Imagine this: it’s been one of those days. You’re tired, maybe a little hungry, and the thought of spending an hour in the kitchen making dinner feels like a monumental task. But what if you could create something truly magical with almost no effort at all?

This pasta is your answer. It’s the kind of recipe that feels like a secret weapon—deceptively simple, yet the results are nothing short of spectacular. In the time it takes to boil water, you can transform a handful of basic ingredients into a vibrant, luxurious sauce.

The magic lies in the cherry tomatoes. When heat coaxes out their natural sugars, they collapse into a jammy, sweet, and incredibly rich sauce that clings to every strand of pasta. It’s a dish that celebrates simplicity, proving that you don’t need a long list of ingredients to eat well.

Ingredients Needed for the Recipe

Gathering your ingredients is the first step toward a fantastic meal. Here’s what you’ll need, and why each one is so important.

• Cherry Tomatoes (2 pints): These are the undeniable star of the show. Their small size means they’re sweeter, riper, and higher in pectin than larger tomatoes. This pectin is your secret weapon—it helps the sauce thicken beautifully and quickly, creating a luscious texture without needing to simmer for hours.
• Garlic (4 large cloves, thinly sliced): Garlic provides the essential aromatic base. Slicing it thinly allows it to melt into the oil, infusing it with a gentle, sweet flavor that forms the foundation of the entire sauce. It’s the quiet, supportive character that makes everything else taste better.
• Dry Pasta (1/2 lb): Choose a shape you love! Spaghetti or bucatini are classic choices, trapping the sauce in their long strands. Penne rigate, with its ridges, is excellent for grabbing onto every bit of the chunky tomato goodness. The key is to cook it al dente so it has the perfect texture to stand up to the sauce.
• Fresh Basil (1 cup, roughly chopped): This is your fresh, herbal finish. Adding most of it at the end of cooking preserves its bright, peppery flavor and gorgeous green color, lifting the entire dish and cutting through the richness of the tomatoes and cheese.
• Parmesan Cheese (1 cup, freshly grated): More than just a garnish, Parmesan adds a deep, salty, umami kick. It acts as a seasoning agent, melting into the warm sauce and helping to emulsify it with the starchy pasta water, creating a creamy, cohesive dish. Always grate it fresh for the best flavor and meltability.

You’ll also need a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil and, of course, salt and pepper. These pantry staples are the supporting cast that brings the whole performance together.

How to make 5-Ingredient Easy Cherry Tomato Pasta?

Now for the fun part. Let’s turn these simple ingredients into your new favorite dinner.

Step 1: Infuse the Oil

This first step is where the flavor magic begins. In a large, cold skillet, add your sliced garlic and a generous pour of olive oil. Starting in a cold pan is the trick—it allows the garlic to gently warm up and release its flavor into the oil without any risk of burning.

Place the pan over medium-low heat. Watch it closely, giving it an occasional stir. You’re looking for the garlic to become soft, fragrant, and just barely golden. This should take about 2-3 minutes. Burnt garlic is bitter, so patience here is your best friend.

Step 2: Blister the Tomatoes

Once your garlic is perfectly softened, it’s time for the main event. Dump all those beautiful cherry tomatoes into the skillet. You’ll hear a satisfying sizzle. Let them cook for about 8 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.

You’ll watch them start to wilt, their skins will blister and split, and they’ll release their incredible sweet juices. Help them along by gently pressing on them with the back of your wooden spoon. You’re basically encouraging them to become a sauce.

Step 3: Cook the Pasta

While the tomatoes are doing their thing, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Add your pasta and cook it according to the package directions for al dente—it should still have a slight bite to it.

This is the most crucial tip: before you drain the pasta, scoop out about a cup of the starchy, salty pasta water. This liquid gold is what will bind your sauce and pasta together into a creamy, restaurant-quality dish. Set it aside!

