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.
This dish is incredible! I had so many split cherry tomatoes in the garden that needed to be used quickly so I made this. It is so simple but flavourful! A little freshly-grated asiago cheese on top takes it above 5 Stars!
I had so many cherry tomatoes and this recipe was a perfect way to use them! It was so easy, too! I just made a batch and had a nice bowl of it! Yum!
Can I freeze the leftover tomatoes?
Yes, they do freeze well but can become a little bit mushy once thawed. They’re great added to pasta sauces as well!
I made this quick & easy recipe 2 nights in a row & it was so delicious! So delicious we needed more of it the next day! Thank you! I served it w burrata & wonderful bread. No pasta. The warm tomatoes melted the burrata to perfection & soaked up the savory juices w the bread! Deliciousness!
So simple and yet incredibly delicious!
This was spectacular! Wanted to use my cherry tomatoes from the garden and this was a hit. So light and fresh. thanks
My God! This was such a simple dish to make, and SOOOOO delicious! I hate when people “tweak” a recipe and then rate it, but I did add a Japanese eggplant to the tomatoes while roasting them, and some fresh mozz balls at the end. It was a gourmet meal, to say the least. Thank you!
Glad you loved it Vinny! The fresh mozzarella is a great addition!
Delicious!
Thought the recipe was very good and didn’t change anything other than to lower roasting temperature for tomatoes to 400. This recipe is a keeper for the summer cherry tomato bumper crop.
Instead of parmesan, i sprinkle liberal amounts of fera, more fresh basil, minced, and pine nuts on top. Outstanding!
Sounds great Leslie!
Great things
I needed a recipe to use some of the many cherry tomatoes we have coming in from our garden. So glad I landed on this one—It is amazing! I baked it at 410 degrees on Convection Roast, and it came out perfect—no need to broil. The only other thing I changed was to thinly slice the garlic instead of mincing. We’ll definitely be having this a lot this summer. In the future, I think I’ll either increase the amount of sauce or decrease the amount of pasta. I may even try freezing the tomatoes after roasting—looks like we could have unprecedented amounts of cherry tomatoes. :) Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!
So glad you loved it Karen!! It’s on my menu again tonight too! :)
Just a note about so many cherry tomatoes from my garden. I oven sun-dry tomatoes (lots of batches!) at summers end and freeze In small snack baggies for pizza, pasta, sandwiches etc. I halve the tomatoes and mix with very little olive oil and light fine sea salt. Bake at 225 for 4-5 hours on a parchment paper covered baking sheet (I know that’s a long time but results are so worth it). Add spices afterwards if desired. These fresh tomatoes keep giving all winter long!
How would this work as a pasta salad? Looks great!
Great idea, I do have a fresh tomato pasta salad but haven’t tried this as a pasta salad. You might need to add a bit of oil/vinegar and seasoning. Let us know how it works out if you try it!
Given a bunch of grape tomatoes and found your recipe. Husband said”Terrific meal – restaurant quality!” Teenaged son said “Great meal. Thanks Mom!” Other teenaged son said “Don’t normally like roasted tomatoes but these are awesome.” I don’t usually leave comments but wanted to say thank you!!!!
So glad your family loved it Darla! Thank you so much for coming back and leaving a review!!
Delicious and easy! Great way to enjoy ripe cherry tomatoes!
As I have come to expect from Holly and Spend with Pennies, this recipe is a real winner! Fast, fresh, and fabulous! I’m adding it to the rotation year round. Cherry and grape tomatoes are often the only USA-grown tomatoes available, and they are one of the best tomato bargains to be had ♀️
Thank you so much for your kind words Monica!! ❤️ So glad you loved it as much as we do!
Really good and very easy way to use up some very ripe grape tomatoes!
I couldn’t agree with you more Terry!
Looked good when I read the recipe. It was everything I imagined.
That’s great James! So happy you think so.
We grew million dollar cherry tomatoes this year, 4 plants. I never realized the amount of cherry tomatoes we would have. I have given over 15 pounds away. Then I thought why not try a recipe to use these tomatoes. I used this one and it is to die for. So yummy. My husband loves it. So now I have been making this recipe and freezing the tomatoes. Thank you for posting the best roasted tomato recipe ever.
So happy you love it Beth! Definitely a great way to use up some of those tomatoes.
I roast them with fresh herbs and lots of garlic in trays and freeze in portions.
Is there any wine that you would recommend to go with this?
Hi Eli, a light and dry white wine like Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay would go great with this recipe. Enjoy!
I really enjoyed it. Looked for a cherry tomato recipe and found yours and I was not disappointed. My niece and nephew came back for seconds. Let’s say it’s my new cherry tomato recipe. Thank you
So happy it was a hit Iantha!
A quick, easy, and very good meatless meal! I used italian seasoning and campanelle pasta to hold on to the sauce better then other pastas. Topped with just the parmesan and served with garlic cheese bread. This is a new favorite for us and cant wait for the garden fresh cherry tomatoes this summer! Made and reviewed for the Alphabet recipe tag game.
This is the best with garden tomatoes!! So glad you enjoyed it, I bet the campanelle was perfect!