With a couple pints of tomatoes, garlic, olive oil & Parmesan, you can make this easy burst cherry tomato pasta for a quick weeknight dinner.
After squeezing in a quick getaway before the start of school, I’m still not ready for summer to end quite yet.
I absolutely love fall, but I want a few more weeks (ok, maybe more like a month or so) of days that I don’t have to think twice if I need to stop wearing sandals and start remembering to put on a jacket.
My brother took care of our cat and our container garden while we were away. No surprise, he did a fantastic job. We came home to a happy cat and A LOT of tomatoes.
Right before we left, I did a big harvest, but this time it was an even bigger one! I am always amazed at how many cherry tomatoes a single plant, let along a few, can produce!
Different varieties of cherry tomatoes are my favorites to grow at home.
Because the surplus tends to hit with more tomatoes than I know what to do with at once, I look for recipes that use up a lot of tomatoes.
I love slow-roasted cherry tomatoes. When I have less time, I do my easy 30-minute roasted tomatoes. You can stash these tomatoes in the fridge or freeze them, so they last a bit longer.
But I don’t always want to turn on the oven. Skillet pastas are a great way to pack in a ton of cherry tomatoes into a meal that’s ready fast. It is so satisfying to see the tomatoes wrinkle and burst in the pan in minutes.
Bookmark this burst tomato pasta for a busy weeknight dinner.
This is what you need to make this tomato pasta:
First, I get the pasta out of the way. I cook the spaghetti until it is al dente. Then I drain it and toss the noodles in a splash of olive oil, so they don’t’ stick together.
Next, I get started on the tomatoes. I heat olive oil in a large skillet and carefully add the tomatoes. As they cook, I stir them around so they are getting heated on all sides. After a few minutes, the skins on some will start to split.
To give the tomatoes a nudge to burst, I softly push them down with the back of a wooden spoon as necessary. You can also use a potato masher to do this.
Then I add the sliced garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to the skillet. I keep cooking and stirring for a few more minutes. By then the tomatoes have released their juices and have turned kind of saucy.
At this point, I fold the pasta into the sauce doing my best to coat the spaghetti. Finally, I stir in the Parmesan.
I divide the pasta into bowls or portion it out onto plates. To finish, I top the pasta with chopped fresh herbs.
Keeping with the theme of easy cooking, I like to serve this pasta with an arugula salad tossed in lemon vinaigrette or balsamic vinaigrette. If I am feeling more ambitious, there’s a chance I may be able to top that salad with homemade croutons, if I already have a batch made.
Cherry Tomato Eggplant Pasta
Tomato Corn Orecchiette
Sheet Pan Cherry Tomato Gnocchi
30-Minute Zucchini Tomato Orzo
Roasted Garlic Sheet Pan Gnocchi
Zucchini Noodles and Cherry Tomatoes
Roasted Tomato Zucchini Squash Pasta Salad
One Pan Orecchiette
Roasted Tomato Garlic Pasta Salad
With a couple pints of tomatoes, garlic, olive oil & Parmesan, you can make this easy burst cherry tomato pasta for a quick weeknight dinner.
Keywords: cherry tomato pasta, tomato pasta, burst cherry tomato pasta
WHAT DID YOU THINK?
Rate + Review