Step 4: Combine and Finish

By now, your tomato sauce should be jammy and incredible. Season it generously with salt and pepper and stir in most of your fresh basil, saving a little for garnish. Now, add the drained al dente pasta directly into the skillet with the sauce.

Pour in about a third of a cup of that reserved pasta water and crank the heat up to high. This is where you get involved. Vigorously toss and stir the pasta. The starch from the water, the fat from the oil, and the cheese will emulsify, creating a silky sauce that coats every inch of pasta.

Step 5: The Final Touch

Take the skillet off the heat. This is important—adding cheese to very high heat can make it clump. Now, shower the pasta with your freshly grated Parmesan and a final drizzle of good olive oil.

Give it one final, confident toss. The cheese will melt into the sauce, making it even more luxurious. Plate it immediately, garnishing with the remaining fresh basil and more Parmesan. You did it.

Why This Recipe Works So Well

It seems almost too simple, right? But there’s some serious food science at play that makes this dish a guaranteed win. The high pectin content in cherry tomatoes is the real hero.

Pectin is a natural thickener. As the tomatoes break down, this pectin is released, allowing the sauce to achieve a thick, almost creamy consistency in mere minutes. A sauce made from larger tomatoes would need to simmer for much longer to reduce and concentrate.

Furthermore, starting the garlic in a cold oil bath is a professional chef’s trick. It gently coaxes out the flavor without introducing any bitterness, creating a sweet, aromatic base that forms the soul of the sauce. Every step has a purpose.

Best Time to Serve This Dish

This pasta is incredibly versatile. It truly shines in the late summer when cherry tomatoes are at their absolute peak of sweetness, having been ripened by the sun. It’s a perfect way to celebrate the season’s bounty.

But its simplicity makes it a year-round champion. It’s an ideal quick weeknight dinner that feels special enough for a casual date night at home. It’s also a fantastic solo dinner—easy to scale down for one, and so quick you won’t mind making it just for yourself.

Tips

• A few small touches can elevate your pasta from great to absolutely sublime. Keep these in mind.
• Always salt your pasta water generously. It should taste like the sea. This is your one chance to season the pasta itself from the inside out, and it makes a world of difference in the final flavor of the dish.
• Don’t skip the pasta water! That starchy liquid is not just water; it’s the key to a silky, emulsified sauce that clings to the noodles. It’s the difference between a sauce that sits on top of the pasta and one that becomes one with it.
• Use the best ingredients you can find. Since the recipe has so few components, each one really stands out. Splurge on a good block of Parmesan to grate yourself and a high-quality bottle of extra virgin olive oil for drizzling at the end.

Ingredient Substitutions

No fresh basil? Don’t panic. A teaspoon of dried oregano or a pinch of red pepper flakes added with the garlic can create a completely different, but equally delicious, flavor profile. It’s a great way to make the dish your own.

If you can’t find cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes are an excellent substitute. They have a similarly sweet and concentrated flavor. You could even use the sweetest, ripest Roma tomatoes you can find, chopping them into small, cherry tomato-sized pieces.

For a cheese alternative, a sharp Pecorino Romano will give you a saltier, more pungent kick. For a dairy-free version, a tablespoon of white miso paste stirred in at the end can provide a wonderful hit of savory umami depth.

How to Store and Reheat

This pasta is absolutely best eaten immediately, fresh from the pan. But if you do have leftovers, they can still be delicious with a little care.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days. The pasta will absorb the sauce, so it will seem dry when you take it out. To reheat, do not use the microwave—it will overcook the pasta and make the sauce separate.

Instead, place it in a skillet with a small splash of water or, even better, a little more olive oil. Gently heat it over medium-low, stirring constantly, until it’s warmed through. This will help revive the sauce and bring the dish back to life.

Pairing Ideas

What do you serve with such a perfect, stand-alone dish? You want something that complements its bright, Italian flavors without overshadowing them.

A simple, crisp green salad with a sharp vinaigrette is the classic choice. The acidity and crunch provide a refreshing contrast to the rich, soft pasta. Arugula with a lemon squeeze and shaved Parmesan is perfect.

