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. It is one of my favorite kinds of Summer along with my spaghetti and zucchini pasta, pesto pasta, and pasta alla checca.
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 (see picture at the bottom of page).
- 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 shaped pasta 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:
- Prep the ingredients: You chop the garlic and rinse the tomatoes.
- 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.
- Assemble: Once the pasta is fully cooked, drain it and add it to the cherry tomato sauce.
When the ingredients are first added to the pan before simmering.
This is after everything has simmered for a bit and the tomatoes released their juices.
How to serve
When serving this garlicky cherry tomato pasta, it is always best with copious amounts of fresh Parmesan. There are very few ingredients in this dish so make sure the ingredients you use are the best quality available, including the Parmesan.
That's it! This dish is really simple and definitely a keeper for a quick weeknight meal.
How to make with frozen or canned cherry tomatoes
In our house, we like to eat this garlic and cherry tomato sauce all year so we purchase canned cherry tomatoes in their own juices. These canned cherry tomatoes are a great pantry staple to have on hand and you can usually find it in the Italian section of your supermarket.
By purchasing canned cherry tomatoes for your pantry you can ensure you have an easy dinner idea on hand like this pasta, tomato basil soup, or an easy marinara sauce.
Making this cherry tomato pasta with frozen tomatoes, whether they are cherry tomatoes like we have or other fresh frozen tomatoes is so simple.
This is our absolute favorite way to use frozen tomatoes. We pick tomatoes from the garden and place them right into a plastic freezer bag for the freezer.
This makes for a really easy meal for a busy evening and we know we are eating fresh ingredients that were frozen at the peak freshness.
The frozen tomatoes will stay for up to 2 months in the freezer. So pick and freeze tomatoes now for easy dinners for weeks to come!
Pairing Ideas
If you are looking for what to serve with this cherry tomato pasta, here are some of our favorites:
For More Italian Recipes
Here are some of our favorite easy Italian recipes. We think you might enjoy these as well!
For our favorite Italian recipes with veggies, we love making our Orrechiette with broccoli or our Italian Baked Zucchini.
For creamy recipes, we turn to our Ricotta Pasta or our Pasta and Broccoli with Truffle Cream Sauce .
Recipe Faqs
Yes, you can. Making a fresh tomato sauce with frozen tomatoes is so simple and all you have to do is gently heat those tomatoes in the pan until warmed. It is perfect for this cherry tomato pasta.
Making a quick fresh cherry tomato pasta is always a great way to use up an abundance of cherry tomatoes. You can also freeze the cherry tomatoes whole and keep them in the freezer for a quick meal on another night. Those frozen tomatoes are great for soup, this cherry tomato pasta or any recipe that calls for cooked tomatoes.
Easy Cherry Tomato And Garlic Pasta
Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Ingredients
- 1 lb Rigatoni pasta any shaped pasta will work great
- 1 pint of fresh cherry tomatoes
- 4 cloves of garlic sliced very thin
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Once the water is boiling, add a good pinch of salt and the pasta. Stir well and cook until al dente and drain.1 lb Rigatoni pasta
- While the pasta is cooking, heat a large sauce pan over medium heat, and add your olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes if you are using them.¼ cup olive oil, ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
- Heat your olive oil for 2-3 minutes then add your cherry tomatoes.1 pint of fresh cherry tomatoes
- Next add your garlic and reduce heat to low.4 cloves of garlic
- Simmer your tomatoes in the olive oil for 15-20 minutes or until they begin to release their juices.
- Add your butter.1 tablespoon of butter
- Mix well.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Once the pasta is done cooking, drain and add tot he cherry tomato sauce.
- Toss well for one minute.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Andy says
This was easy and so delicious!
Melissa says
So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Beth says
This was delicious! Even better the next day