Full of fresh flavour, easy to make, and totally delicious, this cherry tomato pasta is a breeze to whip up! The fresh cherry tomatoes cook down into the most luscious sauce and then it is flavoured with a high quality pesto. Just 6 ingredients and 20 minutes of time to get it on your plate.
This dish has quickly become one of my favourite summer easy pasta recipes. The cherry tomatoes break down easily into a light and fresh tasting sauce which is then flavoured with pesto. It's just perfect for days when you are craving noodles but not the weight of a heavy pasta sauce.
For simplicity, this recipe calls for pre-made pesto sauce. Look for a high-quality brand to ensure the best flavour, or use homemade if you've got it on hand.
To keep this recipe simple, I serve it just as it is - meatless. If you would like to bulk it up a bit more grilled shrimp or chicken would be a great addition.
What makes this dish great...
- Quick & Easy - with few ingredients and just a couple of quick steps you can have this beautiful pasta dish on your plate in just about 20 minutes.
- Fresh and light - The quickly cooked cherry tomatoes produce a light tasting sauce that is brightened up with the fresh taste of basil from the pesto.
- Mostly pantry ingredients - If you're like me and a good pesto is a pantry staple you probably already have most of the ingredients on hand.
Ingredients
- Linguini. I really love linguini noodles in this dish, but feel free to use your favourite pasta.
- Garlic. As always, fresh garlic is always more flavourful than jarred.
- Onion. I used red onion here, but white or yellow would be just fine.
- Pesto. For the best flavour, choose a premium brand - it's well worth it!
- Cherry Tomatoes. These could be substituted for grape tomatoes if necessary.
How to make it
Prepare the pasta. Fill a large pot with water and season it generously with sea salt then bring it to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
Start the sauce. Heat a large saute pan to medium heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot add the diced onion and saute for a couple of minutes until they soften a bit. Add the cherry tomatoes and cover. Let the tomatoes cook for a few minutes until they soften then add the garlic and balsamic vinegar.
Finish the sauce. Let the tomatoes cook for about 10 minutes or until they have completely broken down and turned into a sauce. Add the pesto and then stir well.
Add the pasta. When the pasta is finished cooking, remove about a half cup of the cooking liquid before draining it. Add the pasta to the sauce in the saute pan and a bit of the cooking water. Stir well to cover the pasta and add more cooking liquid if necessary.
Serve. I like to add an extra touch of pesto on top of the pasta as well as a good serving of parmesan cheese.
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Cherry Tomato & Pesto Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients:
- 12 oz linguini
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion - diced
- 1.5 lbs cherry tomatoes - halved
- 3 cloves garlic - crushed
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 4-6 Tablespoons pesto
- sea salt & pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is heated add the diced onion and saute for a couple of minutes until its softens.
- Add the cherry tomatoes and cover. Let the tomatoes cook for a couple of minutes until they soften then add the balsamic vinegar and garlic.
- Saute while stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes have fully softened and become saucey.
- Add the pesto to the sauce and stir well to mix it in.
- Remove a ½ cup of cooking water from the pasta then drain.
- Add the pasta to the sauce in the saute pan and mix well adding in some of the reserved pasta water to loosed up the sauce if it's too tight.
Nutrition
* nutritional information is calculated by online tools and may not be 100% accurate.
Alexandra says
I love the fresh flavours of this delicious pasta dish!