I spend a good amount of time in everybody’s way in the produce section at the grocery store. I’m known to stand and stare for a few too many minutes at the piles of gorgeous fresh tomatoes and heaps of garlic heads. I can feel everyone buzzing around me, mostly annoyed, reaching across me for a ripe avocado or an extra full basket of cherry tomatoes. It’s ok and… I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m waiting for the tomatoes to tell me what to do with them. the answer is usually (and most successfully) ROAST! Even in summer. Tomatoes are bossy and they know what they (and I) like. 
Thank you summer time vines! These tomatoes are gorgeous. Tremendous, really. I slice most in half, large and small, and place them cut side up on a rimmed roasting pan. Cut side up ensures that all the juicy tomato goodness stays in the tomato and doesn’t completely bleed onto the pan. Salt and pepper, generously. Olive oil, generously. Heat, high.
While the oven is ablaze, I wrap whole cloves of garlic, drizzled in olive oil, in parchment paper and roast until butter-soft and spreadable.
Now it’s just time to boil the pasta, pick the fresh basil, and grate the salty cheese!
The making of a good bowl of pasta is mostly instinct. The measurements need not be exact. Add olive oil, roasted tomatoes, even a squeeze of lemon as your taste dictates. Don’t let anyone be the boss of your pasta bowl.
Roasted Tomato and Garlic Pasta
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
What You’ll Need
- 4 large red tomatoes, halved
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 heads garlic, skin on and tops cut off
- sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 pound pasta, boiled and drained
- olive oil
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves, torn
- coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place tomatoes, cut side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle well with salt and pepper. Roast until tomatoes are browned and wrinkled, about 30 minutes.
- Roast the garlic heads at the same time! Place garlic, cut side up on a a large piece of parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap parchment and tie with kitchen twine. Place in a small round pan and roast with the tomatoes, about 30 minutes or until completely browned and softened.
- Boil the pasta while the tomatoes and garlic roast.
- Assembling the pasta is simple. Toss cooked pasta with tomatoes, soft garlic pressed from the head, olive oil, salt and pepper. Top with fresh basil and cheese. Enjoy!
Joy H.
I’ve gotta say, I hate leftovers. I’m a horrible person who just never eats them. However!!! I made this on a Sunday night and ended up stretching the leftovers for the entire work for my lunch at work.
For those of you considering doing the same, I’d HIGHLY recommend buying way more fresh basil than you need, and packing a little basil along with some Parm/Regg shavings in your tupperware to sprinkle on before you eat it each day. Keeps it tasting very fresh and delicious.
From one Joy to another, thanks again :)
★★★★★
plasterer bristol
That looks and sounds so yummy. :-) will have to try this. Thanks
Simon
max
Wow delicious, I loves pasta and looking for this everywhere. Finally here we go.I had to make it two times. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.
slitherio
Hey! I have recently started following you and every post of yours inspires me to make stuff on my own. Thanks a lot! It’s a great post.
Hannah Chen
Hey Joy! Or anyone who has tried this: how many servings does your recipe make? Was hoping to make this for a college dorm dinner!
Christian
Cooking this at the moment and it’s definitely taking longer than 30 minutes to roast my tomatoes … Maybe it’s my crappy dorm oven??
Chandra Meyers
Made this tonight and it was amazing! Had an abundance a fresh tomatoes from my garden and it seemed like a good idea.
thealternativeatlas
I made this dish tonight and added red pepper flakes to the tomatoes as they roasted and OH MY GOD was it amazing. I bow at your feet Joy!
Jennifer C.
Joy, I made this the other night for my family and some friends. I made it with fresh pasta and I added lemon zest and juice at the end. It was amazing and beautiful too! I’m not one to comment and tag people via social media but it was so pretty that I took a picture, posted it on Instagram and “tagged” you (I think)! I was so proud!
Aleeha
This looks so good…. i feel like i can smell it through the screen!
Aleeha from HALE, xXx
http://www.halesaaw.com
Kathy Mader
Golly, what a nice twist on traditional spaghetti and tomato sauce (Sophia Loren’s recipe is my go-to). Can’t wait to do this, it’s gorgeous!
Kelli Clutts
This looks amazing!
ski_slopes
Love it! Thanks for recipe!
nobelcho
That looks so yummy and easy to make! I just created my first blog post on serving breakfast at home, it’s a real effort to prepare and style the food for perfect photo! thanks for being an inspiration
https://nobelliving.wordpress.com/
Anne
It is a classic recipe in my house. Sometimes I add roasted red peppers and lemon zest. With hot sauce, parmiggiano and an italian rosé.
Deb
Wow, fixed this for dinner last night and it was so sweet and amazing! I followed your recipe exactly, but I can imagine working some steamed mussels in there too. Either way, I will fix this again while tomatoes are in season.
Chandler | Jersey's Free Spirit
Yum! This is definitely something I will be adding to the menu for this coming week! Sounds and look fantastic :) thanks for sharing
melissa
I made this last night for dinner and for today’s lunch and it’s so easy and gorgeous! I mashed the roasted garlic with a tiny bit of pasta water for a little extra sauciness, since I used whole wheat pasta. Super easy and totally reliable, like 100% of the JTB recipes always are!
