Can You Freeze Sundried Tomato Pesto?

3 minutes

Sundried tomato pesto is a wonderful thing – the bright, rich flavour of the pesto makes a lovely addition to a wide range of delightful meals and snacks. If you find yourself with an abundance of the pesto, then perhaps you could freeze it?

How to Freeze Sundried Tomato Pesto

If you have made your own sundried tomato pesto, it will only keep for a week or so. Fortunately, freezing it will extend its life hugely. Here’s precisely how:

1. Portion Out: Pack it into a rigid container. A freezer-safe glass jar is commonly used, though the choice is entirely up to you – any rigid container will work. We encourage you not to use something that you’d like to avoid staining.
2. Compress: Be sure to press the pesto down into the jar to eliminate air bubbles – those bubbles will lead to freezer burn at a later date, which is not something to be desired in pesto.
3. Top with Olive Oil: Pour a layer of olive oil on top of the pesto. It doesn’t need to be thick – it simply needs to be deep enough that air cannot penetrate it. Mould won’t grow on oil, so it makes the perfect barrier.
4. Seal and Freeze: After the oil layer has been applied, seal the container and place it into the freezer. It will freeze quickly and effectively for around 3 months.

3 Tips for Freezing Sundried Tomato Pesto

Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing sundried tomato pesto to have the best results:

Seal the Container
Make sure to seal the container before you place it into your freezer. We recommend this because the olive oil on the top layer of the pesto could leak out of a non-sealed container, which would be messy in your freezer, not to mention unsafe to eat. 

Eliminate Air Bubbles
Eliminating air bubbles is an essential part of the process to ensure that the pesto doesn’t get freezer burnt. The reason for this is that an air bubble can condense to water and, in turn, freeze into ice. This ice will likely form crystals within the pesto itself, damaging the texture and flavour of the pesto itself. 

Ensure a Smooth and Even Texture
If there is a portion of pesto that’s more or less dense, however, it will not freeze in the same way. This could lead to a degradation in texture over time, which is, of course, less than ideal. 

How Long Can You Freeze Sundried Tomato Pesto?

You can freeze sundried tomato pesto for around 3 months.

You can likely freeze it for a little longer than that, but 3 months is a good rough limit, as it allows you to get the pesto out and use it before freezer burn starts to leach the flavours from the ingredients in the pesto itself.

How Do You Defrost Sundried Tomato Pesto?

The best way to defrost pesto, especially sundried tomato pesto, is to keep it in the fridge for a few hours, ideally overnight. While there, it will thaw completely, becoming a smooth liquid again.

Be sure to pour away the olive oil layer on top of the pesto rather than mixing it in – that would upset the balance of flavours in a very negative way.

Can You Refreeze Sundried Tomato Pesto?

Yes, you can refreeze sundried tomato pesto.

The texture of pesto is that of a thick paste, so allowing it to freeze, thaw, and refreeze will not lead to a degradation of texture over time. Instead, it will remain reasonably constant.

Does Sundried Tomato Pesto Freeze Well?

Yes, sundried tomato pesto does freeze well.

As long as you follow the instructions in this article, you’ll likely be able to freeze sundried tomato pesto without spilling the oil content within it, losing any flavour, or damaging the thick texture of great pesto.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing sundried tomato pesto or pesto in general, then these may help: