which appealing pasta shape to choose.

• Cashews: Blended cashews are what give this sauce a thick, creamy texture without using a lot of oil or dairy. Because of their neutral taste, the cashews do not compete with any of the fabulous flavors in this recipe.
• Garlic: A must-have ingredient that gives a bit of bite, a lot of depth, and the perfect pungent fragrance. A great boost for the immune system as well.
• Sun Dried Tomatoes: This star of the show is the basis of the recipe. These oil-packed dried tomatoes are wonderfully herbal, sweet, and tangy. They are also easily stored in the pantry until ready to use.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: A sour component that gives a little more life to the balance of flavors in the sauce. Feel free to substitute for white wine vinegar, if needed, for it has a similar acidity to the apple cider version.
• Nutritional Yeast: The most popular and delicious savory and umami element to add to dishes, especially to make a sauce a little bit on the ‘cheezy’ side without using dairy-filled parmesan. Swap for vegan parmesan if you happen to be out of nooch.
• Lemon Juice: Always the best choice for brightening up a dish. Without it, the sauce may taste a little flat. If you’re out of lemon juice, consider using lime juice or red wine vinegar in its place.
• Vegetable Broth: It’s possible to use water instead of broth for the liquid in this tomato alfredo sauce. But, the addition of vegetable broth gives the finished sauce much more flavor that makes it even more delicious.
• Basil: Adding this sweet and slightly spicy herb to any pasta dish brings it to a whole new level of amazing. Oregano, thyme, or tarragon are suitable substitutions if you’re completely out of basil.

How To Make Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

Follow these simple instructions and you’ll be good to go. If you have a high-speed blender, it’s a cinch. If you’re making the pasta ahead of time, make sure to rinse the pasta in cool water to stop the cooking process. Any extra sauce can be used to drizzle on roasted veggies, baked potatoes, or other dishes.

Step 1: Start the pasta cooking, according to package instructions.

Step 2: Gather and measure out the sauce ingredients, add to a high speed blender, and blend until completely smooth.

Finally, Step 3: Pour the blended sauce over the cooked pasta and mix well. Serve immediately.

Note: If you have any leftover pasta, save any remaining sauce separately. Stir in the leftover sauce (and a little bit of water) along with the extra pasta when reheating.

Helpful Tips and Serving Suggestions

Making homemade sauce is a fantastic skill to add to your repertoire. While some recipes may be somewhat complicated, this sauce is easy and straight-forward. But, you may wonder if there are any ways to switch things up once the honeymoon phase is over. Luckily, there are many options to consider:

• Tasty Tomato Options: Don’t worry if you have either run out of sun-dried tomatoes! You can easily substitute fresh or canned tomatoes instead. You’ll need three times the amount of fresh per sun-dried and the mixture will be much thinner, so you may need to add more cashews to the mix. Or, swap one tablespoon of tomato paste for every four to five sun-dried tomatoes called for in the recipe.
• Can’t Have Cashews?: Use raw sunflower seeds instead of cashews if you have a sensitivity or allergy to nuts. The seeds have a less neutral flavor, but they do help to create a creamy sauce if soaked overnight before blending.
• More Pastabilities: There’s no need to stick to one type of pasta for this recipe. Instead of traditional pasta, try whole-wheat, brown rice, garbanzo, black bean, red lentil, or quinoa pastas.
• Power Up with Plant-Based Protein: To give your meal an extra boost of protein, how about adding in vegan meatballs, tofu ricotta cheese, vegan sausage or pepperoni, or even meatless ground crumbles?
• Appealing Appetizer: Another fun idea is to use the leftover sauce to make crispy bruschetta. Slice a baguette thinly, toast the slices, and then brush one side with olive oil. Add a spoonful of sun-dried tomato sauce to each and top with a slice of vegan mozzarella or vegan parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with black pepper, fresh basil, and crushed garlic. Place under the broiler until golden bubbly. Top with a drizzle of balsamic glaze or vinegar. Dee-lish!

More Savory Sauces to Try

• This deliciously Authentic Italian Pasta Sauce pairs best with penne pasta, garlic bread with vegan butter, and a dash of vegan parmesan cheese.
• Easy Pink Pasta Sauce is a perfect one-pot meal any day of the week! Creamy and oh-so-appealing in pink.
• Try these Grape Jelly and BBQ Sauce with Meatballs the next time you need a tasty and impressive pot-luck meal. Also excellent the next day added to a sandwich.
• For extra special occasions, how about serving up a dish of elegant Ravioli with Asparagus Cream Sauce? Serve along with a baguette, fresh garden salad, and a glass of vegan wine to impress.
• This Spicy Arrabiata Spaghetti Sauce is wonderfully flavorful and the amount of spice is easily adjustable. Leftovers make a satisfying lunch the next day with a sprinkle of vegan mozzarella and homemade veggie meatballs.

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Sun Dried Tomato Sauce

Author: Stephanie Dreyer

5 from 4 votes

Pour this sun-dried tomato sauce over your favorite pasta (penne,farfalle, shells, or even spaghetti) for a creamy, flavorful pasta dish! This is a fantastic dinner party meal that comes together quickly but stands out as a memorable and special dish. It’s also great for kids and busy families!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

Sauce Ingredients:

• ▢ 2 cups cashews, soaked for 2 hours or overnight and drained
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic
• ▢ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ▢ ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
• ▢ ¼ cup lemon juice, about 1 lemon
• ▢ 2 cups vegetable broth

Serve With:

• ▢ 1 pound pasta, any type
• ▢ ¼ cup fresh basil, sliced
• ▢ ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• While the pasta is cooking, add the soaked cashews, garlic, apple cider vinegar, salt, nutritional yeast, sun dried tomatoes, lemon juice, and vegetable broth to a high-speed blender and blend on high until completely smooth. When you rub the sauce between your fingers, it shouldn’t feel grainy.
• Pour ¾ of the sauce over the pasta and mix together, and reserve the remaining sauce to add to leftovers or drizzle over vegetables, potatoes, or other dishes throughout the week.
• Top with sliced basil and sun dried tomatoes

Notes

Make about 3 cups of sauce.

This pasta dish is best fresh. If you save leftovers, you can add the remaining sauce and additional salt, pepper, and some water when reheating.

Nutrition

Calories: 568kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Sodium: 733mg | Potassium: 897mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 359IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 5mg

Course — Sauce

Cuisine — Italian

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Thanks to our amazing recipe testers Jenny Ortega, Nicole Benson and Marilyn Vega for testing this recipe to make sure it’s perfect for our readers.