Sungold tomatoes are the sweetest thing that comes out of our garden, and this Sungold Tomato Pasta is how we use them up by the bowlful. They get roasted whole with garlic, shallot, and whole stems of basil until they burst and go jammy, then blitzed into a silky orange sauce that tastes like sunshine and needs no added sugar. Cold butter, fresh basil, and freshly grated parmesan get tossed in at the end to make it glossy and rich, and a shower of garlicky toasted breadcrumbs goes over the top for crunch. It comes together in about 45 minutes, and it is easily the best thing we make with a summer tomato haul.
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This Sungold Sugo Is the Sweetest Sauce You'll Make All Summer 🍅
If you've never had a Sungold, they're worth knowing about. These little orange cherry tomatoes are widely considered the sweetest tomato you can grow, with an almost tropical, fruity flavor and just the perfect amount of acidity. They have thin, tender skins, and they break down fast, so they're perfect for a quick sauce. Because they're so sweet on their own, the likelihood of you needing to add any sugar at all is very low! Quick roast, followed by a blend, and you're done!
It's worth mentioning that it can be tricky to find these tomatoes at grocery stores. They don't ship or store super well, so we grow them ourselves and hunt them down at the farmers' market. If you can't find them, don't skip this recipe! Any cherry or grape tomato will make a delicious sauce here. Just know it'll come out red instead of that cheerful orange, and it may want a small pinch of sugar depending on how sweet your tomatoes are.
Chamere calls this one "the pasta that tastes like the color orange," which is just the perfect description. 😂A handful of good ingredients, one silky emulsified sauce, no cream in sight. The breadcrumbs are what take this dish over the top, tho. Don't skip them. 🤤
🍅 Ingredients for Sungold Pasta Sauce
Almost everything here is a pantry staple, with the tomatoes and basil doing a lot of the leg work.
Sauce
💡If you've got a real glut of Sungolds on your hands, our cherry tomato confit puts them to work, and they're super delicious in our chicken pomodoro as a yellow pomodoro sauce.
Garlicky breadcrumbs
How To Make Roasted Sungold Pasta 🍝
The oven does most of the work here. Roast the tomatoes, toast the breadcrumbs, then bring it all together in one pan with a splash of pasta water.
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the breadcrumbs with olive oil, grated garlic, salt, and pepper, then spread them into a single layer.
Toast the breadcrumbs, stopping to stir once or twice so they brown evenly. Set aside.
🧄 Do not walk away. Breadcrumbs go from golden to burnt in about thirty seconds. Stay at the oven and pull them the moment they smell like garlic bread. If you'd rather toast them on the stovetop the way we do for our squid ink pasta, that works too - see the recipe notes.
- Step 2: Turn the oven up to 425°F. In a large shallow baking dish, add the Sungold tomatoes, basil stems, halved shallot, whole garlic cloves, and fresh chilis or red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle generously with olive oil.
Roast until the tomatoes burst, shrivel slightly, and start to caramelize at the edges. Pull out the basil stems and discard them, and set aside a spoonful of whole tomatoes for garnish.
🌿 Leave the basil on the stems. You want the basil to perfume the tomatoes as they roast, but you don't want it in the blender - blitzed basil turns the sauce a muddy brownish green, and we're here for that orange. Whole stems pull right out with tongs.
Meanwhile, when the tomatoes are roasting, bring a large pot of heavily salted water (at least 1 tablespoon per 1 pound of pasta and per 4 cups of water) to a boil, and prepare your noodles of choice. Cook them 1-2 minutes under the package directions for al dente, as they will continue to cook in the sauce.
Make sure to set aside at least 1 cup of pasta water. More is always better than not enough! We like to save some to reheat leftovers as well.
- Step 3: Add the roasted tomatoes, shallots, garlic, chilis, and all the oil from the pan to a food processor or blender and blitz until smooth. If you like a rustic, chunky sauce, skip this entirely and just mash them a bit with a spoon.
- Step 4: Pour the sauce into a large saucepan over low heat. Add the hot cooked pasta, a splash of pasta water, the parmesan, cubes of cold butter, and the fresh basil leaves.
🧈 Cold butter is not a typo. Cold butter melts slowly into the hot sauce, which lets it emulsify instead of breaking into an oil slick. Cut it into cubes and keep it in the fridge until just before you need it.
- Step 5: Toss constantly, adding pasta water a splash at a time, until the basil wilts and the sauce turns glossy and clings to every strand.
Divide into bowls and top with the reserved burst tomatoes, more parmesan, a handful of garlicky breadcrumbs, red pepper flakes, and torn basil.
We also love making this dish an entire meal by adding creamy burrata cheese and some crumbled crispy prosciutto!
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📖 Recipe
Sungold Tomato Pasta with Basil and Garlicky Breadcrumbs
Equipment
- food processor or blender
Ingredients
Garlicky breadcrumbs (optional)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs about 3 ounces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 clove garlic grated or minced
Roasted Sungold Tomatoes
- 5 cups Sungold tomatoes about 750 grams, can substitute cherry tomatoes
- 5 stems basil about 1 ounce
- 6-8 cloves garlic whole
- 1 medium shallot halved, lengthwise
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes to taste, can use about 2 fresh chilis
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Pasta
- 1 pound pasta we used bucatini
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves about 1 ounce
- ⅔ cup parmesan cheese freshly grated (about 2 ounces)
- ½ - 1 cup reserved pasta water as needed to thin
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
Garlicky breadcrumbs (optional)
- If making the breadcrumb topping, preheat the oven to 375°F. On a prepared baking sheet, mix the breadcrumbs, oil, salt, pepper, and grated garlic together and spread into a single layer.1 cup breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons olive oil, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 clove garlic
- Place in the oven for 3-6 minutes, stopping to mix 1-2 times to ensure even browning. Watch very closely to ensure the breadcrumbs don't burn. Set aside.
Roasted Sungold tomatoes
- Increase the heat to 425°F, then in a large shallow baking dish, add the tomatoes, basil stems, shallot, garlic, and optional red chilis or red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.5 cups Sungold tomatoes, 5 stems basil, 6-8 cloves garlic, 1 medium shallot, ¼ - ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 5 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Roast the tomatoes until they begin to pop and have softened considerably, about 20- 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, and remove the basil and discard. Set aside some of the tomatoes for topping later.
- After you've removed the basil and set aside a few of the tomatoes, place the remaining roasted tomatoes, shallots, chilis, garlic, and oil in a food processor or blender and process or blend until smooth. If you prefer, you can skip this step.
- Meanwhile, While the tomatoes are roasting, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil, and prepare your noodles of choice. Cook them 1-2 minutes under the package directions for al dente, as they will continue to cook in the sauce. Make sure to set aside at least 1 cup of pasta water. More is always better than not enough! We like to save some to reheat leftovers as well.
Pasta
- Add the sauce to a large saucepan on the stove over low heat. Add your hot cooked pasta of choice to the sauce with a splash of pasta water, the parmesan, cold butter chunks, and basil leaves.
- Toss the pasta, adding more pasta water as needed until the sauce clings to the noodles, the basil begins to wilt, and all the butter and cheese melt to create a silky smooth sauce.
- Add the pasta to serving bowls, and garnish with a few burst Sungold tomatoes, more fresh parmesan, crispy breadcrumbs, red pepper flakes, and fresh basil. Enjoy!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop with reserved pasta water.
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Notes
- Salt: This recipe uses Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If using Morton's kosher salt or fine sea salt, use half as much.
- No Sungolds? Any cherry or grape tomato works. The sauce will be red rather than orange, and depending on how sweet your tomatoes are, you may want a small pinch of sugar to balance it.
- Cold butter matters. Cold butter melts slowly into the hot sauce, which emulsifies it and keeps it silky instead of greasy. Don't soften it first.
- Pasta water. Reserve more than you think you need. The starch is what binds the sauce. Save extra for reheating leftovers.
- Don't overcook the tomatoes. Pull them when they've burst and started to caramelize, around 20 to 25 minutes. Past that they lose their bright, fruity flavor.
- Freshly grated parmesan only. Pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that keep it from melting smoothly into the sauce.
- Rustic version: Skip the blender entirely and mash the roasted tomatoes with the back of a spoon for a chunkier sauce.
- Stovetop sauce method: Halve the tomatoes. Heat olive oil over medium, add the shallot with salt, and cook until well softened. Add the chilis and garlic and cook about 1 minute until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and basil and cook 10 to 15 minutes until bursting, helping them along with the back of a spoon. Proceed with the recipe.
- Stovetop breadcrumbs: Toast the breadcrumbs and garlic in olive oil over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown.
- Make ahead: The roasted and pureed sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently and add freshly cooked hot pasta. Breadcrumbs can be made up to 7 days ahead and stored airtight at room temperature.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of reserved pasta water. We don't recommend freezing. Store breadcrumbs separately so they stay crisp.
- Make it a meal: Top with burrata and Crispy Prosciutto, or add shrimp or chicken.
- Leftover Sungolds? Use them up in our Cherry Tomato Confit, or make a yellow pomodoro sauce for our Chicken Pomodoro. The breadcrumb technique also shows up in our Squid Ink Pasta.
Briana says
This is the ultimate pasta of the summer!! It's so fun to make this vibrant and sweet tomato sauce. The garlicky breadcrumbs really take it over the top, and if you're feeling extra fancy, serve with creamy burrata and crispy prosciutto. SO DELICIOUS!