Creamy Cherry Tomato & Summer Squash Pasta
Simple summer pasta recipe featuring roasted cherry tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash with rotini and a light goat cheese sauce. Healthy and delicious!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
Are you struggling this morning? Me, too. I caught up with family and friends in Oklahoma this weekend, over campfires and Mexican food and deep-dish pizza. It’s been glorious and I’m struggling to get back into work mode. Only have three and a half more days until next weekend!
I made this light but creamy pasta dish before I left town, and I might just make it again when I get back. It’s simple to make, plus it’s loaded with veggies and tastes much more indulgent than it really is. Burst cherry tomato juices, a little bit of butter and goat cheese, and reserved pasta cooking water form the most delicious of sauces.
That pasta cooking water is magical, so don’t forget to save some before you drain the pasta. It’s full of starch, which lends a fat-free creaminess to the pasta sauce, and helps the sauce stick to the pasta instead of just running off into your bowl.
We cooked the pasta in a relatively small pot, which meant that we got super concentrated cooking water, which I actually recommend. If Serious Eats says it’s ok, then I can, too, right?! (If you really want to geek out with me, check out “Does Adding Pasta Water Really Make a Difference?,” too. Let’s discuss!)
Watch How to Make Creamy Cherry Tomato & Summer Squash Pasta
Creamy Cherry Tomato & Summer Squash Pasta
Simple summer pasta recipe featuring roasted cherry tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash with rotini and a light goat cheese sauce. Recipe yields 4 servings.
Ingredients
- ½ pound whole grain rotini or fusilli or penne pasta
- 1 pint (2 cups) cherry tomatoes
- 2 medium yellow squash, quartered vertically and then sliced into ¼-inch wide wedges
- 1 medium zucchini, quartered vertically and then sliced into ¼-inch wide wedges
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled
- 1 small clove garlic, pressed or minced
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. On the baking sheet, toss the whole cherry tomatoes and sliced zucchini and squash with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and arrange in a single layer (or as close to a single layer as possible). Roast for about 25 minutes, tossing halfway, until the cherry tomatoes have burst and the squash is tender.
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente, according to package directions. Before draining the pasta, reserve about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
- While the pasta is hot, add the lemon juice, butter, goat cheese, garlic and red pepper flakes to the pot. Add about ¼ cup of the reserved pasta cooking water and gently toss the pasta until the ingredients are evenly mixed together and the pasta is coated in a light sauce (add more reserved cooking water if the pasta seems dry).
- Once the tomatoes and squash are out of the oven, add them to the pot along with all of the tomato juices. Gently toss once again to combine. Season to taste with salt (I added more than ½ teaspoon) and freshly ground pepper, then sprinkle chopped basil over the pasta and divide into individual serving bowls. Serve immediately.
Notes
Make it gluten free: Substitute gluten-free pasta for the whole grain pasta.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Substitute olive oil for the butter and skip the goat cheese. The starchy pasta water is pretty creamy in itself, so I think it’ll still be nice and saucy without the goat cheese. You might want to add some nutritional yeast, to taste, for cheesy flavor.
Storage suggestions: This recipe keeps well, refrigerated and covered, for about three days. Serve leftovers as a chilled pasta salad or gently reheat.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Made this for the first time tonight, as my husband and I are trying more vegetarian dishes. It is outstanding! So good, and super easy. My husband isn’t a fan of goat cheese, so he just had Parmesan on his half, and it worked well (I love goat cheese and it added so much creaminess to the sauce). Thanks for a great recipe!!!
Thank you, Martha! Delighted to hear that you both enjoyed this one. Good idea to split the cheese like that!
This became my favorite cream pasta recipe! Made it quite a few times already. And it’s so easy!
My husband, who is a super picky eater and never finishes his food, ate all till the last piece of pasta!
Also, I didn’t have goat cheese, used cream cheese instead.
This makes me so happy, Jane! & the cream cheese substitution sounds just as good.
This was delicious!! Easy to make and I love roasted vegetables and goat cheese! I did a little less lemon juice and swapped the salt in the end for garlic salt. I will definitely be making this again soon!
Awesome!
I know this post is about a year and a half old, but I think it’s just what I need to get out of my rut – with both food and life this week. I happen to have cherry tomatoes, summer squash, and goat cheese, and I think the fresh, summery flavors are exactly what I’ve been craving. I, too, love Serious Eats, and am a recent small-pot-for-pasta-cooking convert. Thanks, as always, for the inspiration.
