This bowl of Tomato Butter Pasta is one of my favourite dishes ever. There is very little better in this world than summer tomatoes. When they are really at their peak, they are sweet, juicy and delicious. I love making this compound butter with tomatoes as it concentrates the flavour so well and it makes a delicious pasta dish like this.
I use cherry tomatoes in this tomato butter pasta recipe as I find them the sweetest which adds good flavour to the butter but you could also use large tomatoes if they were really good ones. The key is seasoning it well when roasting and then blitzing well in a food processor to make it gorgeous and smooth. If you don't fancy making the butter for this pasta, this cherry tomato pasta or Tomato & Burrata Pasta are delicious too.
You can use it on so many things – on toast or smothered on steak or smoothed onto a roast chicken. Anything that would usually be good with regular butter would probably be good with this tomato butter. But as a pasta is really good.
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Why you'll love this recipe:
- It’s so simple yet so rich and moreish. Once you have the butter, it’s the quickest pasta to throw together.
- The recipe makes more butter than you need for this pasta recipe so you can use it in a whole variety of other ways too.
- It’s also a great recipe to use up any tomatoes that might have gone slightly beyond their best in the fridge as once they are roasted and blended, you wouldn’t be able to tell!
Ingredients:
The full recipe with measurements is on the recipe card at the bottom of the page - scroll down!
Pasta: here I used calamarata shape (like little squid rings) but it goes perfectly with whatever pasta shape you have
Burrata and parmesan: to serve and garnish on top. Optional!
Cherry tomatoes: I like to use cherry tomatoes here as I think they taste the best.
Olive oil: this doesn’t need to be extra virgin olive oil as it’s for roasting the tomatoes. It won’t be wasted after, I keep all the liquid and use it as a delicious base for salad dressings or pouring over roasted vegetables.
Garlic cloves: for a nice balance to the tomato sweetness
Salted butter: you could use unsalted but I think salted butter is just better and means there’s already a good base of seasoning to this dish.
Small bunch of basil: just a few sprigs is fine here, it also gives it nice green specks in the butter so it looks good!
Substitutions and Variations
Tomatoes: as mentioned, I like cherry tomatoes here but it would still work with the same amount of large tomatoes. Just try to find nice ripe, red ones, on the vine ideally. Just cut them into quarters before adding to the try and add the oil. Remember you will drain off the oil at the end! Maybe a touch of sugar with the bigger tomatoes when you roast them or a splash of balsamic to balance.
Fresh basil: this would also be good with some fresh chives or fresh parsley. Use what you have on hand, any soft herb!
Garlic: you don't have to use garlic (although I would recommend) so skip if it you don't have. I like the butter made with a little splash of balsamic vinegar - maybe 1 teaspoon or so, just to add a tang.
Here's how to make this sumptuous Tomato Butter Pasta:
The full recipe with measurements is on the recipe card at the bottom of the page - scroll down! This is just a short step by step guide to help you along.
ONE: Add the tomatoes, garlic, vines and oil to an ovenproof dish. Season well with salt and pepper.
TWO: Pop in the oven at 180c until jammy and soft. They should look like this.
THREE: Scoop out the tomatoes into a blender but reserve the tomato cooking oil. It's so good for roasting other vegetables and salad dressings! Make sure the garlics are popped out of their skin.
FOUR: Once blended, add the butter and blend again until smooth. Get your pasta on to boil.
FIVE: Spoon butter onto the hot pasta and stir together, adding parmesan and butter, stirring very well until a sauce forms.
SIX: Scoop into bowls and enjoy! Top with more parm and burrata if you like.
Cooking tips
Save the tomato cooking oil: Do not throw this away! Tip it away into a little jar and keep it. I promise you won't regret it, it's liquid gold to use when roasting vegetables, when making a salad dressing, making a sauce. It's so good.
Emulsifying into a sauce: Usually, a pasta recipe might tell you to add a ladle of pasta water to the sauce to make it a smooth delicious sauce. Here I find you don't need it as the tomatoes have water content already and the butter melts down. See how you go with just the butter, it should turn into a silky smooth sauce without the need for pasta water.
Cooling the tomatoes once roasted: Don't try to blitz the butter with hot roasted tomatoes as it will turn it into a liquidy mess. Make sure the tomatoes are room temp before adding the butter and blending.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are going to use it soon, once it's semi-solidified, you can place the butter on a square of parchment paper. Roll the parchment paper up then pinch the overhanging edges and twist. This will make a little log of tomato butter that you can slice. However, an airtight jar or container will keep it fresh for the longest.
The leftover tomato butter will keep in an airtight container for 2 weeks. Just make sure to remove from the fridge before using if you are wanting to spread it onto something like bread or a chicken.
I like it smothered over a chicken before roasting it - so good. It's also delicious as a butter to have on top of a steak, or spread over toast or crusty breads. On toast, it would be great with a fried egg on top too.
Recipes you might like
My Creamy Nduja Pasta has tomatoes and nduja making it a perfect spice level. If you love cherry tomatoes, try this Cherry Tomato Pasta with Burrata. For meat eaters, I absolutely love my Kale & Sausage Pasta with Fennel and Chilli, Chicken Vodka Pasta or this Creamy Tuna Pasta with Chilli is delicious too.
Made this recipe and loved it?
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Tomato Butter Pasta
Ingredients
For the pasta:
- 250 g pasta
- Burrata and parmesan – to serve
For the butter:
- 300 g cherry tomatoes
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 250 g salted butter softened
- A few sprigs of basil
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180c fan/200c. Add the cherry tomatoes, including the vine if they come on a vine, garlic (keep in the skins), salt and pepper and drench in olive oil to a roasting tin (you want the tomatoes at least half covered). Place in the oven and roast until jammy, around 30 minutes. Drain off the olive oil and use it for salad dressings - or drizzle in cous cous - so good!
- Set the tomatoes aside to cool. Once the tomatoes are cool, add tomatoes into a food processor and squeeze out the garlic in the skins. Add fresh basil and blitz well.
- Then add the butter and blitz until smooth and well combined
- Get your pasta on to boil in heavily salted water. Once al dente, drain and add back to the pan. Add a generous amount of tomato butter and grate in parmesan. Keep stirring until a lovely sauce forms, adding more cheese and butter as you go. You’re unlikely to need all the butter in this one recipe so go slowly at first until you have a sauce.
- Scoop into bowls and top with burrata.
