This recipe for Cherry Tomato Spaghetti Sauce is perfect when your garden is overflowing with sweet cherry tomatoes or anytime of year when your local grocery store is running a sale on those bright little tomatoes. It's ready in about 15 minutes, making it ideal for busy weeknights, flexible enough to pair with shrimp, chicken, or even white beans, and polished enough to feel special when guests come over.
Cherry tomatoes make an excellent pasta sauce. They are naturally sweet, bursting with juice, and available year-round, allowing you to capture peak-summer flavor even in the dead of winter. This is a perfect addition to your dinner rotation, along with my other pasta favorites like Spaghetti Arrabiata, Creamy Spinach Pasta, Lemon Caper Pasta, or Mushroom Pappardelle.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Simple grocery store ingredients
- Ready in about 15 minutes
- Easy to adjust
- Fresh tomato sauce, perfect year-round
- Delicious with proteins like shrimp, chicken, or white beans
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Ingredients That Matter
You'll need a handful of pantry and fresh ingredients to make this simple fresh tomato sauce, including:
- Cherry Tomatoes. Garden-fresh tomatoes work best, but you can use whatever tomatoes you have. They are sweet, cook down fast, and make a velvety pasta sauce. Any color works.
- Olive Oil. Use a good-quality olive oil, if possible, for added flavor. The oil helps blister the tomatoes, releasing their sweet juices.
- Garlic. A couple cloves of garlic provide familiar flavor.
- Shallot. I like a shallot rather than a yellow onion in this recipe. Shallots are smaller and sweeter, plus they cook faster than a yellow onion.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes. A big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes provides a hint of heat that works great with the sweet tomatoes.
- Dried Oregano or Italian Seasoning. A little dried oregano or Italian seasoning gives a nice gentle herb flavor to this dish.
- Fresh Basil. Tender fresh basil leaves should be available year-round and are so good with cherry tomatoes, it's a shame to leave them out.
- Tomato Paste. I like to add a bit of tomato paste to thicken the sauce and provide some umami.
- Heavy Cream. Finish the sauce with a splash of heavy cream. It actually helps to tighten up the sauce, plus the fat coats your tongue making it even more delicious.
- Parmesan Cheese. Adds a nice salty, nutty flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce
This recipe comes together in 15 minutes. I'll show you how to make it from start to finish, but if you simply want to make the sauce, stop at step 6 and simply add the sauce to a jar and refrigerate up to 5 days.
- Start by prepping the fresh ingredients. Wash and dry the tomatoes then cut in half. Slice the basil and mince the garlic and shallot. If making the sauce for pasta, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions, reserving 1 cup of the starchy pasta cooking liquid.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil then the tomatoes. Toss and cook, undisturbed, until slightly charred, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the shallot, garlic, tomato paste, crushed red pepper, dried oregano or Italian seasoning, some of the basil, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add ½ cup of pasta cooking liquid and bring to a simmer, reducing heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until the tomatoes are tender, about 5 minutes.
- When the tomatoes are very tender, mash with a potato masher or carefully blend with an immersion blender or in a blender (be careful when blending hot liquids like tomato sauce).
- Add heavy cream, stir well to incorporate, and simmer for about 1 minute.
- Add grated parmesan and more fresh basil, reducing sauce until it coats the back of a spoon.
- Add cooked pasta and toss well. Adjust consistency with more pasta cooking liquid, as needed. Finish with more parmesan and fresh basil.
Adam's Pro Tip
Blending the sauce is not necessary, but it's worth the effort if you want a silky, smooth sauce. I like a rustic texture and often just mash the cooked tomatoes with a potato masher, but if you prefer a silky, skin-free sauce, blend it instead (my wife always votes for blending).
Substitutions
This recipe is very easy to adjust. It's technically not vegan or even vegetarian as most parmesan cheeses have animal rennet. However, there are plenty of substitutions you can make based on your dietary restrictions or flavor preferences, including:
- Dairy-Free - You can make this recipe dairy-free by simply leaving out the heavy cream and parmesan. Instead, simply add a bit more pasta cooking liquid and consider using a plant-based hard cheese. This will also make the recipe vegan.
- No Onion or Garlic - I actually have a hard time with onion and garlic. If you follow a low-FODMAP diet or simply have a hard time with these alliums, you can make the full recipe by leaving out the garlic and shallot (I often leave out garlic myself, but I include it here since most people love the flavor).
