Recipes Dinner Pasta and Noodle Dishes Pasta Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes Melted in Garlic Butter 4.8 (16) 7 Reviews Salted butter, cheese, and pasta cooking water simmer with cherry tomatoes to make the most delicious sauce. By Chandra Ram Chandra Ram Chandra Ram led the digital food strategy for Food & Wine. She has more than 15 years of experience writing and editing food content and developing recipes. A former restaurant cook and server, she also writes cookbooks. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 31, 2026 Save Rate PRINT Share Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 4 Jump to recipe Five ingredients and 30 minutes are all it takes to get this summery pasta main on the table.Sweet cherry tomatoes blister and burst into a silky sauce bolstered by garlic butter and starchy pasta water.Fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, and crushed red pepper balance the richness of the butter sauce with brightness, heat, and savory flavor. Cherry tomatoes are a great shortcut to a delicious sauce for pasta, especially in the summer when they’re abundant. Naturally sweet, they don’t take long to blister and burst, and their juices create a luscious sauce when mixed with a little garlicky butter and pasta water. Use multi-colored tomatoes for the prettiest presentation, and don’t forget to serve with cheese, basil, and a good crush of coarse black pepper. What is the difference between cherry and grape tomatoes? Though they’re both small, cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes have different textures and shapes. Cherry tomatoes are round while grape tomatoes are oblong, and cherry tomatoes tend to be sweeter. Both can be used in this pasta, but we prefer the sweetness of cherry tomatoes since their juices caramelize when they burst, adding extra flavor. What does the pasta water do in this recipe? Pasta water contains some of the starch that was released as the pasta cooked and helps make the sauce creamier — think of it as adding the slightest bit of flour to your pasta dish. Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Butter has a low smoke point, which means it can’t handle high temperatures without burning. Be sure to watch the garlic as it infuses into the butter — it will become bitter if it gets too dark or too browned. Cooking the tomatoes slowly in a skillet allows you to use butter and get those browned butter notes that you couldn’t achieve in the oven. Keep Screen Awake Ingredients 1/2x 1x 2x Oops! Something went wrong. Our team is working on it. This recipe was developed at its original yield. Ingredient amounts are automatically adjusted, but cooking times and steps remain unchanged. Note that not all recipes scale perfectly. Original recipe (1X) yields 4 servings 1 pound uncooked spaghetti 6 tablespoons salted butter 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 2 pounds mixed red and yellow cherry tomatoes (about 6 cups) 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, if needed Kosher salt, to taste 1 cup fresh basil, chopped Parmesan cheese, grated Crushed red pepper Directions Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high; add spaghetti, and cook until al dente according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Set aside. While spaghetti cooks, melt butter in a large high-sided skillet over medium. Add garlic, and cook, stirring often, until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer garlic to a small bowl. Add tomatoes to skillet; reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are softened and beginning to burst, about 20 minutes. (Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet if mixture begins to look dry.) Stir reserved browned garlic slices into tomatoes; season with salt to taste. Remove from heat. Transfer cooked spaghetti to skillet; toss to coat with sauce, adding reserved cooking water, 1/4 cup at a time as needed, to create a silky sauce. Sprinkle with basil, and serve with grated Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper. Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Make ahead Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Reheat gently in the microwave or in a skillet over medium heat. Cook this recipe and more in the MyRecipes app. Get the App Save Rate Print Loading shell for RecipesUgcThreaded1 Vue component in Globe.