An easy cherry tomato pasta sauce made with a mix of canned tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, absolutely delicious and the perfect pasta topping!
What makes this cherry tomato pasta sauce so good?
This pasta sauce is so good for a few reasons.
It’s easy! You don’t need any exotic spices or ingredients, just basic pantry ingredients along with fresh cherry tomatoes, combined in a skillet and cooked.
It’s fast. You get a lot of flavor with just a 10-15 minute simmer.
The mix of cherry tomatoes with the canned tomatoes instantly brings some freshness to the sauce, as well as a subtle sweetness from the sweeter cherry tomatoes.
It’s very adaptable. You want to add some red chili flakes for spice? Go for it! Don’t feel comfortable making pasta sauce without Italian seasoning? Throw some in!
I got the basic recipe from Tala Bashmi, a very talented Bahraini female chef who prepared this on a fun Instagram live cooking videos.
What you need to make this pasta sauce:
You need:
Olive oil and garlic cloves: for the perfect base to the tomato sauce
Canned tomatoes and cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper: a big pinch of each, and that’s really all the seasoning you need
Fresh basil: The best herb to add a lot of flavor, it’ll beat the dried stuff by a mile, but dried basil can be substituted in a pinch.
Butter: Adding a little butter to the finished pasta when it’s still hot gives this gorgeous richness to the tomato sauce.
Olive Oil: Similarly, drizzling the finished pasta with some good quality olive oil is a delicious way to add richness and flavor.
How to make the sauce:
First, heat the olive oil in a large enough skillet that you can add the cooked pasta noodles to it later.
Saute the garlic until fragrant, then add the canned tomatoes with their juice and the halved cherry tomatoes along with salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for 10-15 minutes until tomatoes have broken down and softened.
Next is a step that is down to personal preference. You can take all the sauce and blend it till smooth. This might be more popular if you have younger kids who don’t like texture in their food, or if you want a very creamy smooth pasta sauce.
Alternately, you can leave the sauce chunk as is, or, my personal favorite is to take half the sauce and blend, and keep the remaining half chunky. This is the perfect medium! Also, what I tend to do with soups actually.
What pasta can I use?
Anything you prefer. I personally think long thin noodles like spaghetti, angel hair pasta, or linguine work the best. It’s such a simple sauce but with great flavor, so I like pasta that is thin so you can really coat it in with the sauce.
I like to use whole wheat pasta! I have a whole round up of great recipes using whole wheat pasta here.
Can I make this with only fresh tomatoes?
Yes you can. I would double the amount of cherry tomatoes, and I wouldn’t puree them all, I’d definitely keep some whole.
What to serve this pasta with:
One thing I’m obsessed with, and which would be amazing both on top of the pasta and mixed in to the sauce is this Garlic Confit.
You could serve this with a simple salad, or some roasted vegetables on the side. Or go for a more elaborate salad, like this delicious eggplant salad with pomegranate.
Go for extra carbs, and serve the pasta with these delicious homemade fluffy dinner rolls.
How to store extra sauce or make this in advance:
If making this ahead of time, I would recommend not tossing the cooked pasta in the sauce. I would prepare the sauce, refrigerate for 2-3 days, then prepare the pasta fresh and toss it in the sauce as you reheat it on the stove.
Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 can whole tomatoes 14.5 oz or 400 g
- 1 large handful cherry tomatoes, halved a small pack, or as many as you like!
- big pinch salt
- big pinch pepper
- 1/2 pack pasta noodles, cooked around 200 g or 8 oz
- handful fresh basil leaves
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- sprinkle grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet until hot, then add the crushed garlic and sauté for a minute.
- Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the cherry tomatoes, the salt and pepper.
- Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until tomatoes have softened.
- Either keep the sauce chunky as is, or remove half of the sauce to a blender, and blend until smooth and creamy. Add the blended sauce back into the skillet with the unblended sauce, and add the cooked spaghetti and toss to combine.
- Add the chopped fresh basil and the butter, and toss gently to combine. Sprinkle with lots of Parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil just before serving.
Notes
Cherry Tomato Pasta by everylittlecrumb on Jumprope.
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