Roasted Tomato Pesto Pasta

Roasted Tomato Pesto Pasta is so easy to make in only 20 minutes!  Flavorful parmesan basil pesto and juicy burst roast tomatoes make this irresistible!

Let’s please keep eating all the tomatoes we possibly can stuff in our faces while they’re still in season!  I’ve always been a huge tomato lover, I snack on cherry tomatoes daily and we have our perfect Tomato Salad as a side several times a week!  Fresh tomatoes are obviously tasty, but, have you ever had roasted tomatoes?  Please tell me you have, because, they are the most amazing flavor explosion and hard to stop eating.  They go perfectly with our 5 minute homemade Pesto Recipe!  I’ve been loving and craving this for summer because it’s hearty but still light, if you want a heartier pesto dish try our Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta.

How To Make Pesto Pasta:

1. First things first, preheat your oven.  While that’s working, I like to gather all of my ingredients for the pesto, wash and dry my cherry tomatoes, and get a pot of water boiling for the spaghetti. Dump the tomatoes onto a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season them liberally with salt and pepper.  Now, they go in the oven for 20 minutes.
2. While the tomatoes roast, get your pasta cooking, and make the pesto.  For the pesto, add all of your ingredients into a food processor (or blender if that’s all you have).
3. Place the lid on your processor and pulse the pesto about 5-6 times.  Now, stream in the olive oil with the processor on low until your pesto is nice and smooth.
4. Pour the pesto into a large bowl, and add 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid from the spaghetti.
5. Add the drained spaghetti to the bowl and toss everything together with tongs to make sure the pasta is well coated.  You can add more cooking liquid if needed to thin the sauce more.
6. Now, get your roasted tomatoes out of the oven!  Scoop them on to the top of the pasta, and if desired toss them in gently with tongs.

What Pasta is Best With Pesto?

Truly you guys, I haven’t met a pasta that I didn’t like with pesto sauce!  Spaghetti is probably my go-to and favorite, mixing the sauce with some of the cooking liquid helps the pesto bind to any pasta you use.  For my chicken pesto pasta we used penne, and that would be great here as well as bow-ties, fettuccine, or rigatoni!

A quick note that if you are pressed on time, you can absolutely use your favorite store bought jarred pesto for this recipe!  Although homemade pesto comes together fast, and it’s my preference, some nights we are just busy and need what is the fastest!  As far as pesto brands, I have used Classico as well as Delallo in the past, I don’t endorse either one specifically and they both tasted just fine!

Can I Eat Pesto Pasta Cold?

YES!! Please do!  This dish is seriously forgiving, great hot, and great cold!  You can store any leftover roosted tomatoes along with the pesto pasta, or in a separate container, whatever you choose.  But yes, you can eat this cold right out of the fridge and the pasta and tomatoes are still delicious, and it also reheats nicely as well for lunch leftovers!

Enjoy!

~Nichole

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5 from 16 votes

Roasted Tomato Pesto Pasta

By Nichole

Roasted Tomato Pesto Pasta is so easy to make in only 20 minutes!  Flavorful parmesan basil pesto and juicy burst roast tomatoes make this irresistible! 

 

Prep 5 minutes mins

Cook 25 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 Cups Cherry Tomatoes
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• ▢ Salt & Pepper
• ▢ 1 Cup Homemade Pesto** or store bought jarred pesto
• ▢ 16 Ounces Spaghetti
• ▢ 1/4-1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Instructions 

FOR THE TOMATOES:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place the cherry tomatoes on a large sheet pan, drizzle with the olive oil, and toss to coat.
• Spread the tomatoes into a single layer and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
• Roast the tomatoes for 16-20 minutes until soft.

FOR THE PASTA:

• Meanwhile, Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Once the spaghetti is cooked, reserve 1 Cup of the cooking water, then drain the spaghetti.
• Add the pesto and 1/2 Cup of the cooking liquid to a large bowl, add the cooked spaghetti and toss to combine, adding more cooking water if needed.
• Top the pasta with the roasted tomatoes and parmesan cheese.
• Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

**NOTE:  You can click the link in the recipe card to get to our homemade pesto recipe.  I like to make the pesto while the tomatoes are roasting and the pasta is cooking.  ALSO NOTE that you can use 1 cup of store-bought jarred pesto if preferred.  

NOTE:  Leftovers will stay good in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

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