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Baked Tomato Basil Butter Pasta

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“My sister, Annie, is perhaps my most loyal recipe follower—she and her husband, Nick, cook my recipes almost every night of the week,” says Caroline Chambers, a culinary expert and best-selling cookbook author. When visiting them in North Carolina, she made this baked tomato pasta and now it’s on their weekly rotation. “They can pop it in the oven, head out back for a swim with their sons, and come back inside to perfectly cooked tomato butter pasta thirty minutes later,” she explains. Caroline included the recipe in her cookbook What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 85 minutes
Servings 3 to 4

Ingredients

  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 2 lb. (1 kg) cherry tomatoes
  • 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • Kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, plus more for serving
  • 8 oz. (250 g) pasta (any short noodle)
  • 3 fresh basil sprigs
  • 1 1/4 cups (10 fl. oz./310 ml) hot water, plus more as needed (as hot as your sink will go; doesn’t need to be boiling)
  • 8 Tbs. (1 stick) (4 oz./125 g) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup (2 oz./60 g) grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions

Preheat an oven to 425°F (220°C).

Smash and peel the garlic. In a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking dish, combine the garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, sugar, 1 tsp. salt and the red pepper flakes. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until the tomatoes are collapsing, about 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven (but leave the oven on). Scatter the pasta and 2 of the basil sprigs over the top of the dish in an even layer. Smoosh the pasta down into the tomatoes and pour the hot water over the top. The pasta should be covered in water, so add a bit more if needed. Add the butter right in the center of the pan. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. salt over the top. Cover with foil again (TIGHTLY) and bake until the water is mostly absorbed and the pasta is almost tender, about 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C). Discard the foil and basil sprigs and stir in the Parmesan. Return to the oven, uncovered, and bake until the sauce thickens and the pasta is tender, 5 to 10 minutes more.

Meanwhile, pluck the leaves off the remaining basil sprig and thinly slice them.

Stir in the sliced basil and keep stirring until everything combines into a delicious tomato sauce. Taste and add more salt as needed. Garnish with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes and serve immediately. Serve 3 or 4.

Swap: You can use any tomatoes here, but if they are not bite-size, squeeze out their liquidy insides first; otherwise your pasta will be too watery. Instead of butter, try swapping in a 5-oz. (155-g) container of Garlic & Fine Herb Boursin cheese.

Adapted from What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers (Union Square & Co., 2024)

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