When it’s too hot to simmer a sauce, I turn to my No-Cook Tomato Sauce. The cherry tomatoes sit and macerate with garlic, oil, and a touch of vinegar, yielding a fresh and flavorful raw tomato sauce that’s incredibly easy and just the thing to toss with your favorite pasta.
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Lazy Summer Pasta
Lazy summer nights call for easy dishes that require no or minimal cooking, and that’s usually when I reach for recipes like Italian tuna and white bean salad and this no-cook cherry tomato sauce.
The only cooking involved is the pasta. The sauce actually just sits there, macerating in the garlic, oil, and vinegar, which slowly breaks down the tomatoes. The longer the sauce sits, the better.
While my family usually enjoys this pasta dish as a full meal, it’s great alongside or as a pasta course with other summer favorites such as marinated grilled chicken and marinated London broil.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes are preferred for no-cook tomato sauce.
- Garlic. I like to use 1 clove of garlic that’s sliced. Raw garlic is very strong, so keep that in mind. You can also use 3 whole garlic cloves and remove them before tossing with the pasta.
- Vinegar. The red wine vinegar helps break down the tomatoes and a adds a touch of acidity.
- Olive oil. This is the time to break out your good extra virgin olive oil since the sauce is completely uncooked.
- Basil. Be sure to use fresh basil leaves for raw tomato sauce. If you cannot find fresh basil, you’re better off omitting it or using fresh parsley in its place. Don’t use dried basil.
- Pasta and pasta water. Use any pasta you’d like. I love this one with linguine fini. Be sure to save at least 2 cups of the pasta water as it’s used for the sauce.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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How to make uncooked tomato sauce
- In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, and 5 basil leaves. Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Let the sauce sit for at least 1 hour, but I usually let it sit for 3 hours.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta to al dente. Add the pasta plus 1/2 cup of pasta water to the bowl of tomatoes and mix well, adding more pasta water as needed. Taste test and adjust salt and pepper, then plate and serve with the remaining basil leaves. Top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese, if desired.
Top tips
- Be patient. While you may want to eat your raw tomato sauce right away, I promise you it will be better once it sits for a few hours. The salt and vinegar help to break down the tomatoes, turning it into more of a sauce than just a bowl of tomatoes. You could pulse the tomatoes with an immersion blender, but I prefer the texture of tomatoes.
- Additions. Feel free to add any other ingredients that don’t require cooking, such as diced zucchini, mushrooms, or roasted red peppers.
- Save the pasta water. The pasta water is an important component to this dish. Be sure to reserve some for the sauce, but also to reconstitute the pasta if it dries out at all.
More cherry tomato recipes
If you love cherry tomatoes as much as I do, give these other recipes a try.
- Cherry tomato eggplant and burrata
- Ricotta roasted cherry tomato crostini
- Roasted cherry tomato pasta
If you’ve enjoyed this No Cook Cherry Tomato Pasta recipe, give it a 5-star rating.
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Easy No Cook Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound thin linguine or any pasta you like
- 2 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes quartered
- 1 clove garlic sliced, see notes below
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 20 basil leaves divided
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups reserved pasta water will most likely not need it all
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Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the cherry tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, and 5 basil leaves. Mix well then season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce sit uncovered for a minimum of 1 hour before boiling the pasta.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta to al dente.
- Add the pasta and a 1/2 cup of pasta water to the bowl of marinated tomatoes. Mix well. If needed, add a bit more pasta water to loosen up the sauce. Taste test and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Add the remaining basil leaves and serve with grated pecorino or parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
- Let it sit. The longer the tomatoes sit and macerate the more flavorful the sauce will become. Let them sit for at least 1 hour but I often let them sit for 3 hours before tossing with the pasta.
- Garlic. 1 clove sliced or 3 whole cloves can be used. If using whole garlic cloves, remove them and discard before tossing the pasta.
- Add some zucchini, roasted red peppers. I often add finely diced zucchini and roasted red peppers to this dish. Both ingredients are excellent served in a raw sauce.
- Pasta water. Always reserve extra pasta water to thin the sauce in the event it dries out.
- Leftovers. Uncooked tomato sauce pasta can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be eaten cold or reheated.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I am not a cook, but wanted to have a dish for a gathering. This dinner was the answer. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all at the gathering and so easy to prepare. Leftovers may have been good, but there was None!
So glad you enjoyed!
Hi Jim,
I’ve been making something very similar to this for years. I just cut tomatoes…doesn’t matter what kind, rough dice onions, lots of basil and minced garlic, salt, pepper and a dash of garlic powder for good measure. Lots of a good quality EVOO but NO vinegar!!! Let this mixture macerate for at least an hour to bring the juices out of the tomatoes. Cook your favorite pasta and toss with tomatoes. Finish it off with shaved Parm or fresh mozzarella balls…the tiny ones. Enjoy We call this Pasta Putana!!!
Is one serving 97 grams of carbs? That seems really high. TY
Yes. The recipe includes the pasta and this recipe makes 4 servings. You could absolutely make 8 smaller servings with this too if you’re concerned about carbohydrates.
As a Mom and someone who loves to bring them all to the table, your recipes deliver! Thank you! From your cook book, tomato confit was a huge hit over toasted ciabatta! Next I will try the Grandma Pizza.
I so appreciate all your family contributes to make it all happen! You are blessed!
We’re so happy you’re enjoying the recipes, Kimberly!
Hello Jim and Tara,
It’s equally hot in Birmingham so thanks for your no cook recipe!
Your cookbook is superb; I’ve enjoyed and two friends also purchased. Should you do another I have one request. Use a larger type size in the recipe texts; for those of us with marginal vision this a challenge. I I do realize that might add a page(pages) to the book. Nevertheless an exceptional effort.
Stay cool in the kitchen!
Hi Paul, thanks for the comment and we appreciate the feedback on the book and will certainly consider that should we decide to do book #2. Wishing you all the best and stay cool!