- Cherry Tomatoes - You can swap out the cherry tomatoes for other small varieties, including pear, grape, or even Sungold tomatoes, which are technically cherry tomatoes.
Fresh Cherry Tomato Sauce Variations
There are endless variations you can make to this fresh tomato pasta sauce recipe, including:
- Protein boost: Add some seared shrimp, a can of white beans, or chicken (try it with my pulled chicken).
- More Umami: If you want more umami, try adding a few anchovies to the sauce.
- Peppery: While crushed red pepper flakes add a touch of heat, you can really kick up the spice by adding Calabrian peppers, cayenne pepper, or fresh hot peppers. It's particularly delicious with jarred hot cherry peppers.
What to Serve with Cherry Tomato Spaghetti
This blistered cherry tomato sauce recipe is perfect on its own, especially when served with a hearty whole wheat pasta. Consider pairing it with:
- Arugula and Pear Salad with Spiced Pecans
- Beet and Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese
- Smothered Skillet Chicken with Artichokes and Red Peppers
- Air-Fryer Zucchini Fritters
- Caramelized Mushrooms and Onion
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
You can simply make the homemade cherry tomato sauce ahead of time and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Bring the sauce to a simmer before tossing with al dente spaghetti and thin the sauce out a bit with more water or heavy cream.
You can store leftover cherry tomato sauce with spaghetti in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can freeze the sauce on its own (leave out the pasta) for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and gently bring to a simmer.
FAQ
Nope! Their skins are thin and blister down into the sauce. However, if you want a smooth sauce, be sure to finish in a blender or use an immersion blender to puree.
Yes, you can freeze homemade cherry tomato spaghetti sauce (without pasta) for up to 3 months.
Roma style tomatoes work best for a rich, hearty tomato sauce thanks to their low acidity and water content and high amount of flesh. However, they take quite a bit of time to cook down. Instead, cherry tomatoes are naturally sweet, cook down very fast (15 minutes!), and are readily available year-round.
More Pasta Recipes
Looking for other pasta recipes like this? Try these:
Sides
Need some side dish recommendations? Try these:
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Recipe
Cherry Tomato Spaghetti Sauce
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
Description
This recipe for Cherry Tomato Spaghetti Sauce is perfect when your garden is overflowing with sweet cherry tomatoes or anytime of year when your local grocery store is running a sale on those bright little tomatoes. It's ready in about 15 minutes, making it ideal for busy weeknights, flexible enough to pair with shrimp, chicken, or even white beans, and polished enough to feel special when guests come over.
Ingredients
- 8 oz. spaghetti
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp. tomato paste
- ½ tsp. dried oregano or Italian seasoning
- 1 big pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp. table salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. roughly chopped fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Cook pasta according to package instructions, reserving 1 cup of the starchy cooking liquid. If make the cherry tomato sauce on its own (without pasta), skip ahead to the next step.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high. When hot, add the oil then carefully add the halved cherry tomatoes. Cook, undisturbed, until slightly blistered, 2-3 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, tomato paste, dried oregano or Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and stir. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add ½ cup of the reserved pasta cooking liquid and stir in the basil and parmesan cheese. Simmer, covered, until the tomatoes are very tender, 4-5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher, or puree in a blender or with an immersion blender (be carefully blending hot liquids). Return to the skillet and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Stir in the heavy cream and simmer until thickened and velvety, 1-2 minutes. Add the pasta and toss well. Adjust consistency with more reserved pasta cooking liquid and serve garnished with more basil and parmesan.
Notes
- You can make the sauce ahead of time. Simply cook the cherry tomato sauce, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- You can freeze cherry tomato sauce (without pasta) in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- You can easily double this recipe if you want to cook a full pound of pasta.
- Serve with a can of white beans, chicken, caramelized mushrooms, or seared shrimp.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Sauté
- Cuisine: American/Italian
frank says
Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher, or puree in a blender or with an immersion blender (be carefully blending hot liquids). Return to the skillet and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Stir in the heavy cream and simmer until thickened and velvety, 1-2 minutes Plex!. Add the pasta and toss well. Adjust consistency with more reserved pasta cooking liquid and serve garnished with more basil and parmesan.