Cherry Tomato Sauce

Name: Cherry Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil ((sauté with a few tablespoons of water for oil-free)); 1 medium onion (, diced finely); 4 cloves garlic (, minced); 2 teaspoons dried or fresh herbs; 1½ teaspoons fine salt (, plus more to taste); ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 2 heaping cups (350 grams) cherry or grape tomatoes (, halved); ⅓ cup (5½ tablespoons) tomato paste ((tomato puree in the UK) ); 1 cup (240 ml) milk of choice (, (it must be unsweetened & unflavoured))

Cozy, rustic, and rich Cherry Tomato Sauce made with just 6 ingredients. Ready in less than 20 minutes and perfect with pasta for an easy dinner.

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FEATURED COMMENT

"A delicious recipe! I halved the recipe so it should have served three. Sorry to report that it was only enough for TWO! Well, that's because it was so yummy we both had huge bowls, and then went back for SECONDS!! Thank you for another excellent recipe. You never disappoint!" - Lynne ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →

For the carb lovers amongst us who are looking for something new and saucy to smother their pasta in, enter my Cherry Tomato Sauce.

It's here for all of your pasta tossing and thwapping on top of everything needs. It clings to pasta in all the right ways and is very meal-prep and freezer-friendly.

This easy recipe is just perfect for using up a glut of cherry tomatoes in the summer and if you find yourself with some leftover check out my tomato fritters and easy tomato basil soup!

Mel x

Ingredients

Here's what you need to make this delicious cherry tomato sauce:

cherry tomatoes, onion, tomato pasta, herbs, garlic, olive oil, plant milk, salt & peppere

And a few ingredient notes:

Cherry tomatoes - Or grape tomatoes. This is the perfect recipe for using up your summer harvest! Cherry tomatoes are generally sweeter and higher in pectin than larger tomatoes which means they will create a richer, fuller flavoured sauce.
Tomato paste - The combo of fresh tomatoes and tomato paste is what gives such great, concentrated flavour, and creamy consistency. Don't be tempted to use regular canned tomatoes instead. Use tomato puree in the UK.
Milk of choice - Adding milk to tomato sauce offsets the acidity of the tomatoes and makes the sauce creamier. Because of this, there is no need for a pinch of sugar like a lot of tomato-based sauces. Any plant milk such as almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, or cashew milk will do. Just be sure it is unflavoured and unsweetened.
Herbs - Pretty much any Italian-style herbs work in this recipe and you can use fresh herbs or dried herbs. If using fresh basil leaves though add them immediately before serving.

Feel free to add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes if you like a little heat in your pasta sauce and if you're looking for a sauce that uses canned tomatoes check out my Vegan Marinara Sauce.

How To Make Cherry Tomato Sauce

Here's the low down on how to make it:

1 - Sauté the onions, garlic, seasonings, and tomatoes in a large skillet. There is no need to peel/remove the skins from the tomatoes.

onions and cherry tomatoes cooking in a pan

2 - Add tomato paste, stir it all up and let it cook in the hot pan for a few minutes. This step is important. Keep it cooking until it turns a deep browny, brick red. This will caramelize the natural sugars in the paste, intensifying the flavour and eliminating the "canned" flavour.

Onions, cherry tomatoes and tomato puree cooking in a pan.

3 - Add some creamy plant milk and simmer for a few minutes until creamy, thick, and reduced. All done, start to finish in under 20 minutes. I like to leave the sauce chunky, but you can blend it or use an immersion blender right in the pan if you prefer a smoother sauce.

Serving Suggestions

I see many situations where this delish and versatile tomato sauce fits:

Got a big family? - Toss through pasta to feed them all quickly and easily. You can make a massive batch and dip into it all week long. It keeps well in the fridge for 5 or 6 days and freezes perfectly.
Date Night - You, your significant other, this, some crispy baked zucchini slices, a fresh, crisp salad, lots of vegan parmesan, and a good bottle of vino.
It's also really good with zucchini noodles, chickpea meatballs, pasta bakes, lasagna, spread on panini or sandwiches, on vegan chicken fillets then topped with some melty vegan cheese, or on pizza in place of pizza sauce.
My biggest tip though is to really carb up and serve some of my No Knead Focaccia Bread on the side of your Cherry Tomato Sauce-laden pasta dish. Just perfect for sopping up that sauce!

Expert Pasta Tip

Pasta water! When serving the sauce with pasta, before draining the boiling pasta scoop out half a mug full of the starchy pasta water. Then when tossing the pasta in the sauce, add a splash of the pasta cooking water. The sauce will become extra glossy and cling to your pasta better thanks to the starch in the water!