Pesto Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta

This roasted cherry tomato pasta features pesto-roasted cherry tomatoes pureed until smooth and tossed with tender pasta and lots of fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

Tomatoes are so good right now and this pasta puts them to the best use!

Bonus points if you’ve also got a basil plant going as crazy as mine is and have extra pesto on hand that needs a home. Consider this pasta the best man for the job.

There’s just something about a scratch-made sauce made with fresh summer tomatoes that ticks all the boxes this time of year! Not only is this pasta so flavorful and fresh-tasting, but it also only takes 7 ingredients and is ready in under an hour.

I firmly believe that the best dishes use minimal ingredients and this pasta is total proof of that! A mess of tomatoes, basil pesto, and a few other basic ingredients and you’ll have this pasta magic staring ya in the face before too long.

This Pasta features…

• Flavorful basil pesto-roasted cherry tomatoes purred into a sauce
• Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese and fresh minced basil
• Ready in minutes and only 7 basic ingredients

Making the Pasta

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

• Cherry tomatoes
• Pesto
• Pasta
• Garlic
• Granulated sugar
• Parmesan cheese
• Basil

Choosing Your Tomatoes

You will need 2 pints of cherry tomatoes for this recipe, either red, yellow, or multi-color. This should equal around 4 cups of cherry tomatoes.

Can I use another type of tomato? If you would like to use full-size tomatoes in this recipe, I would recommend using about 1-1/2 lbs and coring/dicing tomatoes into 1-inch cubes for roasting.

Tips for Perfect Tomato Pasta

1. Halve cherry tomatoes – this will help the cherry tomatoes break down faster during roasting.
2. Roast cherry tomatoes in pesto – this will infuse the cherry tomatoes with tons of flavor while they roast.
3. Reserve some pesto for blending later – reserve 2 tablespoons pesto for blending into the sauce. This will add an extra pop of fresh herby flavor to the sauce.
4. Use a blender to puree sauce – you can also use a food processor but you may have to work in batches.
5. Cook pasta to al dente – make sure to cook pasta only to al dente as it will finish cooking in the sauce later.
6. Reserve pasta cooking water – this will get used in the cherry tomato sauce and to thin the pasta later.
7. Use freshly-grated Parmesan – freshly-grated will melt better into the sauce and have a much stronger Parmesan flavor.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on this pasta.

• Use a different pasta shape – try bucatini, linguine, or angel hair in place of the spaghetti.
• Add meat – add browned sausage, cooked chicken, or crispy bacon bits to the pasta for extra protein.
• Add vegetables – fold sautéed spinach, zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms, or green beans into pasta.
• Try a different cheese – replace the Parmesan with grated asiago.

Serving Suggestions

This pasta is great on its own, but also goes great alongside grilled chicken, steak, or seafood. You can also serve it alongside a green salad and garlic bread for a vegetarian-friendly meal.

For as quick as this cherry tomato sauce comes together, you definitely wouldn’t think that it would pack as much flavor as it does, but whoa. The herby basil pesto infuses all its goodness into the tomatoes and everything blends up into an impossibly creamy sauce that coats the pasta to perfection.

Don’t forget the truckload of extra Parmesan on your personal bowl!

Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

More tomato-forward meals to make next!

• Heirloom Tomato Tarts
• Creamy Fire Roasted Tomato Chicken
• Cherry Tomato Goat Cheese Pasta