You know those times when you need pasta, and you need it STAT? When you’re looking for an easy, cozy vegetarian dinner recipe that has carbs and garlic and a little veggie vibe going on… this recipe is the one.
This is the pasta for such times. 5 Ingredient Blistered Tomato Pasta comes in clutch when the craving hits, but time is limited, and you don’t have a lot of “extra” ingredients on hand (almost everything is already in your pantry!).
Now, you know I love simple pasta recipes. It’s definitely my go-to during the week, especially when time is limited. And there’s nothing better than orecchiette pasta, either. With a quick dinner, there’s so much more time to:
- take an evening walk (hi, Minnesota summer nights)
- binge watch The Sinner on Netflix (omg have you seen it yet. MUST. WATCH)
- go get ice cream (less dinner time, more dessert time)
- clean your closet (if you insist)
- read a book
- DO ANYTHING BESIDES HOURS OF DINNER AND DISHES!
5 Ingredient Blistered Tomato Pasta is seriously making weeknight dinners easy, and delicious. 5 ingredients you ask?! Yes! Well, not counting salt and red pepper flakes, because they’re just there, in our pantry anyway. Nothing special there. In fact, if your pantry is anything like mine, you may just need to grab the tomatoes and that’s it! Could I call this 1-Ingredient Pasta? Maybe that’s a stretch…
I love using orecchiette pasta in this recipe, it holds the simple sauce, the garlic slices, and is the same size as those little blistered cherry tomatoes. Want to use what you have? Noodles are noodles, so go ahead and mix it up!
ALSO. The simple sauce? Butter, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes (optional if you don’t want any kick), and the blistered tomatoes. Bada-bing, bada-boom. SO EASY! The butter becomes slightly browned butter, and silky with the addition of the reserved pasta sauce. Garlic slivers obviously make pasta 8426 times better, too. And the soft, creamy blistered tomatoes.
If you’re wanting a little more, add mini mozzarella balls at the last minute so they get a little melty, or toss in some chicken, shrimp, or other garden veggies.
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review in the form below. I appreciate your feedback, and it helps others, too!
Get the Recipe 5 Ingredient Blistered Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- ~2 cups dried orecchiette pasta
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- Kosher Salt, to taste
- Red Pepper Flakes, to taste (optional, recommended!)
- 1/4 to 1/2 reserved pasta water
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan filled 3/4s full with water and a liberal amount of salt, bring to a boil. Add orecchiette and cook al dente according to package times.
- Meanwhile in a large skillet, melt butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add tomatoes, stirring occasionally. As they begin to heat, they will begin to pop. You can use the back of your spoon to lightly "smash" them and let the juices create a sauce. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, add garlic slices, salt, and red pepper flakes.
- Cook for 7-8 minutes, adding reserved pasta water until desired consistency of the sauce is reached (I err on the 1/4 cup side generally). Let sauce cook for an additional 1-2 minutes and add al dente pasta. Toss together, garnish with basil or parmesan cheese as desired.
Notes
This recipe is part of our collection of 30-minute vegetarian pasta recipes – check it out!
This was so easy to make. Added shrimp. Delicious!
Ooo yummy!
Made this tonight and loved it! Super easy and quick!
Yay! So happy to hear!
So easy and delicious. I added spinach and Buffalo mozzarella pearls. The possibilities are endless. It is now a part of my regular rotation. Thanks for sharing!
Can’t ever go wrong adding mozzarella! Definitely endless possibilities with this one. Thanks so much for sharing, Amy!
I added about 1/3 cup cream instead of the pasta water and it was delicious!
Oh yum! Thanks so much for sharing, Kristi!