LOVE this recipe!! I made a couple of tweaks to suit my taste (sub cream cheese for the goat cheese & more garlic; no pepper flakes because I didn’t have any, but I think I’d skip them even if I restock… doesn’t need the added kick, IMO) & my husband and I were thrilled.
Trying to add some more things to our routine that’s getting old… will be trying a couple others from your list of 20 (I think) easy vegetarian meals. I was skeptical about how easy this one would be, but it really was pretty simple.
Yes, I try to be realistic in my prep and cook times! I’m so glad this is helping you get out of a rut.
We just made this and it is F’ing delicious. Make this tonight!!!
Ha! Thanks, Christian!
Just made this for dinner and it was a hit! Thank you for the recipe. I added slivered almonds for texture and nutty flavor to complement the goat cheese. It was yummy! Also, roasted two garlic cloves whole next to the veggies, them chopped them to add along with the goat cheese, lemon juice, etc, for those of us who can’t tolerate raw garlic
Awesome! Thanks for all the helpful notes, Ashkinaz.
Hello,
I made a double of this recipe tonight, one part for family dinner and the other for a meal train meal for some friends who have one vegetarian in the family. It was fantastic, and we will make it again. That said, here are some notes for your consideration:
-Add one extra yellow squash and zucchini to the amount called for. We prefer a greater proportion of fibrous vegetables to starches than how the recipe turned out, it was a bit carb-heavy.
-Cut the squash and zucchini thicker, close to a half inch (or halve the cherry tomatoes and reduce cooking time). By the time the cherry tomatoes were really blistering and starting to split, the squash was long done. The pieces that had been cut much thicker held up when stirred into the pasta.
-Double the goat cheese. It’s just so dang good. We also added a whole extra tablespoon more of fresh lemon juice for extra tang and brightness.
-Mince the garlic and bloom it in the oil. (By the way, the instructions don’t actually say how to prepare the garlic, so it appears that technically the recipe is calling for a whole clove to be tossed around in the pasta.) By mincing the garlic and briefly cooking it in the oil that the recipe calls for, you can take the edge of off having raw garlic in the pasta but still get plenty of garlic flavor; also, the oil helps spread the flavor into the sauce.
-Consider trying it without basil. No one really thought that the basil helped the flavor, and everyone got seconds yet did not add it the second time around.
-For the meat eaters, we grilled Italian chicken sausage, and it was a perfect complement to this dish either on the side or sliced and stirred in.
Thank you for the recipe, it was a joy and we will be making it again.
Sincerely,
J
I made this last night and it was good. I just used regular tomatoes, diced, because that’s what I had. Couldn’t taste the goat cheese that much, but then it was just 1 ounce. For people who don’t want to eat goat cheese, it should be just as good without it … for me, I might add more goat cheese next time. I think this would be good with mushrooms roasted along with the squash, zucchini, and tomatoes. I used rotini pasta that was enriched with broccoli, zucchini, spinach, kale, and parsley. I didn’t care much for the pasta just by itself, but in the finished product it was good – and a great way to get in a few extra veggies.
I’m glad you ended up enjoying this, Weezie! As always, adjust any of the ingredients to your tastes.
Great recipe! I’m enjoying it right away. Thank you very much
Great! Thanks, Anna.
This was outstanding! It’s going in the permanent rotation!
Hooray! Thanks, Christa!
Ooo…plan to make this very soon now that my garden and the farmers markets have tons of summer squash and cherry tomatoes. This is screaming for fresh basil too and a salad on the side with a basil dressing.
Yum! That sounds delicious.
Wow. I sent your recent list of summer recipes to my husband and he picked this one out … and it turned out incredible! I had to make a few changes (two zucchini and one eggplant instead of the summer squash), but the end product was delicious, perfectly creamy, and full of explosive flavor. My husband, who hasn’t previously liked my cooking, was so impressed. Another recipe for the dinner rotation. :) Thank you for all you do!
I’m glad this one went well for you, Anna!
I was looking for a recipe that would help me use the tons of cherry tomatoes and summer squashes I harvested in my garden this week. I made your recipe but I used regular cream cheese instead of goat cheese. My partner likes goat cheese but not THAT much so I wanted him to like the meal. It turned out very good, but next time I will try half of each cheese because I think it would have been better with goat’s.
