Cherry tomato spaghetti sauce is quick and easy to make, requiring minimal effort and resulting in a delicious homemade pasta sauce.
Right now, my garden is overflowing with cherry tomatoes, and I couldn't be happier. These little tomatoes are bursting with flavor, especially when simmered to make a homemade tomato sauce for pasta. There's no need to peel them beforehand; a blender will blend everything perfectly. If you prefer a sauce with a bit more texture, you might want to try my bolognese sauce with lentils next.
While we especially love this sauce with spaghetti, it can be used with any of your favorite types of pasta. I like to top it with vegan cashew parmesan sprinkles. Ah, who can say no to pasta?!
Key Ingredients
The complete list of ingredients with measurements, can be found in the full recipe card below.
Use the ripest cherry tomatoes you can find and slice them in halves or quarters after removing them from the stem. This helps speed up the simmering process.
To enhance the depth and flavor of the cherry tomato spaghetti sauce, simmer fresh crushed garlic cloves, finely diced onion (avoid chunks in this sauce), dried oregano, red chili flakes, salt, and black pepper with the tomatoes. Just before serving, I like to add fresh torn basil leaves to preserve the flavor.
You can use olive oil or water to sweat the onions and garlic.
The Steps
I'll visually take you through the steps for how to make cherry tomato spaghetti sauce, detailed instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté diced onion and garlic for 5 minutes until translucent.
2. Add cherry tomatoes, herbs, and spices (except basil). Simmer for 10 minutes, mashing the tomatoes as they soften.
3. Stir in water and simmer for 10–15 minutes, mashing occasionally, until the tomatoes break down.
4. Turn off the heat, add torn basil leaves, and let sit for 5 minutes. Blend the sauce until smooth and serve over pasta. Use the amount you'd like.
Janelle’s Tips
Do note that the amount of water used in this recipe has only been tested for cherry tomatoes which have less water content than larger tomatoes.
This recipe yields 3 cups of sauce.
A good rule of thumb for the sauce-to-pasta ratio is 1.5 cups of sauce for every 450g (1lb) of pasta.
Storage
After allowing the cherry tomato spaghetti sauce to cool to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container or jar and store it in the refrigerator for up to one week, or freeze it for up to three months.
Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.
Recipe
Cherry Tomato Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 small-medium Onion finely diced
- 3 cloves Garlic crushed
- 750 g Cherry tomatoes halved or quartered. This recipe has been tested only using cherry tomatoes. Please tips above.
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano flakes
- ¼ teaspoon Chili pepper flakes or to taste
- 1½ tsp Salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Cracked black pepper
- 1 cup Water
- 1 handful Fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium heat, heat some olive oil. Add the finely diced onion and garlic, and sauté until they are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Next, add the sliced cherry tomatoes along with all the herbs and spices, except for the basil. Stir well and let the tomatoes soften for 10 minutes, occasionally mashing and stirring the tomatoes with the back of your spoon as they soften.After that, stir in the water and allow the sauce to simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring and mashing occasionally. The goal is to break down the tomatoes as much as possible to make blending easier in the next step.
- Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat. Stir in the torn basil leaves and let the sauce sit for 5 minutes. Then, using an immersion blender, blend the sauce until smooth. Serve it warm over spaghetti or your favorite pasta.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
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Ed
This sauce turned out wonderful.
Tod
The timing is perfect, I have many tomatoes ro use up too. Janelle this sauce is great! Rather than slicingthe cherry tomatoes I put them whole in the pan and let them simmer a little longer. It's my laziness.