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Pasta tossed with quickly roasted cherry tomatoes with garlic and basil. Serve it topped with toasted pine nuts and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Homemade roasted tomato pasta sauce done in 15 minutes! Fresh and scrumptious! 

Bake a loaf of crusty bread for dipping into olive oil and Balsamic vinegar for a delicious and simple dinner. Or make my Chicken Marsala to serve alongside this pasta if a vegetarian fare is not your thing. 

fettuccine tossed with roasted cherry tomatoes and basil
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Some Italian pasta sauces take hours to prepare like this Bolognese sauce. The longer and the slower you cook it the better it will be. But others take minutes and they taste just as delicious! 

For this quick and fresh pasta sauce I decided to marry the flavours of sweet and plump cherry tomatoes with punchy garlic and fragrant fresh basil although dried basil can be used. 

The result is a chunky sauce that is light, fresh and packs a lot of flavour. 

How to make roasted tomato pasta sauce

The process couldn’t be easier and only takes about 10-15 minutes in the oven. Simply spread cherry tomatoes on a large rimmed baking pan, season with salt and drizzle with olive oil and smashed garlic. 

Roast in the oven at 220C/450F until the skins burst and tomatoes release their juices but remain whole. Take out of the oven and combine with freshly sliced basil. 

roasted cherry tomatoes on a pan topped with fresh sliced basil

Tomato basil sauce

First of all, I recommend using cherry tomatoes as they are so much sweeter than regular tomatoes when out of season. Also if you have them in different colours, use them! Yellow, red, orange cherry tomatoes will bring slightly different flavour and a variety to your sauce. 

Cherry tomatoes also have thinner skins and are more pleasant to bite into when roasted. The flavour of this sauce depends on the quality of ingredients and their freshness. Use fresh garlic instead of jarred stuff, you will be amazed at the aroma! 

Fresh basil is recommended but could be substituted with 1 tsp of dried basil.

cherry tomato and basil fettuccine

My last piece of advice is to toss your pasta with the sauce instead of simply adding it to plain pasta. And do it directly in the roasting pan. 

This way you won’t lose any precious tomato juices that developed in the process of roasting. They all contribute to the overall flavour. 

Tagliatelle tossed with roasted cherry tomato and basil sauce on a rectangular pan

Recipe Tips and Notes

  • You can also use walnuts or hazelnuts if pine nuts are not available. 
  • If you are not able to find cherry tomatoes, use this recipe for Tomato Basil Sauce with canned tomatoes. 

Serving suggestions

Serve your cherry tomato and basil pasta topped with toasted pine nuts and grated Parmesan cheese. Fresh Parmesan cheese will add more flavour and toasted pine nuts will contribute a nice crunch. 

5 from 10 votes

Quick Roasted Cherry Tomato and Basil Fettuccine

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Pasta tossed with quickly roasted cherry tomatoes with garlic and basil.
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Ingredients 

  • 500g / 1lb red and yellow cherry tomatoes
  • 6 cloves of garlic, smashed
  • 2 tbsp This is an affiliate link.extra virgin olive oil
  • a pinch of salt and pepper
  • 6-8 leaves fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil, chopped
  • 1 lbs Fettuccine or any other pasta
  • 2 tbsp pine nuts
  • 2 tbsp This is an affiliate link.Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 220C/450F. Toss cherry tomatoes with olive oil, smashed garlic, salt and pepper and arrange in a shallow roasting pan or a rimmed baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes until tomatoes burst and release their juice but still hold their shape.
  • While tomatoes are roasting cook pasta in a pot of salted boiling water according to package instructions.
  • Toast pine nuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes until they turn slightly golden and fragrant.
  • Take roasted tomatoes out of the oven and add basil to the pan. Drain pasta while reserving ½ cup of starchy water from the pot.
  • Add hot pasta to the same roasting pan with tomatoes, garlic and basil and toss lightly making sure not to smash all tomatoes. Add a splash of reserved starchy water so all pasta is coated with sauce. Add more salt if necessary.
  • Serve sprinkled with some pine nuts and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 240mg | Potassium: 208mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 249IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

Julia from Vikalinka

About Me

Julia Frey is a London based recipe developer and photographer. Julia founded Vikalinka in 2012 with the main mission to provide her readers with delicious and accessible everyday recipes, which could be enjoyed by everyone.

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Recipe Rating




12 Comments

  1. Michelle Jones says:

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious. Simple, fresh, flavorful. My family and I felt like we were back in Italy!

  2. annika says:

    5 stars
    I wasn’t sure about this meal after it was all done- it seemed too minimal and was worried that it’d lack flavor. BOY WAS I WRONG.
    We split the recipe in two. For one half we added some more garlic and red pepper flakes ’cause my husband and I like things garlicky and spicy; and for the kids’ version, we made it as-written. It was incredible both ways!
    Rating this a full five outta five.
    Thanks for the super simple, easy recipe for those busy nights 🙂

    1. Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says:

      I am so glad you were pleasantly surprised, Annika!

  3. Laura (Tutti Dolci) says:

    5 stars
    Love this fettucine, Julia! Perfect for a quick weeknight meal!

    1. vikalinka says:

      Thanks Laura, so great to have quick and easy recipes when things get busy, right!

  4. Hannah Hossack-Lodge says:

    5 stars
    Oooo this looks lovely Julia! I am a massive pasta fan and eat it at least a couple of times a week, I’m not a huge fan of the wholemeal stuff though so would be intrigued to try this high fibre one to make meals a little healthier…

    1. vikalinka says:

      I am definitely buying some as soon as the range is available in the UK! Thanks, Hannah!

  5. Malinda @mybrownpaperpackages says:

    5 stars
    Such simple delicious flavours. I love pasta, pretty sure I was Italian in a past life! #FFF

    1. vikalinka says:

      Thank you, Malinda! Yes, me too!! 🙂

  6. Lucy Parissi says:

    5 stars
    I just love the look of this dish! I am a massive pasta lover but usually try to curb my cravings for large platefuls. Loving the sound of a high fibre pasta – I can’t wait to try it! Will be good for the kids too – much as I like them to eat healthily I am not sure what they get up to at school.

    1. vikalinka says:

      I was really impressed with the taste of this pasta considering it’s high fibre! It tastes Italian. 😉