I’m giving 5 stars because the recipe was easy and tasty. It preserved very well the taste of the fresh garden vegetables, which I appreciated a lot.
I made this two nights ago, wonderful recipe, creamy in texture, but light – was thankful for the leftovers and the suggestion to save pasta water as it reheated very well! We recently went through Hurricane Irma, and after having emptied my fridge and freezer I didn’t have a lot on hand, but had squash, cherry tomatoes, and ricotta cheese on hand from an earlier grocery shopping trip. So yes, I altered the recipe a little, but it was very good, and I will definitely make it again with goat cheese.
Thank you Kate for sharing your recipes!
Wow this was delicious. I was looking for something easy to use up my yellow squash and zucchini. I’m bookmarking this and making it for my in-laws. Thanks!
Let me know how it turned out for you and your family, Kristi! Thank you for commenting.
I made this for my wife tonight and we both loved it! Thanks!
Great, Jim! Thank you for sharing. If you wouldn’t mind leaving a star review, that would be awesome!
Made this tonight. Embellished a bit by adding onion & extra garlic, which I oven roasted along with the cherry tomatoes & zucchini squash. I also tossed with ricotta cheese, assorted olives & topped with Parmigiana Reggiano before serving. Yum!
Sounds wonderful, Tamara. Thank you for your comment and review!
This recipe is so great and so impossible to mess up! I’ve made it countless times and forgotten to reserve the pasta water, left out the basil, and used farfalle instead of rotini, and it always turns out perfect. Whenever I don’t have goat cheese, I use a generous helping of Parmesan. I also love to throw in a few handfuls of greens at the end to make it heartier and add some color. This recipe is also so simple — for all those reasons, it’s one of my favorite comfort foods!
Great! It is one of my goals when I create recipes. I’m happy you think this is a great one, Caroline.
what would you suggest to substitute for goat cheese. Its not my favorite? Plus I dont usually eat cheese..Thanks
Gail
Hi Gail, do you like cream cheese? I have a cashew-based vegan sour cream recipe in my cookbook that would actually work great here.
Sounds great, thanks so much I will check it out :-)
I wanted to cook something different with pasta and found this. Made it last week and making it again today. It is so delicious and my family loved it. It’s a hit! Yum!!
Thank you, Victoria!
Yum! Made with brown rice pasta, added a red pepper, and made with feta instead of goat cheese!
Thanks for sharing, Jessie!
I just stumbled across this recipe and I can’t wait to make it! I was wondering if you’ve ever tried Banza Chickpea Pasta? I feel like it creates super starchy pasta water and would make dishes like this ultra creamy.
Let me know what you think, Mary! I can’t say that I have.
AMAZING!!!!! Kate I almost exclusively eat your recipes and am so glad I discovered this one!!! I wish it had been in your book so I could have seen it sooner. So fresh and delicious, it couldn’t be better. I’m looking forward to making this for all of my family and friends!
Thank you! I appreciate the compliment, Amber.
We aren’t fans of goat cheese in my house. Could I substitute feta cheese and still get the same result?
Sure! You can try it. Or, you can skip the cheese altogether as it is still pretty creamy without the cheese.
I just made and ate this pasta and I simply wanted to say that it was delicious, simple and absolutely bursting with flavor and freshness!
I will definitely make this again especially now that we have all this amazing summer produce on our hands!
Oh and I left out the goat cheese and it still worked wonderfully
That’s fantastic! Thank you, Lina for your review.
LOVE this recipe! It sounded good, but it turned out GREAT. I didn’t have goat cheese, but I used feta and it worked. It probably didn’t melt and get as creamy as goat cheese does but it was still great. Thanks for the recipe Kate!
I’m glad it was still good with feta. Thanks, Kait for sharing!
Made today for lunch. Delicious and summery.
Thank you!
Hi Kate, can’t wait to try this. I see you have left the skin on the squash so was wondering if maybe yellow squash is called something different in the UK. All the squash i see here really need to be peeled I think.
I’m not sure. The yellow squash is similar to zucchini. Hope this helps!
Simple. Delicious. Definitely a make again recipe. I think this would be solid with whatever is in season at the moment! Another winner, Kate! You continue to be my most reliable food blogger…just recommended you to a friend going vegetarian!
Thank you, Cara!
This was super easy to make and so delicious, I think I will serve this at my next dinner party!
