Weeknight Blistered Cherry Tomato Pasta
Two pints of cherry tomatoes cooked in garlicky olive oil until they burst into a sweet, creamy sauce, tossed with pasta, fresh basil and Parmesan while the pasta boils in a skillet: about 25 minutes, start to finish.
This is the site's weeknight answer to the long-simmered red sauces in this hub. It uses the same tricks as Spaghetti alla Puttanesca, a sauce that cooks in the time the pasta boils and pasta cooked in a skillet with very little water, but asks for nothing more than garlic, oil, cherry tomatoes and basil. J. Kenji López-Alt's Serious Eats recipe promises a fresh tomato sauce in about 10 minutes of simmering, and it works year-round because cherry tomatoes are reliably sweet even out of season.
There is no old story here, and we do not invent one. The point is the method: cooking cherry tomatoes slowly in olive oil until they burst and their juices emulsify with the oil gives a sauce that tastes fresh and creamy at once, with no cream.
Why it works the kitchen science
Burst, then cook down
Once the tomatoes split, their juices simmer with the olive oil into an emulsified, creamy sauce, so there is nothing to blend or strain.
Pasta in a skillet
Little water means starchy cooking water, which helps the sauce cling and thicken in the final toss.
Step by step
- Step 1
Put the pasta in a large skillet or saute pan, cover it with water and add a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring now and then, and cook until 1 minute short of the package time.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, cook the garlic in 4 tbsp oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring often, about 3 minutes, until soft but not browned.
- Step 3
Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, about 10 minutes, until they start to burst. Press on them with the back of a wooden spoon to help them along.
- Step 4
Keep cooking about 5 minutes more, until the sauce is rich and creamy. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper.
- Step 5
Drain the pasta, keeping 1 cup of the water. Add the pasta to the sauce, turn the heat to medium-high and toss constantly 1 to 2 minutes, adding pasta water as needed, until the sauce flows creamily around the pasta.
- Step 6
Off the heat, stir in the last 2 tbsp oil and grate in plenty of Parmesan. Serve right away with more cheese.
Weeknight Blistered Cherry Tomato Pasta
Serves 6 · 6 plates · 25 min total
Pasta
- 1 lb dried pasta (spaghetti, linguine or a short shape)
- Kosher salt
Sauce
- 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 lb cherry tomatoes (about 2 pints)
- 1 oz fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Parmesan, for grating
Method
- Put the pasta in a large skillet or saute pan, cover it with water and add a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring now and then, and cook until 1 minute short of the package time.
- Meanwhile, cook the garlic in 4 tbsp oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring often, about 3 minutes, until soft but not browned.
- Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, about 10 minutes, until they start to burst. Press on them with the back of a wooden spoon to help them along.
- Keep cooking about 5 minutes more, until the sauce is rich and creamy. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper.
- Drain the pasta, keeping 1 cup of the water. Add the pasta to the sauce, turn the heat to medium-high and toss constantly 1 to 2 minutes, adding pasta water as needed, until the sauce flows creamily around the pasta.
- Off the heat, stir in the last 2 tbsp oil and grate in plenty of Parmesan. Serve right away with more cheese.
Adapted from J. Kenji López-Alt, "Fast and Easy Pasta With Blistered Cherry Tomato Sauce," Serious Eats (published August 29, 2016, updated September 19, 2025), serves 6. We follow it as written: 1 lb pasta boiled in a skillet with just enough water to cover until 1 minute short of the package time; 4 sliced garlic cloves in 4 tbsp oil about 3 minutes; 1 1/2 lb cherry tomatoes cooked about 10 minutes until bursting and about 5 minutes more; 1 oz basil; 1 cup pasta water reserved; 2 more tbsp oil and Parmesan to finish. The 1 to 2 minutes of tossing is ours. Serious Eats. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (1)
Tips
- Mix colors of cherry or grape tomatoes for a prettier plate.
- Slice the garlic, do not press it, so it softens without burning.
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes with the garlic if you like heat.
- Leftovers reheat well with a splash of water.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- You need canned San Marzanos for a good sauce. Folklore: this sauce uses fresh cherry tomatoes only.
- Cook pasta in lots of water. Disputed: Serious Eats cooks pasta in a skillet with just enough water to cover, for starchier water; the traditional advice is a large pot.
- A tomato sauce must simmer for hours. Folklore: this one cooks about 15 minutes.
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