Keeping it simple summer with Spaghetti with Charred Tomatoes + Garlicky Greens. With this easy healthy recipe you can have dinner on the table in 20 minutes!
Sometimes the best pastas are the simplest ones. And that’s exactly what this Spaghetti with Charred Tomatoes + Garlicky Greens is. It has only a few fresh ingredients and the prep is minimal. The best part? It’s packed with flavor and is also healthy.
Summer is the perfect time to make this dish, during peak tomato season. And, bonus, tomatoes make this pasta extra healthy!
Tomatoes have lycopene, which is a naturally-occurring plant pigment that gives tomatoes (and other fruit) their color. Lycopene is an antioxidant which is believed to protect our heart and prevent certain types of cancer.
And spinach is packed with iron, vitamins A, C and K. Vitamin K and iron are important in maintaining blood health.
Roast the tomatoes until they make a “sauce” for the pasta
Now, on to the recipe!
For this pasta you will need mostly fresh ingredients and a couple of pantry staples.
- cherry or grape tomatoes
- spinach
- garlic
- olive oil
- pasta
- parmesan
Roasted cherry or grape tomatoes make the perfect sauce
For the tomatoes you can go with cherry tomatoes and/or grape tomatoes. If you use the larger cherry tomatoes you might want to halve them prior to roasting.
To cook the tomatoes, heat the oven to 450°, toss tomatoes with a little oil, sea salt + fresh cracked black pepper. I line a small pan with parchment paper to roast, for easy cleanup.
The key is to roast the tomatoes in a pan small enough to collect the juices as they roast, which helps make the pasta “sauce”.
While the tomatoes roast, cook the pasta. As always with cooking pasta, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and cook pasta just al dente. I like a twirly pasta here, but feel free to use your favorite shape and/or gluten-free or whole wheat.
Don’t add oil to the water and don’t rinse your pasta after draining.
Do stir while cooking and do save some of the pasta cooking water for when you toss the pasta (if needed to help moisten the dish).
While pasta cooks, make the spinach.
I use fresh baby spinach here, and barley “wilt” it by giving it a quick sauté. To do this, heat a little olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat and cook the chopped garlic until soft. Then add the spinach and cook until just wilted, about 1 – 2 minutes (it will wilt a little more when you toss it with the hot pasta). Season spinach with sea salt + fresh cracked black pepper.
Enjoy pasta warm or even at room temp as a pasta salad style dish
Time to eat!
To serve, toss the pasta with the tomatoes and wilted spinach, then top with parmesan.
If you prefer dairy go with authentic parmigiano reggiano. If you are dairy-free there are a few vegan parms on the market. I recommend Just Like parm.
Either way, I recommend using fresh grated parm, not the pre-shredded stuff. It tastes so much fresher!
This pasta is best served hot, but is also pretty good at room temp if you’re doing a pasta salad or picnic.
And you can also add some toasted pine nuts, or even grilled shrimp or chicken for the omnivores in the family.
If you make Spaghetti with Charred Tomatoes + Garlicky Greens be sure to comment below or tag me on Instagram. I’d love to know how it turns out!
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| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
|
- 3 cups halved cherry or grape tomatoes
- 3 tsp extra-virgin olive oil divided *see blog post for brand rec!
- 8 oz uncooked spaghetti
- 3 packed cups raw baby spinach
- 3 - 4 cloves garlic chopped *3 - 4, depending on how garlicky you like it!
- to taste sea salt & black pepper
- fresh grated parmesan see blog post for vegan brand rec
Ingredients
|
|
- heat oven to 450° and line a small sheet pan with parchment baking paper
- toss tomatoes with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil (save rest of oil for spinach sauté) and sea salt and fresh cracked pepper; roast tomatoes until charred and “sauce like”, about 15 - 20 minutes *TIP: roast tomatoes on a pan that allows some of the juices to accumulate to make the “sauce” for the pasta
- while tomatoes roast, cook pasta al dente in plenty of boiling generously salted water; drain and reserve about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water
- heat a medium size sauté pan over medium heat, add remaining 1 teaspoon oil and cook garlic until softened, 2 - 3 minutes (do not brown garlic or it will taste bitter); add spinach and cook until just wilted, about 1 minute, season with salt and pepper to taste
- to serve, toss pasta with tomatoes and wilted spinach, top with fresh grated parmesan (either vegan or traditional parmigiano reggiano)
Recipe serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side
Original recipe created by Jerran Boyer
www.healthnutchefs.com