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Need a quick dinner idea? This Fresh Tomato Pasta is it! A 20-minute dinner that turns seasonal tomatoes into a super fresh and delicious pasta sauce using just a handful of ingredients. Trust me, this one will be on rotation all summer long.
Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce
This is the dish to make this summer if you love tomato and basil. This quick tomato pasta sauce is simple to make yet so complex in flavor. I could literally eat it every night and not be sick of it. It’s perfect to make in the height of summer when you are drowning in fresh tomatoes and need to use them up ASAP.
And if you really do have a ton of tomatoes to use up. Check out this How To Make Fresh Tomato Sauce With Summer Tomatoes. This fresh tomato sauce recipe differs from this Fresh Tomato Pasta recipe in that it makes a large batch of marinara sauce.
Ingredients Needed for Fresh Tomato Pasta
Here is an overview of the ingredient list. Keep scrolling for the full recipe.
- Fresh Tomatoes (see note below on what type of tomatoes to use)
- Spaghetti (use gluten-free or whatever type of pasta that works for your family)
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Salt
- Parmesan Cheese (optional, but recommended)
- Feel free to garnish with black pepper and red pepper flakes, too!
Best Type of Tomatoes to Use
The type of tomato you can use here can really change the outcome of the sauce. I’ve tried it with standard grocery store tomatoes, plum tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes and even cherry tomatoes. By far, my favorite variety was farm-fresh heirloom tomatoes and for obvious reason: they had the best taste. Because this dish has very few ingredients, choosing the highest quality and best tasting ones will impact the final dish.
Another factor in choosing your tomatoes is how much moisture they contain. Some tomatoes can be really juicy, while others, like some heirloom tomatoes or plum tomatoes, can be pretty dry. You can use both types, but with drier tomatoes you’ll have to add in a bit of pasta water to make them saucy. Some of the more juicy tomatoes don’t need any added pasta water at all.
What Type of Pasta to Use
We tested this with a few different types of spaghetti, including gluten-free pasta and it all worked the same!
While we think spaghetti is the best choice of pasta for this dish, you can absolutely substitute in any other pasta shape that you like.
If you like this pasta recipe, check out these others:
- Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad
- Creamy Mushroom Ricotta Pasta
- Easy Baked Ziti
- One Pot Pantry Pasta with Chickpeas and Peppers
20-Minute Fresh Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces spaghetti or any other pasta you want
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic grated
- 1 shallot finely minced
- 1-1/2 lbs. ripe tomatoes diced
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 cup fresh basil sliced
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions, and save and set aside 1 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta.
- Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add garlic and shallot and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until softened.
- Add tomatoes, salt, and balsamic cook for 3-5 minutes until liquid starts to come out of the tomatoes.
- Add drained pasta to the tomatoes and toss to combine, adding pasta water as necessary depending on how juicy the tomatoes are to make a sauce.
- Stir in the cheese then taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve with a garnish of additional cheese and sliced basil.
I love this recipe and would like to can it via waterbath. If I blended 90% of it and added more vinegar (I added a little white to my taste when I made it) would it be canner friendly?
Love that you love this recipe. We haven’t gone about canning this one specifically, but you could follow this recipe for another delicious option that we have canned and it will last 4-6 months in the freezer: https://lexiscleankitchen.com/make-fresh-tomato-sauce-summer-tomatoes/
YES! I have tried making a version of this sans recipe, and something was always missing. I do believe it is the balsamic vinegar! Thank you for a simple, wonderful recipe!
Do you have to use shallots in this recipe? Can you use something else or remove it completely? None of my grocery stores have shallots.
you can also use yellow onions.
10/10 recommend! Great with our fresh tomatoes and farmers market additions! Will be making again.
Haven’t made it yet…but sounds yummy. But why did you provide the 2X and 3X option when ithey don’t work???
This is fixed, sorry!
I made this last night and the whole family loved it. So quick and easy!
Delicious! Such a great, easy weeknight meal! Tastes so fresh! We’ll definitely be keeping this is the regular rotation!
Made this last night for dinner using fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden. I had cheese tortellini on hand which tasted good but the sauce had a hard time sticking to it so next time I’ll probably try this with spaghetti as suggested. Simple and tasty sauce that definitely came together quickly!
A friend shared her garden abundance the same week I discovered this recipe. Jackpot! I used red lentil pasta for the protein boost. I’ll definitely make it again.
I made this dish tonight for dinner and it was delicious!! Such an easy recipe and ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen (or garden) to make dinner in no time at all! Can’t wait to make this again for my family! Thanks Lexi 😊
Ok, now I see it is there. I must be blind. I plan to try this as soon as I can get my hands on fresh tomatoes.
This looks delicious. I couldn’t find the ingredient list in the recipe but it did print it when I chose that option.