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Pan Roasted Tomato Pasta is a classic recipe that’s easy to make with only a few ingredients. It’s naturally vegan and can be made gluten-free. I love making it in the summer when tomatoes are abundant.
If I had to describe this recipe, I would say it’s a mashup of my Cherry Tomato Penne Pasta and Elephantastic Vegan’s Pan Roasted Tomato Bruschetta.
This is a classic recipe that I’ve been making for years.
And you might have your own version of it.
It’s one of my favorite things to do with fresh cherry or grape tomatoes.
But if you have larger tomatoes, you can use them for this recipe as well. Just chop them up into a small dice.
Also, if you have multi-colored tomatoes, they would be beautiful in this dish.
Pan Roasted Tomato Pasta is easy to make in under 30 minutes.
I love how sweet the tomatoes become when they are sauteed in a little olive oil.
And you really don’t need more than a tablespoon of oil for this recipe.
It may be tempting to drizzle additional oil over the spaghetti to give it a silky texture, but there’s a little magic trick that works better without adding extra fat and calories.
Do you know what it is?
It’s pasta water!
Yes, the starchy water the pasta cooked in is your secret weapon to homemade pasta sauces.
No more dry spaghetti for you!
When the pasta is al dente, simply dunk a coffee mug in the water and save about a cup of it before draining the pasta.
Then when you mix in the sauce, add a little of the cloudy liquid.
You’ll notice me doing this in the recipe video.
It’s magic!
The fresh sauce comes together quickly while the pasta is cooking.
It really doesn’t get much easier than sauteing some minced garlic and chopped tomatoes until they are soft and slightly charred.
Then the cooked spaghetti is added to the tomato mixture along with the aforementioned reserved pasta water.
Toss everything together, add some freshly torn basil, and dinner is ready!
And if you enjoy Pan Roasted Tomato Pasta and are looking for more ways to use fresh tomatoes, check out these favorite recipes:
Sauteed Green Beans with Tomatoes and Garlic
Mediterranean Cucumber and Tomato Salad
White Bean Cherry Tomato Basil Salad
Tomato Bell Pepper Green Olive Salad
Now let’s make Pan Roasted Tomato Pasta!
Pan Roasted Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta (I use gluten-free spaghetti which is usually 12 ounces)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 dry pint cherry or grape tomatoes halved or quartered, depending on their size
- salt to taste
- fresh basil to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to the package directions. When the pasta is done, dip a coffee mug into the pasta water to reserve about a cup's worth of the starch water. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and saute until it's fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Then add the tomatoes to the pan. Saute the tomatoes until they are soft and slightly charred, stirring occasionally.
- Add salt, to taste, and stir.
- Transfer the cooked pasta to the skillet along with the reserved pasta water. (If your skillet isn't large enough, use the pot you cooked the pasta in instead.)
- Toss the pasta with the tomato mixture so that all the pasta is coated.
- Transfer the pasta to a serving dish. Tear the fresh basil leaves and add them to the pasta. Serve immediately.
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