A 10 minute insanely delicious balsamic cherry tomato pasta with butter and garlic for a quick weeknight pasta! Balsamic and butter are a match made in heaven and are heightened with sweet bursting cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. A summery pasta dish that comes together in the time it takes to cook your pasta
Balsamic Cherry Tomato Pasta
Hi! I am SO excited to be writing up the recipe for this super quick balsamic cherry tomato pasta. It is seriously so delicious and I KNOW you'll love it. What's not to love?! It has everything, butter, sweet bursting cherry tomatoes, tangy balsamic, garlic and fresh basil. Pretty much the perfect pasta combination right there.
It's a great recipe for the hot summer months as it takes advantage of tomatoes at their peak and it doesn't involve much time in the kitchen. Pop your pasta on to boil, open a crisp bottle of wine and you'll be twirling the pasta in 10 minutes!
Ingredients
- Butter - I mostly use unsalted butter when cooking so I can control the seasoning but I actually use salted here. Use whatever you have on hand.
- Garlic - Use fresh cloves if you can, I really can't stand jarred minced garlic!
- Balsamic glaze - So this is different to balsamic vinegar. It is a really thick sticky consistency and is readily available at supermarkets. You could use balsamic vinegar too but the sauce won't be as thick or sweet.
- Cherry tomatoes - sweet perfect little tomatoes that are SO perfect with balsamic and butter. I make a little cut in half of the amount of tomatoes and squeeze the seeds out, totally optional!
- Basil - Fresh leaves that are torn at the last minute and tossed through the finished dish. Keep some aside to top the dish with too.
- OPTIONAL - I added a ball of burrata to the top because why the hell not right?!
What is balsamic glaze?
Balsamic glaze is essentially a reduced down version of balsamic vinegar with sweetness added. It's really thick and sticky and I actually love drizzling it over other pasta dishes like my Roast Pumpkin Agnolotti. I can find it at my local supermarket really easily, it's not really a specialty ingredient. Try and find it but if you can't you can actually make your own really easily by reducing down balsamic vinegar with some honey.
What pasta shape is best?
I love using a long shape with this recipe, I feel like it suits to twirl this sauce! But, you know me, I don't like any kind of pasta rule so please use whatever you like! if you feel like making some pasta, make sure you use my easy homemade pasta dough recipe. It's fool proof! You could cut it into some simple homemade pappardelle, which would be PERFECT with this sauce. I love hand rolled shapes made from a semolina pasta dough and my homemade orecchiette or hand rolled gnocchi sardi would also be delish.
How to make balsamic cherry tomato pasta
- Get your pasta cooking in a pot of well salted boiling water.
- When your pasta has about 6 mins left, get the sauce going.
- Melt the butter over medium heat and when just starting to sizzle, add the garlic.
- Add the balsamic glaze and give it a good mix.
- Add the tomatoes in and let them gently cook for 3 - 4 mins, giving the pan a good toss every now and then.
- Add ¼ cup of pasta water and mix. I like to shove the tomatoes to the edges of the pan so i can give the liquid a really good whisk to emulsify.
- Add the cooked pasta straight in and toss.
- Add the torn basil in and serve! Deeeelish!
Tips for this dish
- I squeeze the seeds out of half of the amount of tomatoes. Just so you dont end up with heaps of watery tomato bits diluting the sauce. Totally optional. I just make a small cut into the side then squeeze, be careful it can fire out quickly!
- It will look like the butter and balsamic don't want to mix together but when you ad the pasta water it will all come together, don't worry!
- I typically use tongs or a spider strainer (depending on the pasta shape) to transfer the pasta straight into the sauce. That means the pasta water is sitting right there in the pot for me to use as I need. If you use a colander to drain your pasta don't forget to reserve a mug of the pasta water before!
- Heat your plates! This is such a simple trick but vital for pasta. Pasta can get cold really quickly so I always heat my plates. I usually stack up my bowls or plates in my oven on a low temp while I am cooking.
Why pasta water is your best friend!
You'll hear me harp on about the magic that is pasta water in 99% of my recipes. It really is a key ingredient in every sauce I make. The starch left behind in the water acts as a thickening agent and helps sauces cling to the pasta. I couldn't make a sauce without it.