For a drink, a light, chilled Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc mirrors the dish’s freshness. If you prefer red, a light-bodied Chianti won’t overpower the tomatoes. And for dessert? Keep it simple. A small bowl of lemon sorbet or a few dark chocolate almonds is the ideal clean, fresh finish.

Print Recipe

5-Ingredient Easy Cherry Tomato Pasta Recipe

Author: katie Smith Cooking Method: Stovetop Cuisine: Italian Courses: Main Course

Difficulty: easy Prep Time 5 mins Cook Time 15 mins Total Time 20 mins

Servings: 4 Estimated Cost: $ 7.00 Calories: 580

Best Season: Summer

Description

This 5-Ingredient Easy Cherry Tomato Pasta is a lightning-fast, restaurant-quality dish that celebrates the peak flavor of summer. Sweet, blistered cherry tomatoes burst into a vibrant sauce with just garlic, olive oil, and fresh basil, all tossed with al dente pasta and finished with creamy Parmesan. Ready in 15 minutes, it's the perfect weeknight dinner for when you want something deliciously simple.

Ingredients

Servings

• 2 pints cherry tomatoes (halved if large)
• 4 large garlic cloves (thinly sliced)
• ½ lb dry pasta (spaghetti, bucatini, or penne)
• 1 cup fresh basil (roughly chopped)
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated, plus extra for serving)
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (divided)
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions

1. Cook the Pasta

   Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
   Mark as complete

2. Infuse the Oil

   While the pasta cooks, place 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the sliced garlic in a large cold skillet. Turn the heat to medium-low and gently cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant and softened but not browned.
   Do not let the garlic burn, as it will turn bitter.
   Mark as complete

3. Cook the Tomatoes

   Add the cherry tomatoes to the skillet. Cook over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally and gently pressing down on the tomatoes with a wooden spoon to help them release their juices and break down.
   Mark as complete

4. Season the Sauce

   Once the tomatoes are soft and saucy, stir in the fresh basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
   Mark as complete

5. Combine and Finish

   Add the drained pasta and about 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water to the skillet. Increase the heat to high and toss vigorously for 1-2 minutes until the sauce becomes creamy and coats the pasta. Remove from heat, stir in the grated Parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
   Add more pasta water as needed to achieve a silky sauce consistency.
   Mark as complete

6. Serve

   Plate immediately. Garnish with extra fresh basil and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
   Mark as complete

Nutrition Facts

Servings 4

Serving Size 1 serving (about 1.5 cups)

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Amount Per Serving

Calories 580kcal

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 30gg47%

Saturated Fat 7gg35%

Trans Fat 0gg

Cholesterol 15mgmg5%

Sodium 480mgmg20%

Potassium 680mgmg20%

Total Carbohydrate 62gg21%

Dietary Fiber 5gg20%

Sugars 10gg

Protein 18gg36%

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Calcium 320mg mg

Iron 2.4mg mg

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Note

• Tomato tip: Use ripe, in-season cherry tomatoes for the sweetest, most flavorful sauce. If they're not ripe, a quick roast in the oven can enhance their sweetness.
• Garlic care: Cook the garlic gently in the cold oil to infuse its flavor without burning. Burnt garlic will make the sauce bitter.
• Pasta water is key: The starchy water is essential for emulsifying the sauce and creating a creamy, restaurant-quality texture.
• Variations: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat, or stir in cooked shrimp, grilled chicken, or white beans for a protein boost.
• Cheese swap: Pecorino Romano can be used instead of Parmesan for a sharper, saltier flavor.
• Storage: Best served fresh. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days but may become dry. Reheat with a splash of water or broth.

Keywords: cherry tomato pasta, 5 ingredient pasta, easy pasta recipe, quick dinner, summer pasta, tomato basil pasta, weeknight meal, simple Italian recipe