Cherry tomato pasta is a simple, flavor-packed meal that’s ready in 35 minutes. It's perfect for a quick lunch or dinner!
This easy weeknight meals combines savory roasted tomatoes, tossed in olive oil, garlic, and balsamic vinegar, with tender pasta, fresh herbs, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: It’s a sweet and savory combo with tangy balsamic, fresh basil, and a creamy parmesan finish.
- Skill Level: This recipe is simple with easy-to-follow steps and no tricky techniques. Just roasting, boiling, and tossing everything together.
- Serving Suggestions: Make it a main dish and add rotisserie chicken, tuna, salmon, or shrimp scampi. Add some breadsticks for sopping up all that juicy sauce.
Ingredient Tips for Cherry Tomato Pasta
- Tomatoes: Cherry, grape, or any fresh diced tomato will work in this recipe. Choose ripe, firm tomatoes for the best flavor.
- Pasta: Spaghetti, bucatini, linguine, or fettuccine are perfect in this recipe! Be sure to cook to ‘al dente’ so the pasta stays firmer longer.
- Seasonings: Roasting tomatoes in oil, balsamic, and herbs creates a sweet and savory sauce. Fresh garlic is best, but garlic powder works as well.
Variations
- Tasty additions like fresh spinach, artichoke hearts, and kalamata olives with some Greek seasonings elevate this dish to a whole new recipe.
- Try stirring in some homemade basil pesto for another fresh, new take on cherry tomato pasta.
- Fresh basil leaves and parmesan cheese are the perfect ending to this recipe, but you can experiment with fresh oregano or parsley, and for cheeses, try some crumbled feta, gorgonzola, or some creamy bocconcini balls.
Leftovers?
Store leftover cherry tomato pasta in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Enjoy it cold as a pasta salad side, or top with fresh parmesan and reheat portions in the microwave.
More Cherry Tomato Favorites
Did you enjoy this Cherry Tomato Pasta recipe? Leave a rating and comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups cherry tomatoes halved, or grape tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or to taste, freshly ground
- 16 ounces spaghetti or long pasta of your choice
Garnish
- ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
- ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- To a large-rimmed baking sheet, add the tomatoes, garlic, oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, basil, salt, and black pepper. Toss well to combine.
- Roast the tomatoes for 15 minutes. Turn the broiler on to high and broil the tomatoes for 1-2 minutes or until they begin to brown a little bit on the edges.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until tender but firm (al dente). Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta, do not rinse.
- Transfer the pasta to a large bowl. Add the tomatoes with all the pan juices and toss well to combine, adding pasta water if needed.
- Garnish with fresh herbs and Parmesan and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Entree, Pasta
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Delicious! Husband says it’s restaurant level. Just wonder what m supposed to do with the half cup of pasta water I kept.
Hi Susan, you use it in step 5 if needed. I am so glad you guys enjoyed it so much!! 🥰
I’ve used different recipes for roasted cherry tomato pasta, and thus far, this is the simplest and best tasting. It pairs well with crusty bread and a nice, deep red wine. Like you say, fresh basil out of the garden is a must! (Oh, and if it matters, I didn’t measure. That is a feature of the simplicity…you can’t mess it up!)