A delicious pasta dish packed with tomato garlic flavors! This quick and easy tomato garlic pasta is great on busy weeknights as it's made with minimal and simple ingredients. Fantastic for the whole family!
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My easy garlic pasta dish is simply made of juicy cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and pasta! It's made of very little ingredients in just 15 minutes or less!
This Italian dish is fantastic as a main for dinner or lunch. Despite the minimal ingredients, it is so flavorful thanks to the tomatoes and lots of garlic!
I can enjoy this repeatedly especially when we have fresh cherry tomatoes in the garden. I love to eat these noodles when I'm not craving meat.
The tomato garlic pasta sauce is very light so don't expect a heavy saucy pasta. Nevertheless, this dish is super yummy and such a crowd pleaser!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Spaghetti: or spaghettini pasta. This texture of pasta works best with a light tomato sauce. Or substitute with any long stringy pasta like fettucine or linguine.
- Cherry Tomatoes or Grape Tomatoes: I recommend either of these tomato breeds as they're sweeter than regular tomatoes.
- Fresh basil leaves: do not substitute with dried basil flakes as it won't taste the same
- Garlic cloves
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Reserved hot pasta water: this starchy noodle water creates the base for our tomato sauce so don't substitute with plain water.
Expert Tips
- Don't overcook the pasta. Only boil until it's al dente and do a taste test.
- Don't forget to reserve some of that starchy pasta water at the end of the pasta boiling process so it's extra starchy.
- This starchy water helps the sauce stick to the pasta and creates a thicker sauce.
- Let the garlic slow cook in the oil and don't raise the heat past low. If you raise it any higher it'll burn and the garlic flavors won't release into the oil.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make tomato garlic pasta:
- In a large pot of water, season it with 2 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Boil pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Near the end of the cooking process, reserve ⅓ cup of hot pasta water for sauce. Strain pasta and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large pan on low heat, add extra virgin olive oil. Add in sliced garlic and slow fry until fragrant. Once fragrant, add in the tomatoes. Season with remaining salt and black pepper. Cover with a lid and let it cook for about 3-5 minutes until tomatoes are softened and tomato juices release.
- Remove the lid and add in reserved pasta water. Toss in cooked pasta. Add chopped basil leaves and toss everything together. Remove off heat and serve immediately with more fresh basil as a garnish. Season with salt to taste if needed. Enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? This can be stored in a freezer friendly bag and frozen up to 3 months or until you see freezer burn. To reheat, defrost it and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a pan. I would recommend storing the sauce and pasta in separate bags.
Pairing Suggestions
This tomato garlic pasta serves well with:
- Starters like fresh salad with Italian dressing, Caesar salad, or antipasto salad, calamari, garlic bread, bruschetta, or Italian wedding soup
- Pizza
- Risotto
- Italian meatballs
- Chicken parmesan
- Cooked protein like sautéed buttered shrimp, chicken, or beef or grilled steak
- Sautéed or grilled vegetables like green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, bell peppers, carrots, squash, brussel sprouts, corn on the cob, and mushrooms.
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Baked Italian eggplant
FAQ
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To enjoy, reheat it in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
Sure, feel free to add sliced or ground meat, extra-firm tofu, or seafood.
📖 Recipe
Easy 15-min. Tomato Garlic Pasta
Ingredients
- 0.55 lb spaghetti pasta or spaghettini
- 9 oz cherry tomato sliced in half
- ¾ cup fresh basil roughly chopped, packed
- 6 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup reserved pasta water
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 ¼ teaspoon salt to season pasta water and to season sauce
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot of water, season it with 2 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Boil pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Near the end of the cooking process, reserve ⅓ cup of hot pasta water for sauce. Strain pasta and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large pan on low heat, add extra virgin olive oil. Add in sliced garlic and slow fry until fragrant. Once fragrant, add in the tomatoes. Season with remaining salt and black pepper. Cover with a lid and let it cook for about 3-5 minutes until tomatoes are softened and tomato juices release.
- Remove the lid and add in reserved pasta water. Toss in cooked pasta. Add chopped basil leaves and toss everything together. Remove off heat and serve immediately with more fresh basil as a garnish. Season with salt to taste if needed. Enjoy!
Anna
This was very delicious, light and tasty with flavour. I love how simple the ingredients are too.
Victoria
This looks so simple but delicious. I was just thinking the other day about making something along the same lines!
Christie
Thanks so much Victoria! I love simple recipes that pack a lot of flavour.