I love the simplicity of this dish. I started making Pasta with Marinated Cherry Tomatoes sometime last summer and it soon became a family favorite. Now, I see myself making this pasta dish for dinner every time we get a large box of cherry tomatoes! Sweet Cherry tomatoes are marinated in garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and then tossed with warm pasta. Chiffonade of basil and grated parmesan round up the dish.

There are so few ingredients in this dish, so it is very important to use good quality ingredients. There is no point in making this dish, if your cherry tomatoes are not sweet and juicy.

A few things to keep in mind when making Pasta with marinated Cherry Tomatoes:

Marinate the cherry tomatoes at least 1-2 hours prior to tossing it with the pasta. Leave it covered at room temperature. Adding salt to the tomatoes helps release its juices and will create a nice sauce for the pasta.

Use any shape pasta that you like and cook it al dente according to package directions. My preferred pasta shapes for this dish are farfalle (bowtie) or spaghetti.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and immediately toss it with the marinated tomatoes and continue with the remaining steps in the recipe.

Add freshly grated or good quality pre-grated parmesan to the pasta. It integrates better than shaved parmesan and provides much more flavor to the dish.

To kick up the flavors a notch, you can add 2 tablespoons of pesto when mixing everything at the end.

To make this dish gluten free use gluten free pasta and to make it vegan, use vegan parmesan.

You can serve this dish warm or at room temperature.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Re-heat the leftovers in the microwave.

Alternative Pasta cooking method in the Instant Pot:

I have written this recipe for stove top pasta cooking method, the traditional way. But my preferred method of cooking pasta these days is in the Instant Pot. Cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is easy and hands-off. I will provide those directions here in case someone would like to use it.

Add the box of pasta to the Instant Pot insert. Break the pasta in half, if you are using long pasta shape like spaghetti. Cover the pasta with water until all the pasta in just submerged. Add salt, stir and lock the lid of the Instant Pot. Ensure that the valve is on sealing.

Manual cook it for half the time that is indicated on the pasta packaging. The rule of thumb that I follow is to halve the cooking time that is on the pasta packaging. If it’s an odd number like 11, you can round it up to 6 minutes of cooking time. The Instant pot will beep when the cooking process is over. Do a quick release and let all the steam escape. This may take 5-6 minutes. Once you can safely open the lid, open and give the pasta a stir. If there is any extra liquid, drain the pasta and continue with the recipe as in the recipe card below.

How I like to serve Pasta with marinated Cherry Tomatoes:

This pasta dish is best served immediately and tastes best fresh. I like to toast up some crusty bread in the oven, drizzle olive oil and rub the crusty part of the bread with some whole garlic. The garlic gets trapped in the crevices of the bread and tastes amazing. I like to sop up the tomato juices in the pasta with the garlicy bread.

I hope you try this recipe and if you like quick and easy dinners for the family, try these other family favorites:

Truffle Mushroom Risotto (Instant Pot)

Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry