There is nothing simpler than fettuccine with cherry tomato butter sauce. Bright cherry tomatoes are sauteed in butter with chopped onion, tossed with al dente fettuccine, and finished with fresh parsley and basil. Perfect for weeknights or when you’re short on time but don’t want to compromise on flavor.
Inspired by Italian culinary Queen Marcella Hazan’s tomato butter sauce, our version has just a few tweaks.
Hazan’s famous recipe calls for canned crushed tomatoes, an entire onion (not chopped and removed after cooking), and butter.
We opted for fresh cherry tomatoes and chopped onion for ours and it’s every bit as delicious.
Because we are using butter, the sauce has an incredibly rich body and a velvety texture that will leave you wondering why you haven’t been adding butter to your tomato sauce all along.
Sometimes the best things in life really are the simplest…
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Begin by slicing in half 3 pints of cherry tomatoes. Also, dice 1 medium onion.
- In a large pan, saute the onion in 1 stick of unsalted butter for 5 minutes over medium-low heat or until the onions become soft and translucent.
- Add the cherry tomatoes to the pan and season with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Cook the sauce over medium heat for 30-35 minutes (stir frequently and lower heat if scorching).
- At this time bring a large pot of salted (2 tablespoons kosher salt per gallon of water) water to boil. After about 20-30 minutes the cherry tomatoes will burst and soften and the butter will completely blend in with the tomatoes. When the sauce is almost to your liking begin boiling the fettuccine to 1 minute less than al dente. If needed, you can turn the heat down or remove the tomato sauce from the burner while waiting for the pasta to cook.
- A few minutes before the pasta finishes cooking, add 1 cup of pasta water to the sauce and stir to combine. Cook the sauce over medium heat. Make sure to reserve extra pasta water in case it’s needed later on. Top tip: Get in the habit of reserving your pasta water for all pasta recipes you make. It’s always good to have extra pasta water to reconstitute a dried-out pasta or to help emulsify many types of sauces through tossing or rapid stirring.
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- Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Cook until the pasta is just al dente then turn off the heat.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper to get the flavors just right.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Add a 1/4 cup of minced parsley and a 1/4 cup worth of hand-torn basil leaves, toss once more, then plate. If the sauce is at all dry add more of the reserved pasta water a few ounces at a time to loosen it up. Serve with grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Top tips for velvety cherry tomato butter sauce
- The tomatoes. This recipe uses 3 pints of red cherry tomatoes. Feel free to add another pint – if you want more sauce – or experiment with different colored cherry tomatoes, like orange, yellow, or even the green cherry heirloom type. This is a simple sauce with relatively inexpensive ingredients – the best type of sauce to experiment with. Feel free to add some canned crushed tomatoes to substitute for part of the cherry tomatoes as well.
- The butter. We used unsalted butter for this recipe. If you prefer to use salted butter you can, however, just be sure to taste test as you may not need to add much additional salt at the end.
- Save your pasta water. As with most of our recipes, we recommend saving some pasta water. The pasta water can really help reconstitute the butter and cherry tomato sauce pasta if it becomes too dry. Start by adding just a few ounces at a time to prevent the pasta from becoming overly watery.
- The herbs. We finished this pasta with some hand-torn basil leaves and chopped fresh parsley. These are optional and can be omitted if you don’t have them on hand. We don’t recommend using dried herbs or seasoning for this recipe.
More simple pasta recipes
One of the great things about fettuccine with cherry tomato butter sauce is that it can be made in about 35 minutes and requires just a few ingredients. Here are a few other simple pasta recipes that are perfect for when you’re short on time and don’t want to run to the grocery store.
- Fettuccine Alfredo – Butter, Parmigiano Reggiano, starchy pasta water and fettuccine – simple but always delicious.
- Penne puttanesca – Olives, capers, anchovy, tomato, and penne are tossed together in this super flavorful pasta dish.
- Roasted cherry tomato pasta – Cherry tomatoes and garlic are roasted and tossed with pasta, extra virgin olive, and fresh basil.
