Fresh summer spaghetti is an easy, 20-minute dinner recipe bursting with bright flavors. Cherry tomatoes are quickly sauteed with garlic and olive oil, then tossed with a generous handful of basil. The pasta and sauce are tossed together, then drizzled with some sweet balsamic glaze and served with burrata on the side. Summer pasta doesn’t get better than this!
Summer and spaghetti sauce usually don’t belong in the same sentence, but this recipe is completely summer-approved. The sauce is light, fresh, and bursting with flavor, and the best part is how quickly it comes together — it’s ready before your pasta water even finishes boiling. More time cooking, less time waiting, and plenty of warm evenings left to enjoy.
This is what I call summer spaghetti. There’s no pot of sauce bubbling away for hours, just the pure, bright flavor of sun-ripened tomatoes taking center stage. It’s a simple vegetarian sauce where each ingredient really shines, and somehow, five ingredients (yes, including the salt) are all it takes to make something this good.
Good olive oil, thinly sliced garlic, sweet cherry tomatoes, loads of fresh basil, and a generous pinch of sea salt cook together in about five minutes. The result is a glossy, fragrant sauce that tastes like a little bowl of summer pasta heaven.
What to serve with summer pasta?
Like most pasta recipes, summer spaghetti is easily a meal in itself. But sometimes we like to serve it with a big salad on the side. An arugula salad tossed in our lifesaving lemony dressing or our Greek salad recipe both go well with this pasta.
You can also serve this summer pasta as a side to a main cooked on your BBQ. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Best Grilled Chicken Breast
- Juicy Grilled Pork Chops
- Roasted Red Pepper Dip Grilled Shrimp
- Grilled Garlic Butter Mushrooms
Fresh Summer Spaghetti Recipe
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Ingredients
- ▢ 1 lb dried spaghetti
- ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ▢ 4 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
- ▢ 8 cups cherry tomatoes (2 ½ lb – half of them cut in half)
- ▢ ½ ounce basil (thinly sliced)
- ▢ 1 teaspoon sea salt (more, to taste)
- ▢ ½ lb burrata or buffalo mozzarella
- ▢ Balsamic glaze (to drizzle (don’t skip this!))
Instructions
- Put a large pot of salted water on high heat. When it comes to a boil, cook the spaghetti according to the package direction. Before you drain the spaghetti, remove a cup of the pasta water and set it aside. 1 lb dried spaghetti
- While the water is heating, begin cutting half of the tomatoes and making the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and let it cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and let them cook, stirring occasionally, until the whole cherry tomatoes begin to burst, about 5 minutes. 2 tablespoons olive oil, 8 cups cherry tomatoes, 4 cloves garlic
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil and sea salt. ½ ounce basil, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- When the pasta is cooked and drained, add it back into the pot you cooked it in. Add the sauce to the pan and mix it into the pasta. If the sauce seems a little dry, add a splash of the reserved pasta water.
- Serve the pasta with the burrata on top and a generous drizzle of balsamic glaze. ½ lb burrata or buffalo mozzarella, Balsamic glaze
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Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here .
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Fresh Summer Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic , thinly sliced
- 8 cups cherry tomatoes , 2 ½ lb - half of them cut in half
- ½ ounce basil , thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt , more, to taste
- ½ lb burrata or buffalo mozzarella
- Balsamic glaze , to drizzle (don’t skip this!)
Instructions
- Put a large pot of salted water on high heat. When it comes to a boil, cook the spaghetti according to the package direction. Before you drain the spaghetti, remove a cup of the pasta water and set it aside. 1 lb dried spaghetti
- While the water is heating, begin cutting half of the tomatoes and making the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and let it cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and let them cook, stirring occasionally, until the whole cherry tomatoes begin to burst, about 5 minutes. 2 tablespoons olive oil, 8 cups cherry tomatoes, 4 cloves garlic
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil and sea salt. ½ ounce basil, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- When the pasta is cooked and drained, add it back into the pot you cooked it in. Add the sauce to the pan and mix it into the pasta. If the sauce seems a little dry, add a splash of the reserved pasta water.
- Serve the pasta with the burrata on top and a generous drizzle of balsamic glaze. ½ lb burrata or buffalo mozzarella, Balsamic glaze
