• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy

Wife Mama Foodie

Making Healthy Taste Good

September 5, 2018

Fresh Tomato and Basil Pasta

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

This simple and fresh tomato and basil pasta is ready in under 30 minutes and only has a handful of ingredients! It’s the perfect dish for any night of the week and can easily be customized to include a protein of your choice. Vegan friendly with a gluten-free option.


If there’s one thing I love about visiting Italy, it’s definitely the food. The sights are pretty amazing too, I mean Italy is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, but the food is truly incredible. It’s also nothing like the Italian food that’s popular here in America. (I couldn’t find fettuccine alfredo to save my life!) In Italy, many of the dishes are very simple, with few, but fresh, ingredients—and lots of flavor like this simple tomato and basil pasta!

Now that we’re back home, we’re making pizza and pasta regularly, wishing we were still walking the cobblestone streets of Italy. This dish is one of the most simplest pasta dishes you could make, even for busy weekdays. It’s ready in under 30 minutes, less time than a pre-packaged frozen lasagna would take, and only has a few, fresh ingredients. If you eat meat, add some grilled chicken or shrimp, or serve with crusty bread and a side salad to make it a complete meal. My family likes to top theirs with some grated parmesan too, but that’s totally optional. To me it’s perfect as is.

An essential step to ensure your pasta isn’t bland, is to generously salt the cooking water, although the amount of salt to add varies from person to person. You may have heard it said that pasta water should “taste like the sea”, which unless you take regular trips to the ocean and have a habit of tasting the water, what exactly does that mean?

At the risk of getting over zealous with the salt and having inedible pasta, I find that a few generous pinches of salt added to the pot of boiling water is sufficient.

I may have left a part of my heart back in Europe, but making the foods I enjoyed there brings a deluge of the happy memories made with my family. Memories I’ll have forever…which shall do until I’m back there again.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Fresh Tomato and Basil Pasta


  • Author: Joscelyn Abreu
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

This simple pasta is ready in under 30 minutes and only has a handful of ingredients! It’s the perfect dish for any night of the week and can easily be customized to include a protein of your choice. Vegan friendly with a gluten-free option. Recipe can easily be doubled to serve more people.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 8–10 ounces thin spaghetti or other pasta of choice (use gluten-free pasta, if needed)
  • 1/4 cup olive or avocado oil
  • 2 pints cherry tomatoes, I cut the larger ones in half
  • 3–4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup basil, chopped or thinly sliced
  • grated parmesan, optional

Instructions

Cook the Noodles:

  1. Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil. Cook noodles just shy of al dente, a minute or two less than package instructions; they will cook more in the pan. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water from the pot and drain the noodles when done.

To Make the Sauce:

  1. While the noodles are cooking, begin making the sauce. In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and stir around for a bit to cook, then add tomatoes. Cook together until tomatoes soften, about 4–5 minutes, pressing on a few of the tomatoes to release their juices and thicken the sauce. Careful not to cook over heat too high or the garlic can burn and add a bitter taste to the dish. Remove pan from heat until ready to add the cooked noodles.

Finishing the Dish:

  1. Place the pan of cooked tomatoes back over medium-high heat and add the hot noodles to the pan, along with the chopped basil. Toss to coat, adding the reserved pasta water as needed to bring the sauce together. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Top with freshly grated parmesan, if desired. Serves 3–4
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Category: Entree, Vegan, Vegetarian

Did you make this recipe?

tag @wifemamafoodie on Instagram and hashtag it #wifemamafoodie

You may also enjoy these similar recipes:

Spicy Tomato and Kale Linguine

Spicy Tomato and Kale Linguine | Vegan Friendly with Gluten Free Alternative

Lemon Garlic Zucchini Noodles with Roasted Cauliflower

Lemon Garlic Zucchini Noodles with Roasted Cauliflower | Paleo and Vegan Friendly

Heirloom Tomato Pizza

Heirloom Tomato Pizza | Includes Gluten-Free Option

Filed Under: All Recipes Tagged With: Basil, cherry tomatoes, Dairy Free, Easy, easy dinner, fresh tomatoes, Garlic, Gluten-Free, Italian, italy, meatless, Pasta, Quick, simple, spaghetti, Summer, under 30 minute meal, Vegan, Vegetarian

Previous Post: « Chunky Monkey Breakfast Cookies
Next Post: Simple Strawberry Shortcake Cake »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. oyibo says

    September 7, 2018 at 4:11 am

    This is so appetizing, salivating right now.. Haven’t tried something like this before but I will give this a try, Hope it tastes as good as it looks.

    Reply
  2. Toni | This Mama says

    September 7, 2018 at 3:42 am

    This looks amazing, I found myself nodding when I read about adding prawns too, I would love that

    Reply
  3. Laura | Tutti Dolci says

    September 6, 2018 at 11:34 pm

    I love this flavorful pasta, such a perfect weeknight dinner idea!

    Reply
  4. Nikki says

    September 6, 2018 at 2:20 pm

    This recipe Both looks and sounds delicious I’ve been looking for more tomato-based recipes so I think I’ll give this one a try!

    Reply
  5. mary says

    September 6, 2018 at 1:12 pm

    Oh my god this looks amazing! I need to try this! Yum!

    Reply
  6. Vidya Tiru says

    September 6, 2018 at 12:28 am

    totally agree with Dani.. your pictures are droolworthy indeed.. loving all these recipes on the page

    Reply
  7. Jessica says

    September 5, 2018 at 8:08 pm

    This looks amazing! I will definitely have to try 🙂

    Reply
  8. Dani says

    September 5, 2018 at 7:43 pm

    Your pictures are so beautiful and looks yummy. I like how it also is pretty easy and quick for someone like me who doesn’t have loads of time to cook.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Primary Sidebar

Hello! My name is Joscelyn and I love to share recipes that are healthy and delicious. Many of them are also free of dairy, gluten, and refined sugar! Pick out a recipe and let's get cooking! Read More…

Search

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Posts may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and purchase an item, I may receive a small commission on your purchase. It doesn’t affect the cost of the product at all and gives me the ability to pay for and maintain this blog. I never link to products I wouldn’t use myself. Thank you so much for your support!

Copyright © 2022 ·wifemamafoodie.com