- Linguine al limone – Lemon zest and juice, fresh basil, Parmigiano Reggiano and butter are tossed with linguine.
- Linguine aglio e olio – The simplest of them all, pasta is tossed with garlic, oil, crushed red pepper, and parsley.
- Tuna pasta – also known as Pasta al tonno, this is made with canned yellowfin tuna, garlic, capers, and fresh parsley.
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Fettuccine with Cherry Tomato Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454g) fettuccine or linguine, spaghetti, etc
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 36 ounces (1kg) cherry tomatoes halved
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 1/4 packed cup basil hand torn
- 2 cups (480g) reserved pasta water will most likely not need it all
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Instructions
- In a large pan saute the onion in butter over medium-low heat until soft (about 5 minutes) then add the tomatoes. Season the tomatoes initially with a teaspoon of kosher salt.
- Cook the sauce over medium heat for 30-35 minutes (stir frequently and lower heat if scorching) or until the cherry tomatoes have burst and softened and the butter has completely blended in with the tomatoes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted (2 tablespoons kosher salt per gallon of water) water to boil. When the sauce is almost to your liking begin boiling the fettuccine to 1 minute less than al dente.
- A few minutes before the pasta finishes cooking add 1 cup of pasta water to the sauce and stir to combine. Continue to cook the sauce over medium heat.
- Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Cook until the pasta is just al dente then turn off the heat and season to taste with more salt and pepper as required. Add the herbs, toss once more, then plate. If the sauce is at all dry, add more of the reserved pasta water a few ounces at a time to loosen it up. Serve with grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
- Some tomatoes will be juicer than others. If you need a bit more tomato, feel free to increase the amount of cherry tomatoes or supplement with 14 ounces (half of a can) of crushed plum tomatoes.
- Make sure to reserve extra pasta water, to thin the sauce as much as required to avoid it drying out.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days and can be reheated in the microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi Jim: I used in season tomatoes and I’m sorry it was underwhelming. Maybe add garlic? I added fresh basil and parsley.
Thx Jane
Hi Jane, thanks for the comment. I’m sorry the dish didn’t meet your expectations. This is definitely meant to be a very simple dish based on Marcella Hazan’s recipe which uses canned tomatoes.
Just made this with “super sweet 100s” from the garden. Absolutely delicious and simple! Thanks for the great recipe.
Hi Gavin, thanks for the comment and I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this one – and with your own tomatoes!
Enjoyed this rather simple but flavorful recipe. This will become a part of my cooking repertoire.
Thanks and I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Made this multiple times and love it, it’s been my go-to! The flavor is so subtle and pleasant without being bland, and it’s so easy to make. I have a question: Approximately what amount is one serving for the listed 660kcal? A cup of the prepared dish? Thank you.
Hi AJ, I’m happy you like this recipe! There are four servings so one serving would be 1/4 lb of the pasta plus the sauce.
So simple and delicious. My new favorite pasta dish..
Hi Maryjane, thanks for the comment and I’m happy you liked this one!
Have made this a couple of times.Family loves it,but wanted a little spice.Last time i made it I added crushed red pepper..
Glad you enjoyed this recipe, Leslie!
I rate you and your family 10 stars , your recipes are reminders of how my grandparents cooked. Most of their sauces were made with uncured pigs jowl as the first fat. During lent they skipped the pork so all of those pastas (carbonara, lentils, peas , ceci ,) were made with out it. They liked pork skin and used it to make braciola. Perhaps you can do a few recipes on Innards, liver in the veils, or liver sweet and sour. The butter and tomato recipe is contemporary . Hazan would have hated the skins. Keep up the great work.
Hi Saundra, thank you for the comment and I’m happy you’re enjoying the recipes!
Hi Jim!
I needed to comment to say that your recipes are a hit even across the pond! The only negative thing is that you are seriously feeding into my pasta addiction… I loved the dish, it’s simple and delicious like many of your other recipes.
Can’t wait to try more out!