I never EVER drain my pasta in a colander, I always transfer it directly to the sauce using a spider strainer. That way the pasta pot full of water is left there for you to ladle in as you need. if you have seen my reels on instagram you'll notice my sauces are SAUCY.
Pasta soaks up liquid so quickly so I add enough pasta water to make it quite liquidy. By the time I serve into bowls and take to the table it hasn't dried up. You'll get to know what the right consistency is with some practice, you can't go wrong though I promise!
Why do I weigh my pasta?
I like accuracy OK?! It might seem an over the top step but isn't guessing how much pasta to boil kind of stressful? With weighing out your portions it means you'll get the perfect pasta to sauce ratio and that makes me happy always. Why do I give weights for fresh and dry pasta? Simple! Dried pasta, being dry, will expand and take on water so you need less of it to start.
Fresh pasta already has liquid in it, be it fresh eggs or water so you ned slightly more of it as it won't change much in weight like dried pasta will. Most people do 100g dried per person or 150g fresh per person. I sometimes do more like 110g dried per person, we all know I love big portions.
Balsamic Cherry Tomato Pasta: FAQs
Yes! You definitely can, you might need to add a tsp of sugar or honey to add a bit of sweetness and your sauce will be a touch thinner.
A great idea if you are in winter. You won't need to cook them for as canned tomatoes are already so soft. Try and use fresh if you can!
If you have leftovers I am low key judging you! I reeeaaallly don't like putting pasta in the fridge, it dries up and just isn't the same. Just eat it OK?!
Want some other tomato based sauces to try?
I have lots of recipes for all kinds of sauces as well as pasta making techniques. Check out these delicious tomato recipes.
Made this pasta sauce and loved it?
I would love it so much if you could leave me a review below! Also, if you take a photo make sure you tag me on instagram so I can see it!
PrintRecipe
Balsamic Cherry Tomato Pasta
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 people
Description
A 10 minute insanely delicious balsamic cherry tomato pasta with butter, garlic and fresh basil for a quick weeknight pasta!
Ingredients
- Pasta, 220g dried or 300g fresh
- 70g butter
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp balsamic glaze
- 400g cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves, torn (reserve a few for serving)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Parmesan to serve
Instructions
-
- Get your pasta cooking in a pot of well salted boiling water.
- When your pasta has about 6 mins left, get the sauce going.
- Melt the butter over medium heat and when just starting to sizzle, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or so.
- Add the balsamic glaze and give it a good mix.
- Add the tomatoes in and let them gently cook for 3 - 4 mins, giving the pan a good toss every now and then.
- Add ¼ cup of pasta water and mix. I like to shove the tomatoes to the edges of the pan so I can give the liquid a really good whisk to emulsify.
- Add the cooked pasta straight in and toss. Check for seasoning, add a pinch of salt if needed.
- Add the torn basil in, toss and serve with freshly grated parmesan and some more fresh basil leaves on top.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
Christine says
I knew as soon as I saw this on your Instagram that I had to make it this week. Finally got some balsamic last night so tonight was the night! This recipe did not disappoint. Creamy, tangy, fresh & delicious. And so quick and simple to throw together. It will definitely be going on regular rotation. Thanks so much!!!
Emilie Pullar says
Hi Christine! Thanks so much for making it! So glad you enjoyed, it's one of our faves at home 🙂
Maddy says
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. the burrata is a must! 🙂
Emilie Pullar says
Hi Maddy! Thanks so much for making! The burrata really isn't optional haha
Manuela says
This is the go to in a rush dinner and oh so comforting
Connie O’Conor says
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious. The instructions were clear and the tips so helpful (squeezing the tomato seeds out of half of them was something I would never have thought of). I’m not a confident cook but your recipes look so inviting and are so carefully thought out. It makes what must have been a long testing and perfecting process look easy. The sauce was delicious and silky and my partner loved it. Already excited to make the creamy leek pasta next. Thank you!
Emilie Pullar says
Hi Connie, thanks so much for making and so glad you loved it!! 🙂