Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce for Pasta
Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce for Pasta is a simple and delicious recipe that will have you wanting to make your own tomato sauce from now on! Amazing roasted vegetables along with perfectly cooked pasta and some freshly grated parmesan cheese all come together to make the perfect tomato pasta recipe for your next pasta night! It’s a simple pasta dish with big flavor and it’ll make you so happy that you made homemade tomato sauce!
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This recipe is super easy and fast enough to make for a delicious easy weeknight meal. But it’s also fancy and elegant enough to serve for a dinner party or date night as well. I love when a recipe will work for all kinds of gatherings and is sure to be a hit with any crowd. The roasted tomatoes just make this sauce amazing and give it such great flavor. It’s the perfect recipe for if you have a bumper crop of tomatoes!
If you are a pasta lover like me, make sure you check out some of our other pasta recipes here on Supermom Shuffles Cooking like our viral homemade lasagna, our Quick and Easy One-Pot Rigatoni, or one of my personal favorites, One-Pot Tuscan Chicken Gnocchi Bake!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: This recipe has simple ingredients and is totally homemade. No jarred sauce here! Making your own tomato sauce from scratch is so fun and addictive! Once you have a recipe you love it’s hard to go back to the jarred sauces.
- Salvaging Vegetables: This recipe is perfect for your tomatoes, carrots or onions that have gone a little bit by the wayside in the fridge. When the veggies roast it brings them back to life and you still get all that good and amazing flavor. So, got a carton of cherry tomatoes that’s not fresh enough for salad anymore? Look no further! Roast them up and put them in this tomato sauce!
- Minimal Effort: This is a really easy pasta dish to make. While the veggies are roasting you cook the pasta and it all comes together quickly at the end of the cooking!
Ingredients
This recipe takes a handful of ingredients and it’s so easy to make. I just love it!
- Cherry Tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes are the only way to go here! And I really love this recipe with cherry tomatoes.
- Carrots: Just regular old carrots go beautifully with this sauce! They add a sweetness to the sauce and take away some of the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Yellow Onions: I like yellow onions in this dish, but feel free to use what you have on hand. White onions and red onions work just fine in this dish too.
- Parmesan Cheese: Cause… yum! But for real, this adds a nice little kick to the dish
- Garlic: I recommend garlic cloves or a jar of chopped garlic. I think fresh is better than garlic powder in this dish.
- Cream Cheese: Any cream cheese will do. I happened to have a chive and onion cream cheese and it was awesome.
- Italian Seasoning: I like to used dried Italian seasoning for this dish.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: Add a little or a lot depending on how much spice you’d like to have in the background of your tomato sauce.
- Olive Oil: I just use my regular old extra virgin olive oil that I use for everything I cook.
- Balsamic Vinegar: My balsamic vinegar isn’t the most expensive but it is a nice, aged balsamic vinegar. It is thicker and has more flavor.
- Salt: Salt the sauce to your taste as needed. I like kosher salt for most of my cooking.
- Pepper: Ground black pepper adds great flavor to this sauce.
- Pasta: I like Cavitappi-shaped pasta for this recipe. Between the curls of the pasta and the ridges on the noodles, it just holds the sauce perfectly!
Substitutions, Modifications, and Additions
There are so many different ways to modify this sauce! Let’s explore!
Substitutions
- Tomatoes: Any kind of tomato will do for this recipe, so feel free to use whatever you have on hand. I’ve made it with Roma tomatoes, grape tomatoes and just plain old regular tomatoes, too. Each kind of tomato works beautifully, but the cherry tomatoes just seem to be perfect!
- Pasta: This sauce is wonderful over chicken for a chicken parm kind of night! It doesn’t have to be served over pasta!
- Pasta Shapes: You can pick whatever shape of pasta you’d like for this sauce. I love cavitappi because lots of sauce gets trapped in the ridges and curls of the pasta! Orecchiette pasta would also be a great option for pasta shape!
