No need to simmer a tomato sauce for an hour! This quick and easy cherry tomato pasta sauce takes only 20 minutes.
An Overachieving Tomato Plant, and the Easiest Pasta Sauce
In typical tomato years, I save the cherry tomatoes for snacking, marinating, or salads but last summer I needed to level up. I had a single cherry tomato plant responsible for 90 percent of my tomato harvest, so I needed to draft them into dinner duty, too. That’s when I started making this cherry tomato pasta recipe.
To make it, I blister nearly 2 pounds of cherry tomatoes in olive oil. You can absolutely cook them down into a traditional spaghetti sauce, but I prefer to cook them hot and fast, so the skins darken in spots, then add aromatics and pasta before they break down completely. This way, they keep their shape and their fresh flavor. The first time I made this pasta I sautéed up a shallot before adding the tomatoes, but I’ve since come to prefer using scallions because they soften so quickly.
I love making homemade noodles to serve with cherry tomato pasta. The delicate noodles with the sweet tomatoes are a real treat, and it’s a delight for me to pick tomatoes with my preschooler and then recruit his help in rolling out the pasta with our hand-cranked machine, the way I did with my mom. That said, it’s just as good with a box of angel hair or thin spaghetti and supermarket tomatoes once tomato season is done!
Key Ingredients
- Pasta: Truly, you can use any pasta shape you like with this recipe, but I tend to reach for spaghettini, capellini (angel hair), parpardelle or spaghetti if that’s what we’ve got! I think this quantity of tomatoes is best with 12-ounces of pasta, but if you cannot stand to have small amounts of dry pasta leftover, feel free to use the whole pound.
- Garlic adds a savory backbone to the sauce. I add it once the tomatoes have released some liquid, so it doesn’t burn in the pan and go bitter.
- Scallions cook quickly and add fresh, mild onion flavor. In this instance I use the whole thing, both the white and green parts. Feel free to substitute minced shallot or any color onion.
- Extra virgin olive oil is the base of the sauce, so reach for a good bottle. I’m partial to a grassy, robust oil like this Hojiblanca, which I think tastes like tomato leaves smell. Any great extra virgin olive oil somehow makes tomatoes taste even more tomatoey.
- Cherry tomatoes blister and soften to create a light, naturally sweet sauce. I call for 1 1/2 to 2 pounds here; the recipe is flexible. I’ve measured and found this amount is 4 to 5 cups, or about a 24-ounce container from the supermarket. If you’re harvesting your own or buying cherry tomatoes at the farmers’ market, this quantity is about a quart, or 2 of those green paper pint containers.
- Fresh basil adds bright, herbaceous flavor and a pop of green; stir some in while cooking and save a handful to finish.
- Parmesan cheese melts into the sauce, adding salty, savory depth.
- Crushed red pepper is optional, but adds a nice, gentle background heat that rounds out the sweetness of the tomatoes. Feel free to skip it.
How to Make Cherry Tomato Pasta
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook 12-ounces spaghettini, angel hair, or spaghetti according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water, then drain.
- Blister the tomatoes. While the pasta cooks, warm 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (just enough to coat the bottom) of a large (11- to 12-inch) high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 to 2 pounds (a 24-ounce container, 4 to 5 cups) cherry tomatoes. Cook, without stirring, until the tomatoes begin to blister and brown on one side, about 2 minutes.
- Sauté the aromatics. Then, lower the heat to medium, and add the 3 minced garlic cloves, 3 thinly sliced scallions, and a pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes, if you like. Swirl the pan and stir occasionally until the tomatoes have begun to break down into a juicy, saucy consistency, about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.
- Bring it together. Add the drained pasta to the skillet along with a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss well, adding more pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce and help it cling to the noodles.
- Finish and serve. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in 3/4 cup (3 ounces) finely grated Parmesan cheese. Toss once more to combine, taste, and adjust seasoning as needed. Just before serving, toss in the leaves from 1 bunch of fresh basil. Serve topped with a little more Parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Make it Your Own
- Add some seafood: My favorite upgrade for cherry tomato pasta is stirring in cooked crab, which is especially good with sweet orange cherry tomatoes like Sungolds.
- Add a protein: This recipe is also a delicious way to reinvent leftover shredded rotisserie chicken or a rinsed and drained can of white beans to make it a heartier main course.
- Add something briny: If I have a jar of capers or buttery Castelvetrano olives open, I’ll frequently add some along with the garlic and scallion. The saltiness of these ingredients suits the sweet tomatoes well.
- Top it with cheese: Come summertime, I frequently keep burrata on hand to pair with tomatoes. Top each serving of this pasta with a 2 to 4-ounce ball of burrata and a drizzle of olive oil and flaky salt and it’s a real showstopper, a great vegetarian main.
What to Serve With Cherry Tomato Pasta
This pasta is great topped with grilled garlic parmesan shrimp and it’s a natural partner for pesto shrimp, too.
Honestly, it’s so adaptable, I think you could easily use it to round out any entree including grilled chicken, salmon, or arrosticini. Add a grilled zucchini salad or some Italian green beans, and a chilled glass of dry white wine to round out the meal beautifully.
Try These Cherry Tomato Recipes Next!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces spaghetti spaghettini, or angel hair
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds cherry tomatoes (1-24-ounce container, 4 to 5 cups, 1 farmer’s market quart)
- 3 cloves garlic garlic
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 3/4 cup finely-grated Parmesan cheese (3 ounces), plus more to serve
- Fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water, then drain.
- Blister the tomatoes. While the pasta cooks, warm the olive oil (just enough to film the bottom) in a large (11- to 12-inch) high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cherry tomatoes and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Cook, without stirring, until the tomatoes begin to blister and brown on one side, about 2 minutes.
- Sauté the aromatics. Then, lower the heat to medium, and add the garlic, scallions, and a pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes, if you like. Swirl the pan and stir occasionally until the tomatoes have begun to break down into a juicy, saucy consistency, about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.
- Bring it together. Add the drained pasta to the skillet along with a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss well, adding more pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce and help it cling to the noodles.
- Finish and serve. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the grated Parmesan, and slivered Castelvetrano olives. Toss once more to combine, taste, and adjust seasoning as needed. Just before serving, toss in a handful of fresh basil leaves. Serve topped with a little more Parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Notes
Nutrition
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