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When summer tomatoes are at their absolute best, you don’t need much to turn them into an incredible dinner. This Fresh Tomato Pasta is proof of just that! Fresh, ripe garden tomatoes are quickly cooked with garlic, shallots, and a splash of balsamic vinegar, then tossed with pasta of your choice, Parmesan, and plenty of fresh basil.
The result is a simple, light, and incredibly flavorful pasta dinner that tastes like summer in a bowl. And the best part? It comes together in just 20 minutes.
Why You’ll Love This Fresh Tomato Pasta
There is something so satisfying about a recipe that lets really good ingredients do all the work. This fresh tomato pasta uses just a handful of simple ingredients, but the combination is so flavorful.
- Family-friendly: It’s a simple pasta dinner that both kids and adults can enjoy.
- Ready in 20 minutes: Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.
- Made with fresh ingredients: Juicy tomatoes and fresh basil make this pasta taste incredibly bright and fresh.
- A great way to use summer tomatoes: Have a garden overflowing with tomatoes? This is the recipe for you.
- Simple but flavorful: Garlic, shallot, balsamic vinegar, Parmesan, and basil add layers of flavor without complicating the recipe.
- Easy to customize: Use your favorite pasta, add protein, make it gluten-free, or leave off the Parmesan.
This is one of those recipes you’ll want to keep on rotation all summer long, especially when your garden or farmers market haul leaves you with more tomatoes than you know what to do with!
The Secret to Great Fresh Tomato Pasta
The tomatoes are the star of this recipe, so the better your tomatoes, the better your pasta will be. We have found that garden-fresh tomatoes and those bought at your local farmers market are superior in flavor to those bought at a grocery store! So enjoy those ripe and fresh tomatoes in this delicious recipe this season.
Ingredients Needed for Fresh Tomato Pasta
You only need a handful of ingredients to make this easy fresh tomato pasta: *Scroll to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients, quantities and instructions.
- Fresh tomatoes: Use ripe tomatoes with plenty of flavor. Heirloom tomatoes are my favorite, but cherry, grape, plum, or regular tomatoes all work.
- Pasta: Spaghetti is my favorite here, but you can use your favorite pasta shape or gluten-free pasta.
- Olive oil: Just a little is needed to sauté the garlic and shallot.
- Garlic: Freshly grated garlic gives the sauce tons of flavor.
- Shallot: Adds a subtle sweetness and savory flavor. A small yellow onion works, too.
- Balsamic vinegar: Don’t skip this! A small amount adds acidity and balances the tomatoes’ sweetness.
- Sea salt: Enhances all of the fresh flavors.
- Parmesan cheese: Adds a salty, savory finish to the pasta. It’s optional, but highly recommended.
- Fresh basil leaves: A generous amount of fresh basil takes this pasta from good to so good.
- Pasta water: Reserve before draining the pasta; it’s key to creating a light, cohesive sauce.
TIP: Best 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 garden-fresh heirloom tomatoes, and for obvious reasons: they tasted best. Because this dish has very few ingredients, choosing the highest-quality, 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 juicier tomatoes don’t need as much, or any, pasta water added to make the sauce.
How to Make Fresh Tomato Pasta
- Cook the pasta: Cook your pasta according to the package directions. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta and set it aside.
- Sauté the garlic and shallot: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the grated garlic and finely minced shallot and cook for 1–2 minutes, until softened and fragrant.
- Cook the tomatoes: Add the diced tomatoes, salt, and balsamic vinegar to the skillet.
- Add the pasta: Add the drained pasta directly to the skillet with the tomatoes and toss everything together. Add any reserved pasta water, if needed, a little at a time until the tomatoes create a light sauce that coats the noodles.
- Finish with Parmesan and basil: Stir in the Parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan, fresh basil, freshly cracked black pepper, and red pepper flakes for garnish, if desired.
- Serve: Add pasta to a large bowl, and enjoy.
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.
Easy Ways to Customize Fresh Tomato Pasta
One of the best things about this recipe is how easy it is to make it your own. The basic combination of fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil, and Parmesan is delicious on its own, but there are plenty of ways to change it up depending on what you have in your kitchen.
- Add Protein: grilled chicken, shrimp, Italian sausage or ground chicken or turkey to name a few options.
- Make It Gluten-Free: Use your favorite gluten-free pasta or if gluten is no issue, then your favorite regular pasta of choice!
- Make It Gluten-Free: Simply leave out the Parmesan cheese.
- Add More Vegetables: Try adding more summer veggies: zucchini, summer squash, bell peppers, spinach, arugula, mushrooms, or other veggies of choice.
FAQ’s
Absolutely! Cherry and grape tomatoes are a great option when that’s what you have available. They tend to be naturally sweet and become incredibly juicy as they cook.
Yes, but fresh tomatoes are the star of this particular recipe.
This pasta is best served immediately because the tomatoes are at their freshest and the sauce has the best texture right after cooking.
How to Store Leftover Fresh Tomato Pasta
Store leftover pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
The pasta will absorb some of the tomato sauce as it sits, so don’t be surprised if it looks a little less saucy the next day.
How to Reheat
For the best results, reheat leftovers gently in a skillet over medium-low heat.
Add a splash of water or broth and toss frequently until warmed through. You can also add a drizzle of olive oil to loosen everything up.
Finish with fresh Parmesan and basil before serving.
I don’t recommend freezing this pasta. The fresh tomatoes and basil can change texture after freezing and thawing, and the pasta can become mushy.
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
- Fresh Tomato Sauce
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.
Husband loved it, fresh tomatoes from Jimbos San Diego really helped
I used beautiful fresh out of the garden yellow cherry tomatoes and this pasta dish turned out absolutely amazing….have already made again!
Delicious, and I made 4 X the original recipe, because I had so many fresh tomatoes.
Loved it! Made with Rana noodles.
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!
I am trying this using grape & cherry tomatoes plus some heirloom tomatoes today!
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.