I can eat sweet summer cherry tomatoes right out of the bowl like candy, but even I find myself with a surplus sometimes that needs using up. This easy burst cherry tomato sauce puts them beautifully to the task, flavoring the tomatoes simply with olive oil, garlic and basil. The result is a sweet, luscious sauce that’s amazing by itself with pasta, or delicious anywhere you need tomato sauce. So if you’re wondering what to do with extra cherry tomatoes, look no further!
To make this burst cherry tomato sauce, I employed many of the same principles used in my 30-minute fresh tomato marinara. A couple of easy tricks mean this sauce can be on the table in just about 30 minutes too:
- Use a wide, shallow pan to encourage rapid evaporation of excess liquid, so that the sauce can thicken quickly.
- Be at peace with tomato peels and seeds. Especially when it comes to delicate little grape tomatoes, you’ll hardly notice them in the end result and your prep time will be about 5 times as long if you try to remove them.
- Skip the onions, peppers, spices and other condiments and focus on cooking techniques that let the tomato and garlic flavor shine. You won’t miss those extra things and you’ll be rewarded with a rich, buttery, surprisingly complex flavored sauce.
Some burst cherry tomato sauce recipes call for leaving the cherry tomatoes whole and blistering them in the skillet until they literally burst open on their own. I take a more pragmatic approach and halve mine so that the juices can get to cooking and thickening right away, speeding up the process even further. The resultant sauce is also a little “saucier” this way which makes it more versatile for things like pizza, vegan lasagna, et al. instead of being limited to serving it with pasta.
It’s an optional step, but when I was getting ready to use it in lasagna I took an immersion blender and pureed my cherry tomato sauce after cooking it for a smooth finish with body. This sauce is great for freezing. I’m not experienced with canning but I imagine it would work great for that too! You could also make a roasted version and just quickly hit roasted cherry tomatoes into the pan with the olive oil and garlic before using the sauce.
Simple Burst Cherry Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
For the burst cherry tomato sauce:
To make burst cherry tomato pasta:
- 12 oz dry pasta of choice
- burst cherry tomato sauce (above)
- hemp seed parmesan (optional, for serving)
- sliced fresh basil and red pepper flakes (optional, for serving)
Instructions
For the burst cherry tomato sauce:
- Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a large, wide skillet (I recommend cast iron). When warm, add the garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 45 seconds or just until the smallest bits of garlic start to slightly brown. Immediately add the halved cherry tomatoes to the skillet and stir well.
- Reduce the heat slightly. Add the whole sprigs of fresh basil to the pan along with a sprinkle of salt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until the cherry tomatoes have released their juices, softened, and the sauce has thickened such that it's beginning to cling to the pan. Remove from the heat, remove the basil sprigs, salt to taste, and serve or store.
To make simple burst cherry tomato pasta:
- While cooking the tomato sauce, cook the dry pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Drain and do not rinse the pasta, reserving 2 tablespoons of cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the pan with the warm sauce along with the reserved cooking liquid, and stir to combine. Cook over low heat just until everything is hot and the sauce clings to the pasta.
- Serve with fresh basil, red pepper flakes and hemp seed parmesan if desired.
Nutrition
Burst cherry tomato sauce serving suggestions (the photos are links):
Vegan Pizza-Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Vegan Meatballs
I'm Shannon, the writer and photographer of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. My mission is to create healthy plant-based recipes that anyone would enjoy, using seasonal produce with inspiration from global flavors.
Michelle says
Wow! This was so delicious! Again, as others mentioned, considering how few ingredients, I didn’t expect that result, but it is so, so good! I have actually made this a half dozen times in the last couple of months and thought it was time to leave a review. This recipe truly doesn’t need anything else, so simple but yet it tastes totally decadent. I have used either cherry or grape tomatoes with great results. Thank you Shannon for the recipe!!
Beth Shannon says
Quick and easy sauce for my pasta meal tonight and nothing goes to waste! It smells delicious!
Thanks!
Rita Cantrell says
Oh my! Sooooooo delicious! We’re not vegetarians but following a more Mediterranean-style diet and eating less meat. I had way too many grape tomatoes left over and found your recipe. Followed your advice about the skillet, ingredient and instructions. However, I didn’t have any fresh Basil so I substituted couple of tablespoons of basil pesto! I did add a bit of crushed, dried basil. This sauce was yummy! Added myself to your following. BTW – I suggest buying (or making) your favorite pesto and freezing in 3-4 tablespoon servings. That way you always have “basil” on hand or a quick pasta sauce!
Ritas Lame says
You don’t need to be vegan* to eat vegan food. Why even mention that you eat meat? Trying to feel cool that you “eat less”?
Dee K says
Totally unnecessary comment Ritas Lame.
Nicole says
What a sad unhappy life you must live to nitpick one little contextual part of another person’s review. I found Rita’s review to be helpful and it ultimately led me to save this recipe to my “to try” list.
Julie says
The “sweet and buttery” description is spot on! I used grape and Roma tomatoes, and followed the recipe to a T. I added andouille sausage and served with fresh mozzarella and basil on top. So, so good!
Robert Orenstein says
I had a zillion cherry tomatoes and searched for a recipe. This one looked delicious and simple, and it was. Thank you
Martha says
This sauce is simple, but so amazing. I definitely thought I wouldn’t have to add more spices, but the fresh tomatoes shine in this recipe and you don’t need anything else. So impressed!
Debbie Morgan says
this is such an easy fresh summer dish, I make it often, makin now!!! the cherry tomatoes are good year round, and with lots of garlic and orrecchietti , parma cheese and crusty bread it will be great!! Sometimes I use angle hair pasta, different experience, but also tasty!
Steve says
When I first read this recipe I thought with only 5 ingredients I’d be doctoring it with some other spices, but man was I wrong. The simmered tomatoes created so much depth that I didn’t find myself wanting anything more to take away from the simple flavors. I added this as a layer in my lasagna as well as into a basic pasta, delicious in both applications.
Brita says
I was looking for something easy with cherry tomatoes and this was a total hit! I was planning to have it with vegan meatballs and nooch but (I know this is odd) I did a 180 and served this sauce with brown rice. It has a savory delicious flavor. I’m not sure when I will have a cherry tomato surplus again but I will definitely make this when I do!