Easy Cherry Tomato And Garlic Pasta

Pasta with cherry tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil is one of my all-time favorite quick pasta recipes! This simple cherry tomato and garlic pasta can be made with fresh, canned, or frozen cherry tomatoes and is ready in minutes. Perfect for a weeknight meal.

This cherry tomato pasta with garlic and olive oil happens to be my daughter's absolute favorite recipe and we make it a lot for that reason. We love to make this cherry tomato sauce because it is quick and easy and not like a traditional long-cooking tomato sauce since we use either fresh, canned, or frozen cherry tomatoes, depending on what we have in our house.

The flavors in this sauce come from the garlic and olive oil and then the cherry tomatoes are simmered in this mixture until they begin to release their juices and burst open. It is really a delicious treat! I use this same topping for my grilled pork chops too.

If you love garlic and tomatoes, you are going to love this burst cherry tomato pasta.

I do love making this all year long with frozen and canned tomatoes as well.

Ingredients needed

The ingredients are very simple for this cherry tomato pasta. Here is what you will need:

• Fresh cherry tomatoes or canned.
• Garlic. Make sure you use fresh garlic for this cherry tomato sauce. It only has a few ingredients.
• Olive oil. Always extra virgin.
• A touch of butter.
• Salt and pepper. I always use kosher salt.
• Pasta. I like using rigatoni pasta for this cherry tomato pasta because it has ridges that grab onto the sauce. You can use any pasta shape like penne, bow tie, etc.

Most of these items you will already have in your pantry. This dish makes a great summertime pasta dish to use up those fresh summer cherry tomatoes.

How to make cherry tomato and garlic pasta

The cooking part of this cherry tomato pasta is very simple. Here is what it looks like:

1. Prep the ingredients: You chop the garlic and rinse the tomatoes.
2. Cook: Cook the garlic and the tomatoes in a pan. Simmer those tomatoes to let those fresh cherry tomatoes burst open to release their juices. It makes a great easy meal that even kids can help make. While the cherry tomatoes simmer in the olive oil with garlic, start cooking the pasta.
3. Assemble: Once the pasta is fully cooked, drain it and add it to the cherry tomato sauce.

Variations

I make this pasta all year because we really love it. Here is how you can do that too!

• Use canned cherry tomatoes- I found these at my local specialty grocery store and I love them. It lets me make this meal really quickly even when cherry tomatoes are not in season.
• Frozen tomatoes- During the summer months, I freeze the cherry tomatoes that come in from my garden. No special techniques are needed for this just place the tomatoes in a bag and freeze. When you are ready to use the tomatoes, just follow the recipe the same way!

Storing And Leftovers

To set you up for success, here are my suggestions that I use to store and reheat this pasta. It is delicious the next day!

• Storing- This pasta does not freeze well but it does store well in the fridge for up to 2 days if you have leftovers. Just place it in a container with a lid in the fridge and you are good to go.
• Reheating- I like to use the microwave to reheat this pasta. Make sure to place a moistened paper towel over the top which will keep the pasta from drying out. Microwave on medium-high for 1-2 minutes.

Pairing Ideas

If you are looking for what to serve with this cherry tomato pasta, here are some of our favorites: