Garden Summer Pasta

garden-summer-pasta

Head out to your garden or the farmers market and grab everything you need for this garden summer pasta! It’s made with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and a little bit of ricotta to make it perfectly creamy and delicious!

We love summer pasta recipes here on Fit Foodie Finds. Say hello to this capresse chicken pasta and this healthy BLT pasta! You can’t go wrong with any of these healthy pasta recipes!

Simple Summer Pasta

Summer pastas are the perfect summer meal for anyone! Need a quick week night meal? Summer pasta. Need to feed a crowd? Double or triple this summer pasta recipe and you have an easy and delicious meal for a party.

This garden summer pasta recipe is one of our favorites because you can walk right out to your garden to pick fresh tomatoes and basil. If you don’t have a garden this is a great recipe for a farmers market run!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Not only is this summer pasta delicious, but it has a pretty simple list of ingredients! Here is everything you’ll need to make this yummy dish!

  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Garlic
  • Olive Oil
  • Red Wine
  • Ricotta
  • Balsamic
  • Butter
  • Pasta
  • Salt + Pepper
  • Fresh Basil
  • Grated Parmesan

pro tip

Don’t have cherry tomatoes? You can chop up large tomatoes and use them instead! Chop up about 2 cups of large tomatoes .

The only difference is your chopping up large tomatoes rather than leaving them whole like the cherry tomatoes.

Easy Tomato Sauce Recipe

When it comes to tomato sauce recipes, there are so many directions you can take. We have a delicious homemade marinara sauce recipe or you can use one of your favorite marinara sauce recipes (we are loving Rao’s sauce right now!).

This easy tomato sauce is actually one of our favorites sauces! Why? Because it’s so easy to make and it tastes so fresh and delicious with little effort!

All you have to do is sauté your tomatoes in olive oil, garlic, balsamic, and wine. Let them cook down for about 15 minutes (or until the tomatoes burst and start to break down into a sauce).

After that, all that’s left is adding in a little butter and ricotta for creamy richness! It’s seriously amazing!

Tips and Tricks

This summer pasta is quite easy to make! Here are a few tips + tricks to make it extra easy-peasy.

  1. Don’t overcook your tomatoes. One thing to watch out for is that you don’t over cook your tomatoes. Once the tomatoes burst and release their juices, there is a fine line between when the tomatoes pop and when the skins will start to get hard and crispy.
  2. Add a little lemon juice at the end. If you want to brighten up this pasta, a squeeze of lemon juice right before serving adds the perfect amount of flavor.
  3. Salt always helps. If you find that something is missing when you taste this sauce try adding a little bit more salt! Sometimes we underestimate how much salt we really need!
  4. Add a little of this for thicker sauce. Do you want a thicker sauce? Add a couple tablespoons of pasta water to the sauce and let it boil and thicken for a couple of minutes! It really does add a lot!

Garden Summer Pasta Recipe

Head out to your garden or the farmers market and grab everything you need for this garden summer pasta! It’s made with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and a little bit of ricotta to make it perfectly creamy and delicious!

Prep: 10 minutesCook: 20 minutesTotal: 30 minutes

Fat 19 Carbs 48 Protein 10

Yield 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

  • 8 oz. angel hair pasta 
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
  • 14 oz. cherry tomatoes, whole
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup red wine
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
  • 3 tablespoons butter, unsalted
  • toppings: shredded parmesan cheese and fresh basil

Instructions

  1. First, prepare the noodles by bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt. 
  2. When the water is boiling add noodles and cook until the noodles are al dente. 
  3. Next, drain the water from the noodles and set aside. 
  4. Prepare the pasta sauce by heating a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add olive oil. 
  5. When olive oil is fragrant add the garlic to the olive oil and let it cook for about a minute. 
  6. Add the cherry tomatoes to the olive oil and garlic and season with salt and pepper. 
  7. Turn heat to medium, cover the tomatoes, and let them cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
  8. Uncover the tomatoes and add the red wine and balsamic vinegar to the pan. Stir and let the tomatoes simmer in the liquid for 8-10 more minutes or until the tomatoes burst. 
  9. After the tomatoes have burst and the sauce starts to thicken* add the ricotta cheese and butter to the sauce. Stir until the ricotta and cheese dissolve into the sauce. 
  10. Simmer the sauce for an additional two minutes and remove from heat. 
  11. Finally, add the noodles to the sauce and mix well. 
  12. Serve with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. 

Tips & Notes

*You’ll know when the sauce is thick enough when you scrape the bottom of the pan and it leaves a film! 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1/4 Calories: 411 Sugar: 7 Fat: 19 Carbohydrates: 48 Fiber: 3 Protein: 10

Author: Lee FunkeCategory: DinnerMethod: Stove TopCuisine: Dinner

About Linley Richter

Linley is a 5′ nothing spitball of positive energy who joined Team Fit Foodie in the Spring of 2014. Linley has worked on the digital side of small businesses and nonprofits since 2011, where she specialized in social media community management. Lin has a passion for food and an incredible palate. She is FFF’s chief recipe developer, so you can thank her for these incredible recipes!

Reader Interactions

Garden Summer Pasta originally appeared on FitFoodieFinds.com

Leave a Reply

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

power-up-your-training-inside-and-outside-the-gym

Power Up Your Training Inside and Outside the Gym

the-olympic-gold-medal-meal-plan

The Olympic Gold Medal Meal Plan