Great! Thank you, Catherine.
Such an easy and delicious recipe! My husband and I loved this dish. I am not a fan of goat cheese so I substituted parmesan and it was fabulous. Thanks for a great recipe! I’m making it again tonight!
Wonderful, Erin! Thank you for your star review.
Such a great way to use up the overload of tomatoes, zucchini and fresh basil from my garden! I also threw in a little pesto I had in the fridge.
Fresh garden produce! Even better. Thanks or the review, Aly.
I made this tonight. Was very good. Really liked the addition of the goat cheese. I also roasted some yellow bell pepper and wilted some baby spinach with the hot pasta before adding all the other veggies.
Thanks for the recipe. Will make again.
The goat cheese really does help make this! Thank you, Elizabeth.
This was delicious, Kate!! Such a wonderful, healthy recipe. Everyone loved it, including my picky two year old and my 9 month old!
Happy all the family is pleased! Thank you, Jessica.
I have a plethora of all of these veggies. Researching ways to make pasta sauces to freeze. Does this freeze well? Thank you!
Hi Lisa! Unfortunately, I don’t freeze all my recipes. But, you can look through comments to see if other readers have had success!
I like to cook but work long hours and I like to garden and I have a too many summer squash and too many cherry tomatoes. This amazing recipe solved all three problems at once! Easy enough to be approachable after a long day’s work and appealing enough to make me want to make the effort, and it is so good and rewarding. Thank you!
Fresh garden produce, I’m jealous! Thank you, Chris for sharing.
I made this tonight. I only had heirloom tomatoes, so I used those and added sun-dried tomatoes and a bit more garlic. It was fantastic. So creamy!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you liked it so much.
This recipe is absolutely amazing. I’ve made this a few times now and cant get enough. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that, Steph!
I love making and eating meatless recipes. Good healthy choices all for everyone in my family.
I agree! Lots of variety, Dallas.
Wow this pasta dish is amazing! Full of flavors, definitely a new favorite.
I’m happy you loved it, Elena!
I made this tonight, it was delicious! I used the juice from one lemon and a hefty pinch of red pepper. It was so perfectly tangy and creamy and good and easy to make. Awesome recipe!
So good! I’ve never cooked a bad meal with your recipes.
I’m glad you loved it, Curtis!
This was so yummy it almost made me teary! It tastes so rich without being unhealthy, it boggles my mind. I only used 1 biggish zucchini (no yellow squash) and added in a small can of rinsed cannellini beans for some protein. I used 2 big cloves of garlic and white bow tie noodles, and used about double the chevre (maybe part of why mine tastes so decadent!). I think some toasted pine nuts would be so lovely in here too for some more texture. Thanks so much for the recipe! Will definitely be making again.
Thank you for sharing, Nicole!
Made this last night and my boyfriend and I loved it! Today I reheated the leftovers for dinner and added some arugula since I had some I needed to use and it was so delicious! Another stellar recipe- I’m hooked.
Thank you, Katie! I appreciate your review.
This is the second time I made it! It is delicious!! Roasting the veggies at 425* worked better for me and I added extra tomatoes. My husband loved it too and he is a meat eater from Leawood, KS :)
Thank you for sharing, Lori!
I, too, have oodles if summer squash, so any s.s. recipes are welcome. I used all yellow squash and my super-sweet home-grown cherry tomatoes, coming in here in New Mexico in July.
I deviated a bit from the recipe by melting my butter, sauteeing the garlic lightly and adding my (previously frozen) goat cheese. I will not do that again, at least with the cheese, as the texture got a bit grainy. I omitted the lemon juice due to concerns about curdling the already too-textured sauce. and feel like the sauce missed that tartness. I will try this again soon (so much squash!) And follow the directions.more precisely. Still delicious!
Thank you for sharing, Jenna!
This recipe sounds wonderful! My garden is so abundant with squash and zucchini. I am definitely going to make it and I am so excited to have a new recipe for squash!!
Let me know what you think, Debra!
This look delicious! I’ve done a recipe similar before – also has onions you roast with the veggies and kalamata olives tossed in at the end.
Thank you for sharing, Reeves!
I made your creamy cherry tomato and summer squash pasta with a little change. I’m not a fan of goat cheese so I used cream cheese instead and I added another cloves of garlic. It was wonderful. It is definitely on my repeat list. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing, Cyndy! I appreciate your review.