Love tomatoes? Check out this Angel Hair Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes, this Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Basil Chicken Breast or this Creamy Tomato Rigatoni Pasta next! Tomato Basil Pasta combines fresh basil, tomatoes, garlic, and parmesan for a wonderfully comforting but healthy meal. It’s perfect for any time of year, but from late summer on, I love using the fresh tomatoes from our garden. Fresh basil leaves give this dish an unbeatable flavor, and you can use them whole or chopped. This simple recipe only takes 30 minutes to make, so it’s perfect for dinnertime on busy weeknights. It’s colorful and delicious enough to hang onto for dinner parties and special occasions too. Choosing the absolute best and freshest ingredients makes this dish a show stopper! For more 30-minute meals with pasta, check out my Orecchiette Pasta with Sausage, this One Pot Turkey Tetrazzini recipe, and my Creamy Gemelli Pasta recipe.
Ingredients Needed:
Pasta: I like using spaghetti or spaghettini pasta for this recipe. You can use penne pasta or another favorite pasta shape – any will work here since we are boiling it to al dente. Oil: I’ve used olive oil, but you can use extra virgin olive oil or canola oil to cook the tomatoes. Tomatoes: cherry or grape tomatoes work best for this pasta dish, but small Roma tomatoes will work too. Get tomatoes still on the vine if you can, or use homegrown ones! (Got extra tomatoes? Try this Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe next!) Garlic: freshly minced garlic will add a great savory flavor to this pasta. You can use garlic powder in a pinch. Butter: salted butter will help make the sauce, while also enhancing the flavors of the dish. If you have unsalted butter, you may just want to season further before serving. Seasoning: use red pepper flakes for a bit of heat and fresh basil, salt, and freshly ground black pepper to give this dish a great, fresh flavor. Cheese: use a block of Parmesan cheese that you can grate yourself rather than pre-grated cheese. Basil: tomato and basil are one of the best summer flavor pairings! Got extra? Try this Pesto Pasta recipe next.
How to Make Tomato Basil Pasta
This recipe is so simple! Full instructions are included in the recipe card below.
Tomato Basil Pasta Variations
This recipe is pretty basic, with a few good-quality but still simple ingredients. Not much here can be swapped while still calling it “tomato basil pasta,” but feel free to experiment on your own!
Herbs: obviously, my preference here is basil, but you can swap it for a good handful of other fresh herbs or a good tablespoon of basil pesto if basil is hard to find. Italian seasoning would work well too. Cheese: I love parmesan here, but another hard cheese like asiago or grana padano or crumbled feta would also be delicious. Spiciness: Add some more spice with cayenne pepper, hot sauce, or more red pepper flakes for extra heat. Tomato Sauce: You could blend the tomatoes in a food processor after cooking them. Once you add in the starchy pasta water, it’ll make a thick tomato basil sauce for the pasta. Balsamic Vinegar: Drizzle some balsamic vinegar on top of this dish to serve, or serve some in a small bowl on the table for dipping with bread.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this delicious meal on its own, or with some chicken to make it fuller, or go a bit further. Try my Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast, this Juicy Instant Pot Chicken Breast, or Creamy Garlic Chicken Breasts for more protein! Add some more nutrients to your meal with these Air Fryer Green Beans, these Green Beans with Bacon, Air Fryer Broccoli, or these Roasted Vegetables. We always have some bread on our dinner table as well. This No Knead Artisan Bread, my Homemade Crescent Rolls, and my Classic Garlic Bread would all go well.
More Delicious Pasta Recipes to Try
Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Bake
Italian Sausage Gnocchi Skillet
Green Chile Mac and Cheese
Creamy Crockpot Tortellini Soup
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