Pesto pasta is a simple summer meal ~ just a few spoonfuls of homemade pesto, creamy ricotta, and colorful heirloom cherry tomatoes. This no cook sauce is everything!
You can’t go wrong! There’s no way a bowl of pasta tossed with fresh pesto, dolloped sweet creamy ricotta and topped with gem-like heirloom cherry tomatoes can be anything but amazing.
Enjoy it warm (I love the temperature contrast between the hot pasta with the cool pesto, cheese, and tomatoes) but this can just as easily be eaten room temp or chilled. Heck, make it a pasta salad if you want to. A version of Italian pasta al pomodoro, my pesto pasta with ricotta and tomatoes is a back pocket summer recipe to keep at the ready every time you spot beautiful toms.
what’s in my pesto pasta?
- heirloom tomatoes
- mine are cherry tomatoes, but there’s no reason you can’t chop up regular heirlooms.
- pesto
- it provides the flavor bomb for this meal, and homemade is best (I find it keeps at least 10 days in the fridge, so it’s nice to keep around for quick dinners like this.) I have many pesto recipes:
- Basil Pesto Recipe
- Chive and Parsley Pesto
- Lemony Artichoke Pesto Recipe
- Green Goddess Pesto
- ricotta cheese
- hint: sometimes I’ll substitute cottage cheese.
- heirloom cherry tomatoes
- I love heirloom cherry tomatoes because they’re always sweet, and they have a nice firm texture. The colors are magical.
- Parmesan
- salt and pepper
the pasta
Choose a twisty shaped pasta to hold the pesto. This way you get maximum flavor in every bite. Oh, and cook it at least 2 minutes less than the package tells you to for a nice chewy texture.
Customize your pesto pasta!
- Add your favorite protein like grilled chicken or shrimp for a heartier meal. Sometimes I’ll add prosciutto, salami, or parma ham.
- Make it vegan, just omit the cheese or use plant based cheese for a vegan pesto pasta.
- Make it gluten free, there are so many gf pastas on the market. I like Barilla.
- Make it a pasta salad, but don’t add the tomatoes until ready to serve, they deteriorate in the fridge.
- Substitute small balls of fresh mozzarella for the ricotta.
- Add olives, capers for an authentic Italian briny note.
- Serve with a side of garlic knots and a fresh green salad for a complete meal.
- Make it ahead by cooking your pasta up to a day ahead.
more cherry tomatoes
Pesto Pasta with Ricotta and Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb pasta, fusilli or similar
- coarse salt
- 3/4 cup pesto sauce, recipe here
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
garnish
- shaved Parmesan cheese
- fresh cracked black pepper
- fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Bring lots of well salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to 2 minutes shy of the package instructions. In other words we want the pasta nice and chewy, not mushy.
- Drain the pasta and do one of two things:1. For a hot dish toss immediately with a few generous dollops of pesto.2. For a room temp or cool dish rinse the past in cold water and drain well. Then toss with a few generous dollops of pesto. One benefit of this choice is that your pesto will stay bright green.
- Divide the pesto pasta between 4 pasta bowls. Add small spoonfuls of ricotta, and top with tomatoes.
- Garnish with shavings of Parmesan cheese and a good grinding of fresh black pepper. If you've got little basil leaves handy, add them too..
I’m going to make this with my garden cherries when they ripen!