- Whole Wheat Pasta: Feel free to use whatever pasta works for you. We really like whole wheat pasta! It has a nice flavor to it.
Modifications
- Gluten-Free – This sauce is gluten-free as it’s written. Always double-check your ingredients though to be safe! And just use gluten-free pasta and you are good to go!
- Dairy-Free – This dish could be made dairy-free with a few adjustments! Use a plant-based cream cheese and parmesan cheese, and make sure your pasta is dairy-free and you’ll be all set to have a dairy-free meal!
Additions
- Fresh Basil – Feel free to add fresh basil to this dish. It would be an amazing addition and would add in fresh flavor.
- Extra Cheeses! – This recipe calls for parmesan cheese. But the sky is the limit! If you’d like a stronger bite in your cheese try grated pecorino romano! Feta cheese also works beautifully with tomatoes!
Equipment
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- Cheese Grater – Quick secret? I hate grating cheese. But freshly grated cheese is SO good. And I really don’t like washing a cheese grater. HOWEVER, I have found the solution to this dilemma! I do love this cheese grater. It folds flat, comes apart and is dishwasher safe. Oxo Good Grips for the win!
- Flat Whisk – I adore this OXO Good Grips Flat Whisk. If I couldn’t have anything else in the kitchen, THIS is the gadget I’d keep. It’s the best whisk I’ve ever had and the flat part of the design is such a game-changer for making things in the pan! I could not recommend this more! This is the only brand I’ve ever had, and I’m a big fan of all the OXO products.
- Baking Sheets – These Nordic Ware natural aluminum commercial baker’s half sheets are my absolute favorite baking sheets I’ve ever owned in my cooking days! They are super heavy-duty, have a great rim around them, and they stay in great shape no matter what you cook on them. And they clean up incredibly easily as well!
- Spatula Set – This is the greatest set ever. Not only does it have several handy spatulas, it has a few tiny ones too, to help you get every single scrape out of jars and containers!
- Bamboo Spoon Set – I love to use Bamboo spoons for cooking and stirring in the kitchen! They come in so many shapes and sizes that are just perfect for every kitchen job!
Step by Step Instructions
Prep: Prep the baking sheet and line it with aluminum foil. For good measure, I like to spray the foil with cooking spray to make sure none of my veggies stick. I like a rimmed sheet pan so that there isn’t any spillage when I get the veggies in and out of the oven.
Chop: Chop up your carrot and onions into smaller pieces, not much bigger than the size of your tomatoes.
Arrange: Arrange your onions, carrots and tomatoes onto the baking sheet.
Drizzle: Drizzle the veggies with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Mix: Mix the veggies together well so oil, vinegar and seasoning gets on all of the vegetables.
Roast: Roast the vegetables at 400* for 25-30 minutes, until the edges of the tomatoes and onions are browned. Stir the veggies around about halfway through the cooking time. The veggies get all caramelized during the roasting process and they turn really sweet and it adds to the depth of flavor. It’s magic!
Boil: While the vegetables are roasting, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta according to package instructions, cooked just to al dente. I chose cavitappi pasta for this meal because it’s my favorite shape and it holds little bits and pieces of sauce all over so well. ***NOTE*** Before draining your pasta, keep a cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce.
Drain: Drain pasta and return to pot and put aside on stove until ready for sauce to be added to the pot.
Blend: Pour the vegetables into a heavy pot along with all the juices from the baking sheet. Using an immersion blender, begin blending the vegetables, adding the reserved pasta water as needed to thin out the sauce. Blend the sauce as smooth or as chunky as you’d like!
Warm: Warm the sauce on the stove to a gentle bubble.
Add: Add in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese and stir until well blended.
Pour: Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix well.
Plate: Pour the pasta onto a platter or large pasta bowl.
Shave: Place some shaved parmesan cheese on top of the pasta platter for garnish.
Serve: Serve and Enjoy!
