Have you ever made homemade pesto before? You may have thought it couldn’t get much easier. You were wrong! Backcountry Foodie’s cold soak backpacking pesto recipe takes just a few minutes to prepare and packs a surprisingly flavorful punch with no fresh basil required. The best part? You don’t have to clean the food processor.
At Home:
At home, make a “pesto packet” with garlic powder, dried basil, salt, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese. Pack olive oil separately. On the trail, simply rehydrate your pasta and sun-dried tomatoes, then add the other ingredients to make your sauce.
In the Field:
Depending on your style, you can make this a hot meal or a cold soak dinner. If you cold soak it, be sure to use precooked, dehydrated pasta. If you plan to bring a stove and aren’t in a hurry, you can also cook your pasta on the trail. If you’re not familiar with dehydrating your own pasta, consider watching our YouTube video about it.
As Seen in Backpacker Magazine
Backpacker Magazine gave our Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta recipe a real-world test — and it passed with flying colors. Watch the quick video below to see how easy it is to prepare (and why it’s become a trail favorite).
Need a gluten-free recipe?
Not a problem!
Chickpea pasta makes an excellent gluten-free substitution in this recipe. Even if you aren’t gluten-free, you might consider giving chickpea pasta a try. It contains more protein and fiber than regular pasta and is a great way to add variety. Enjoy!
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta
Rate This Recipe
View Comments / Leave A ReviewNUTRITION (per serving)
INGREDIENTS
- ⅔ cup (52 g) penne pasta, mini, measured after precooking and dehyrating
- 2 piece (10 g) sun-dried tomatoes, oil-free, diced
- 1 Tbsp (8 g) pine nuts
- 2 tsp (1.4 g) basil, dried
- ¼ tsp (0.8 g) garlic powder
- ⅛ tsp (0.8 g) table salt
- 2 Tbsp (15 g) parmesan cheese, grated, 2 Tbsp = 4 x 3.5 g packets
- 2 Tbsp (28 g) olive oil
- 8 oz (240 mL) water
OPTIONAL
- ⅔ cup (52 g) ziti, precooked and dehydrated (substitution), Instant product available from Outdoor Herbivore
- ⅔ cup (60 g) chickpea pasta, precooked and dehydrated (substitution), gluten-free option
- salt substitute (substitution), reduced-sodium option
- 2 Tbsp (14 g) cashew cheese, grated (substitution), vegan, heart-healthy option
INSTRUCTIONS (per serving)
HOME
- Put noodles and diced tomatoes in a bag or container to be used in the backcountry. Kitchen scissors work well for dicing tomatoes.
- Put the remaining dry ingredients in a separate bag or container to be stored with the noodles. See meal prep tips below.
- Pack 2 Tbsp (28 g) olive oil in a leakproof container to be added when the meal is consumed. We recommend double bagging the oil in the event there is a leak.
FIELD
- Remove the pesto packet from the noodle bag or container.
- Add 8 oz (240 mL) hot or cold water or enough to cover the noodles.
- Let stand until noodles are fully rehydrated. This will take approximately 5 minutes with hot water or 60 minutes with cold water.
- Consume or properly discard the noodle broth to follow the Leave No Trace principle.
- Add pesto packet and 2 Tbsp (28 g) olive oil to the noodles.
- Stir to mix well and enjoy!
NOTES
MEAL PREP TIPS
- Noodles do not have to be precooked and dehydrated if you are willing to cook noodles on the trail.
- If preparing the meal for long-term storage, we recommend packing the parmesan cheese in a separate container just before leaving for the trip. This will greatly lengthen the shelf-life of the meal. Single-serving packets, such as those used by pizza restaurants, also work well. 2 x 3.5 g packets = ~1 Tbsp
- Grated cashew cheese, however, does not require refrigeration and can be added to the meal at home without concern for a shortened shelf-life.
NUTRITION
- Total sugar (per serving): 5 g with no added sugar
- For a reduced-sodium, heart-healthy recipe, replace table salt with a salt substitute as desired.
- To reduce calories by 120, reduce the olive oil volume by 1 Tbsp (14 g). We do not recommend omitting all of the oil, as the oil is needed to create a pesto sauce.
Did you enjoy this recipe?
Pin it and share it with your fellow hikers.
FREE CHECKLIST DOWNLOAD
Backpacking Meal Planning Doesn’t Have to Be Overwhelming
Confidently pack every meal with our one-page checklist! It’s built on real trail experience and nutrition science—no jargon, no overwhelm.
"*" indicates required fields
✅ Simple steps. ✅ Backpacking dietitian-approved. ✅ Real-world tested.
Take This Recipe — and More — on Your Next Adventure
Backcountry Foodie is your go-to resource for over 250 backpacking dietitian-created recipes and a one-of-a-kind automated meal planning tool. The meal planner even creates itemized shopping lists for you! Meal prep has never been easier.
6 Comments
Congrats with this very informative website! I have question about the grated Parmesan cheese. I gather that this is fresh cheese? Doesn’t that go bad when out of the refrigerator and in the sun for a few days? I saw you also used it in another recipe so I’m curious.
Great question. Once opened the grated cheese is shelf stable in a cool, dark pack for 30 days at room temp. I would shorten that if hiking during the summer months.
There are a few ways that I manage this…
1. Fill up a small shaker/bottle with parm just before leaving for my trip. This is my preferred method for shorter trips.
2. Pack individual packets of parm like you would get in a pizza box. Amazon & minimus.biz sell them. This is the best method if packing resupply boxes months in advance.
3. If I’m going to consume the recipe well within 30 days, I’ll add the parm to the baggie at home and freeze the meal until I pack it for my trip.
4. If I’m going to consume the meal within a few days, I’ll add the parm to the baggie and not worry about freezing it. This is my preferred method for weekend trips. One less container to clean.
How I manage the cheese depends on the trip. Hope that helps.
Hi there,
Your instructions note that a dehydrator is not required, however the recipe calls for dehydrated ingredients (pasta, tuna, ect).
How do you dehydrate without a dehydrator?
Great question! If a dehydrated ingredient can be purchased, I don’t consider a dehydrator necessary. Outdoor Herbivore is my go-to for dehydrated pasta.
I love this cold soak recipe. So easy to prepare at home and even easier to rehydrate on the track. It’s one of my staples for lunches.
Your style is so unique in comparison to other people I’ve read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you hav the opportunity, Guess I will just bookmark this page.