Gerry @ Foodness Gracious
A classic dish full of amazing flavor. I want to eat this with a hunk of chewy ciabatta and a thick red Zin :)
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
I don’t roast nearly enough tomatoes! This pasta looks to die for!
Ryan @ The Feed by Round Pond
Drizzle with some lemon pepper oil! This sounds amazing and easy – love it.
Lane | Modern Granola
Mmm this looks so good! I love pasta so much, but I don’t eat it very often. I think I might need to change that :)
xx Lane
linda
So I made this last night and yum! What an easy way to make a pasta dish for one! Thank you for this inspiration.
Lauren Bell
This looks amazing! Going to give it a try this weekend :) xx
Vickie
looks amazing!
Sina
Wonderful summer dish! We had a lot of tomatoes sitting around because outside it was not hot enough to make Gazpacho… problem solved! :-) Delicious!
Trang Do
Looks Delicious!!! Can’t wait to try it!!
Xoxo,
Love from http://www.trangscorner.com {a lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and food blog}
Catalina
What an amazing dish. I can’t wait to try this when I go back to college this fall (and have my own kitchen in my apartment!). Seems so easy! Thank you so much!
Catalina // heartenest
xoxobellablog
Roasted tomato and garlic makes my mouth water. yum!
http://xoxobella.com/
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
Love, love, love the roasted tomatoes and garlic!
Dani | salt sugar and i
Looks beautiful and full of flavour. I love roasting things to intensify and bring out the best in them… yum! Definitely on the cards for when tomatoes come back into season (counting the days!). Thanks for sharing :)
cups + spoonfuls
beautiful summer dish! can’t wait to try it. thanks!
Alexe
Those tomatoes look scrumptious and I need this in my belly nowww :)
Mélodie
Ouh i’m gonna try this recipe this weekend! Thanks Joy, that looks really delicious! :)
Lori
You make me want to be the boss of my own pasta! That pasta looks amazing!
meadowandmay
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
itadakimat
Looks perfect!
millie
oh this looks delicious!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife
Just roasted our tomatoes last night. Wish I had made this pasta so go along with them!
Leslie
I love all things pasta. Truth be known i’d rather have that then my salad today! This looks so yummy! Thanks for sharing!
msashleyrenee
Woahhhh this looks amazing! I’m not a huge tomato slice person (I tolerate them diced – mainly I love their flavor and hate the texture), but I think I might like them roasted, definitely saving this one to try one of these nights!
Cady | wildheartoflife.com
These roasted tomatoes are v summer aesthetic v v make me want to reach from my screen and into your kitchen and eat with a dash of salt. Love.
Kate
how cool is that! nice pic.
italiangirlcooks
Everything good about summer tomatoes and pasta…yum!
Katelyn McPhee
This looks phenomenal!
deegullan
I love the simplicity of this dish, looks amazing too. One of my favorites is roasted garlic with tomato. Yum !
abigail
This pasta looks amazing. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Check out my latest post <3
http://www.abigailalicex.com
Katie Wright
This looks SO. GOOD.
Ashlyn
I love visiting your site, Joy. It always makes me smile. I love making pasta in the summertime, it feels hearty, but not too rich. The flavors here look perfect! I’m especially excited about the roasted garlic. And these pictures are gorgeous!
Girl Named Allyn
I’m that person who flicks the stem off of every. single. avocado until I find all of the perfectly ripe ones I need. Don’t hate.
Adding this to my pile of “things to inhale as soon as possible.” I do love tomato season.
Karen @ On the Banks of Salt Creek
Pinned. So going to make this as soon as my tomatoes get ripe. Right now the focus is on the tons of plums and pickling cucumbers I need to preserve. Those tomatoes better ripen quickly. I don’t think I can wait too long before making this.
Carol
To girl named allyn —You do NOT have to FLICK the STEMS!!!!! SHAME on YOU!!!!!
joythebaker
Chilllll.
Warm Vanilla Sugar
So fun to see pasta on this blog! And it’s a perfect summer recipe! Yum!
Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
Wow, Joy. There is nothing about this recipe that I don’t absolutely LOVE! Roasted tomatoes? And garlic?! Girl. This is perfect!
Ksenia @ At the Immigrant's Table
I have long found that roasting my tomatoes produces a beautiful, simple pasta sauce that elevates this beautiful fruit to completely new levels. I bet the addition of garlic does it wonders!
Desiree @ whatsinseasonwithdes
I feel you on being “that person” at the grocery store. This dish looks so delicious and summery, and I can almost taste how the smooth garlic and roasted tomato must coat that pasta. Did I mention it’s 7 am and I’m already dreaming of pasta?
Amanda
Joy, I’m around the other side of the world in wintery Melbourne and this is what I cooked last night.
I already had the tomatoes, but I spent a similar amount of time in front of them wondering what to do. When of course it was a no brainer to roast and serve with pasta.
My spin had roasted shallots and a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end because I had run out of cheese. Disaster averted!