Pesto Pasta With Tomatoes (4 Ingredients!)

For a quick and tasty weeknight dinner, you can't go past my recipe for Pesto Pasta With Tomatoes. This is one of my go-to dishes when I'm home by myself and I want something fast and tasty but without much fuss. I'm talking 15 minutes (or less!) start to finish!

For my pesto pasta with tomatoes, I use penne pasta along with cherry tomatoes to create a simple pan sauce then coat everything in one of my other go-to faves - basil pesto. 

Why you will love pesto pasta with tomatoes

• 4 ingredients
• 15 minutes (or less!)
• a great vegetarian option
• can be served hot or cold

What you will need to make pesto pasta with tomatoes

• cherry tomatoes - or any other kind of baby/mini tomato such as mini roma tomatoes or grape tomatoes
• pasta - I used penne
• pasta cooking water (see my top tips)
• basil pesto
• olive oil

*Please see the recipe card below for exact quantities and detailed instructions

Step by step photos

1. Place pasta on to boil, meanwhile pan fry cherry tomatoes until they start to break down.
2. Add some of the pasta cooking water to the pan to create a sauce.
3. Add cooked pasta to pan with cooked tomatoes.
4. Remove pasta and tomatoes from the heat and stir through basil pesto.

Top tips

• Pasta cooking water - this is the starchy water that is left after you have finished cooking your pasta. I have included it in the ingredients as an extra reminder not to just drain it off and discard it.
• Aim to start frying off the tomatoes when the pasta has a few minutes to go in it's cooking time. They won't take long!
• As the chopped cherry tomatoes break down, the juice that comes out starts to create a brown (not black) base in the bottom of the pan, this is what we want! In French, this is known as "fond" and that's where the flavour is at! When you add your pasta water to the hot pan it is going to "deglaze" the bottom of the pan (get up all that yummy fond) and become the base of our sauce.
• Speaking of sauce, this isn't a really saucy pasta. But the sauce you do get is packed with concentrated tomato flavour and the freshness of basil and garlic. When you add the pasta cooking water to the pan you should have just enough sauce to coat the pasta.
• I highly recommend making your own basil pesto for this pesto pasta recipe. You can't beat the fresh flavour hit from homemade pesto in any recipe, but the pesto is the star of this pasta so the more flavour it has the better.

Variations and serving suggestions

• I like add plenty of fresh parmesan cheese when I serve this pesto pasta with tomatoes.
• Don't have penne? You could use another kind of pasta.
• You could substitute another kind of pesto for a different taste such as rocket (arugula) pesto, sun-dried tomato pesto or pesto calabrese.

Do you put pesto on pasta before or after cooking?

Pesto is best added to your pasta after it's finished cooking - just before serving. This helps it keep that fresh taste that pesto is known for, as the heat from cooking takes away that freshness.

Other recipes you may enjoy

Pesto Flavoured Butter - all the flavours of basil pesto in a super easy compound butter. Perfect for your next salmon fillet or loaf of garlic bread.

Pesto Baked Salmon Fillets - fresh salmon fillets, topped with basil pesto, parmesan and panko crumbs then oven-baked. Dinner in 20 minutes!

Pesto Chicken En Croute - chicken breasts with mozzarella, tomato and basil pesto then topped with puff pastry strips and oven baked.

Lee-Ann ♥

📖 Recipe

Quick Pesto Pasta With Cherry Tomatoes (4 Ingredients!)

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Pesto Pasta With Tomatoes is a quick dish of penne pasta and cherry tomatoes with a basil pesto and pasta water sauce for a fast and fresh pasta.

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Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Serving: 4

Calories: 257kcal

Author: Lee-Ann Grace

Ingredients

MetricUS customary

• 375 g penne pasta
• 500 g cherry tomatoes quartered
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoon basil pesto
• pasta cooking water
• fresh parmesan to serve

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to package directions, but don't drain immediately.
  375 g penne pasta
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat then add cherry tomatoes.
  2 tablespoon olive oil

  500 g cherry tomatoes
• Fry tomatoes until they start to break down, allowing their juices to release and brown (not burn) in the base of the pan.
• While the pan is still on the heat, add ½ cup (or more if needed) of the pasta cooking water to the pan with tomatoes to deglaze the base - it will sizzle a little.
  pasta cooking water
• Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked pasta from the pot (don't drain the water) and add it to the tomatoes, stirring to coat.
• Transfer pasta to a mixing bowl or serving bowl, then stir in basil pesto to coat. Add a little more pasta water to loosen if needed.
  4 tablespoon basil pesto

  pasta cooking water
• Serve with fresh parmesan cheese.
  fresh parmesan to serve

Notes

• Pasta cooking water - this is the starchy water that is left after you have finished cooking your pasta. I have included it in the ingredients as an extra reminder not to just drain it off and discard it.
• Aim to start frying off the tomatoes when the pasta has a few minutes to go in it's cooking time. They won't take long!
• As the chopped cherry tomatoes break down, the juice that comes out starts to create a brown (not black) base in the bottom of the pan, this is what we want! In French, this is known as "fond" and that's where the flavour is at! When you add your pasta water to the hot pan it is going to "deglaze" the bottom of the pan (get up all that yummy fond) and become the base of our sauce.
• Speaking of sauce, this isn't a really saucy pasta. But the sauce you do get is packed with concentrated tomato flavour and the freshness of basil and garlic. When you add the pasta cooking water to the pan you should have just enough sauce to coat the pasta.
• I highly recommend making your own basil pesto for this pesto pasta recipe. You can't beat the fresh flavour hit from homemade pesto in any recipe, but the pesto is the star of this pasta so the more flavour it has the better.

*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*

Nutrition Facts

Quick Pesto Pasta With Cherry Tomatoes (4 Ingredients!)

Amount Per Serving (0 g)

Calories 257

% Daily Value*

Fat 0g0%

Saturated Fat 0g0%

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0g

Monounsaturated Fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg0%

Sodium 0mg0%

Potassium 0mg0%

Carbohydrates 0g0%

Fiber 0g0%

Sugar 0g0%

Protein 0g0%

Vitamin A 0IU0%

Vitamin C 0mg0%

Calcium 0mg0%

Iron 0mg0%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.