Hi Marie, thanks for the comment and I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes! Haha, sorry about the pasta addiction! 🙂
Greetings, Jim,
We found your recipes while surfing YouTubes – very enjoyable! We tried the linguini with cherry tomatoes and butter. Very easy indeed, and tastes even better than anticipated. My wife is an expert Italian cook (3 of her 4 grandparents immigrated from Italy) and she was taught by her grandmothers. I am of Irish/Scandinavian descent, but after 25 years of marriage, an Italian wife calls me “an Italian wanna-be”. We both loved the tomatoes and butter! We have found numerous recipes on your site that we plan to try. Keep up the wonderful dishes!
Hi Gary, I really appreciate this comment and your kind words! I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes and the videos!
What a wonderful dish! A neighbor gave me two quarts of cherry tomatoes that were about to go to waste because she was going away. I used them all. Delicious! I really enjoy your videos and can almost taste the dish as you make it!
Hey Richard! Glad it was a hit and thanks for liking the videos!
What an amazing summer delicious dish.!!!
Thanks, JM!
Awesome recipe! My picky eater has requested this recipe 3 times this month! I love your YouTube channel and your recipes! Thank you, for sharing real “tried and true” dishes with us!
Hi Amber, thank you so much for your comment! I’m happy you and your “picky eater” are enjoying it! Thanks for watching!
Used 1 pint of tri-color maters and a 1 lb big boy out of garden! Besides that, no alterations…none needed! So good! Thx for this recipe!!!
Hi Sarah, thanks for the comment! I’m so happy you enjoyed this one.
Hi there, I just made this recipe tonight. I must have done something wrong, the final recipe still tastes tart and sour, like you would expect from uncooked tomatoes? I cooked it for well over 30 minutes, with lots of liquid being released and very mushy tomatoes. Is there something I did wrong?
Hi there, it may have just been the tomatoes used were more on the tart side. If you want to make it again you can make it with canned tomatoes as well. Taste test as you’re making it and you can add a little sugar if it’s really too tart for you.
Very easy and delicious, and that’s coming from somebody who hates tomatoes normally. I did add some garlic at the beginning with the onions but otherwise left the recipe alone. Great stuff!
Hi Mari, thank you and happy you liked the recipe!
I have just come across your videos and think you are the ideal instructor for a novice like me. The way you cook makes good sense and seems like its intuitive. I am def going to try the recipes I have watched you prepare and hope they will be as (relatively) simple as you make them look. From your fresh ingredients and your honest family judges, I can tell they all taste delicious. Glad to have found your channel and look forward to that little subscribe bell ringing next time!
Hi Jill, I really appreciate your comment and am so happy you’re finding our videos to be helpful and enjoyable! Thank you for the comment and for subscribing!
Quick and easy not to mention delicious.
Brian Langerstrom recommended your channel kudos to Brian; Sip snd Feast great 👍 find. Going to try white pizza next.
Hi Marjorie, thank you so much for the comment. I’m happy you enjoyed this one! Brian’s great – I love his channel!
Can I make this with plum tomatoes or regular tomatoes? I can buy them by the quart here in summer. I think there would be less peel on regular tomatoes.
Hi Maureen, you can although I haven’t tested this recipe with other tomatoes. You can also use canned crushed tomatoes.
Just had a go of this with a mix of beef eater and heritage tomatoes from the Garden (Aus Weather is hot atm). Came out even better than with the Cherry Tomatoes. Much thicker & tastier sauce than when I tried it with the cherry tomatoes. Also could be the fact the tomatoes were ready to fall off the vine ripe
You can’t go wrong here if you’re careful and have good ingredients
Hi Dave, so happy you liked this with the tomatoes from your garden, and thanks for the comment!
Easy, tasty recipe. Good when you don’t want to go to the store to get special ingredients. Yum!
Hi Gwenne, so happy you liked this one and thank you for the comment!
Made this tonight. First words from my husband’s mouth was “really good”. So flavorful with so few ingredients. I used grape tomatoes because the cherry tomatoes at my store did not look good. Probably a little sweeter sauce, but WOW such flavor. Thanks James for a wonderful recipe. I would rate it a 10.
Thank you, Marilyn! I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed this one!