Tips and Notes
- Timing – Make sure you get your timing right. The vegetables need to roast for about a half hour and almost as soon as they are done you blend them and then add them to the pasta and finalize and assemble the dish. I start the water to boil when I put the vegetables in the oven, and then usually the water boils and pasta has cooked right about the time the vegetables are done.
- Mix Well – Make sure you mix your sauce and pasta really well so that all the pasta gets covered with the sauce. You don’t want to miss a bite of this sauce.
- Blending – If you don’t have an immersion blender, feel free to use your regular blender or even a food processor. You’ll definitely want to add a little pasta water to get the blender started and then add more as needed.
Serving Suggestions
- Side: I like to serve this dish with a big salad! It’s the perfect accompaniment to the meal! Serve it before the pasta or alongside it!
- Bread: This pasta dish calls for a delicious garlic bread! Cheesy garlic bread is even better!
- Dessert: This pasta dish is very filling so I’d choose a light dessert like cookies or a light sorbet.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Storage
- Refrigerator – Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezer – The leftovers of this dish freeze beautifully. I like to freeze them in an aluminum foil pan and then later when I have the frozen leftovers I’ll make it a pasta bake in the oven
Reheating
- Stovetop/Oven – You can reheat this dish in the oven covered in foil if you’d like until heated through.
- Microwave – This pasta also heats up nicely in the microwave!
- From Frozen – Thaw the pasta and then bake in the oven until reheated.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Absolutely! Put some of them aside and don’t put them in with the blender when you are blending the sauce. Add the whole tomatoes back after the blending is over and you’ll have your chunky sauce!
You can! You really can’t taste them in the sauce in my opinion. It just mellows out the tomato flavor and makes the sauce a little sweeter. But feel free to omit them altogether if you want!
Wrap-Up – Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce for Pasta
I really love this Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta dish. It’s so easy to make and comes out perfect every time. Plus, it’s a pretty quick meal, too! I can’t wait to hear if you try this recipe! Let me know all the details! Until then, enjoy your cooking time, and as always, Just Keep Shuffling.
Printable Recipe Card – Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce for Pasta
Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce for Pasta
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 pasta pot
- 1 Sauce Pan
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds Cherry Tomatoes
- 2 large Carrots
- 2 medium Yellow Onions
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon Pepper or to taste
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1 cup Cream Cheese
- 1 pound Pasta
Instructions
- Prep the baking sheet and line it with aluminum foil. For good measure, I like to spray the foil with cooking spray to make sure none of my veggies stick. I like a rimmed sheet pan so that there isn't any spillage when I get the veggies in and out of the oven.
- Chop up your carrot and onions into smaller pieces, not much bigger than the size of your tomatoes.
- Arrange your onions, carrots and tomatoes onto the baking sheet.
- Drizzle the veggies with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
- Mix the veggies together well so oil, vinegar and seasoning gets on all of the vegetables.
- Roast the vegetables at 400* for 25-30 minutes, until the edges of the tomatoes and onions are browned. The veggies get all caramelized during the roasting process and they turn really sweet and it adds to the depth of flavor. It's magic!
- While the vegetables are roasting, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta according to package instructions, cooked just to al dente. I chose cavitappi pasta for this meal because it's my favorite shape and it holds little bits and pieces of sauce all over so well. ***NOTE*** Before draining your pasta, keep a cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce.
- Drain pasta and return to pot and put aside on stove until ready for sauce to be added to the pot.
- Pour the vegetables into a heavy pot along with all the juices from the baking sheet. Using an immersion blender, begin blending the vegetables, adding the reserved pasta water as needed to thin out the sauce. Blend the sauce as smooth or as chunky as you'd like!
- Warm the sauce on the stove to a gentle bubble.
- Add in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese and stir until well blended.
- Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix well.
- Pour the pasta onto a platter or large pasta bowl.
- Place some shaved parmesan cheese on top of the pasta platter for garnish.
- Serve and Enjoy!
Nutrition
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