Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce

This Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce served over zucchini noodles or pasta is a long-time favorite dinner I make every summer! And once you try this amazing sauce made with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, sausage, garlic, and fresh herbs, I bet it might become a summer favorite for you as well!

PIN Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce to make it later!

Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce is a recipe I started making when the Spiralizer first came out, and I was experimenting with Zucchini Noodles. And this amazing fresh-tasting sauce made with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, sausage, garlic, and fresh herbs ended up being a recipe I make over and over.

Now years later, this is still a favorite pasta sauce recipe for me, especially when I have fresh summer herbs that need to be used! So today I’m reminding you about this amazing pasta sauce made with cherry tomatoes for my Friday Favorites pick. And if zucchini noodles aren’t really your jam, you’ll love this fresh-tasting sauce over any type of pasta!

Use your best olive oil, plenty of fresh chopped garlic, and generous amounts of chopped fresh basil, oregano, and parsley for this easy pasta sauce recipe made with cherry tomatoes. When I tested the recipe with my niece Kara, the entire time we were eating it we both kept saying over and over how good it was, and Kara reported that the leftovers were just as good when she reheated them.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• uncooked hot turkey Italian sausage
• cherry tomatoes
• extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
• minced fresh garlic or Minced Garlic (affiliate link) from a jar
• red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
• chopped fresh Greek oregano
• chopped fresh basil
• chopped flat or curly parsley
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Ways to eat the Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce:

• If you have family members who aren’t watching carbs they can eat the cherry tomato sauce over regular pasta of course.
• My niece Kara and I absolutely love this sauce over zucchini noodles.
• This amazing sauce would also be delicious with Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta (affiliate link) for an option that’s lower in carbs but identical in flavor to regular wheat pasta.
• You could also eat it with sauteed Palmini Pasta (affiliate link) for an option that will be quite low in carbs.

What kind of Cherry Tomatoes should you use?

This recipe will be best with garden-fresh cherry tomatoes and if you have heirloom cherry tomatoes that would be even better. But if you don’t have a garden, any flavorful cherry or grape tomatoes will give a good result.

Can you use dried herbs in this Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce?

I realize not everyone has a herb garden. But the fresh herbs are such an important flavor addition to the cherry tomato sauce that I hope you’ll buy herbs at the grocery store to make it. You can get away with using just fresh basil if you have to buy the herbs; just increase the amount.

How low in carbs is the pasta sauce made with cherry tomatoes?

This amazing fresh tomato sauce with sausage, olive oil, garlic, and fresh herbs has only 4 net carbs per serving and 23 grams of protein for the sauce. Other nutritional info will vary depending on whether you serve the sauce with zucchini noodles or another type of pasta.

How to make Zucchini Noodles if you’re using them:

 In that post I give tips for making the noodles and recommend three inexpensive gadgets (affiliate links) that can turn zucchini into noodles. We used the Spiralizer (affiliate link) to make our zucchini noodles; use one small zucchini per person or one medium-sized one for every two people for the noodles.

How to make Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce (with Zucchini Noodles or Pasta):

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. I use uncooked turkey Italian sausage for this, but use pork sausage if you prefer.
2. Heat olive oil, squeeze the sausage out of the casings into the hot pan, and cook until the sausage is nicely browned, about 8-10 minutes.
3. While the sausage cooks, cut enough cherry tomatoes to make 4 cups cherry tomato halves, and wash the herbs if needed.
4. Remove oregano and basil from the stems, mince garlic, and chop up the basil, parsley, and oregano. 
5. When all the veggies and herbs are prepped, heat the garlic and red pepper flakes in the oil for a few minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes and cook about 4 minutes.
7. Then add the browned sausage, chopped basil, and chopped parsley and cook about 4 minutes more.
8. If you’re serving the cherry tomato sauce over pasta, bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt, add pasta and reduce heat to a low boil, and cook for the amount of time specified on the package.
9. If you’re serving over zucchini noodles, you might want to read my post about Three Ways to Make Zucchini Noodles. Then saute the zucchini noodles in a little olive oil for about 2 minutes.
10. To serve, put drained cooked pasta or slightly-cooked zucchini noodles into a bowl and top with pasta sauce and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.
11. I promise this Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce will be a hit with everyone, whether you use zucchini noodles or serve over pasta!

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe for Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week! And this recipe makes six servings of sauce, so hopefully you’ll have some left for another meal.

Want more recipes for zucchini noodles?

If you’re already a confirmed zucchini noodle fan, check out Spiralizer Recipes for more tasty ideas for using them, because they’re the perfect low-carb idea when zucchini is plentiful.

Continue to Content

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Yield: 6 servings

Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce is amazing served with zucchini noodles for a great summertime dinner! Or try this amazing cherry tomato sauce with Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta or Palmini Pasta. And of course it will be amazing with regular pasta if you don't care about the carbs!

Ingredients

• 19.5 oz uncooked hot turkey Italian sausage
• 4 cups cherry tomato halves
• 8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
• 2 T minced fresh garlic
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
• 1 T (or more) chopped fresh Greek oregano
• 3  T (or more) chopped fresh basil
• 3 T (or more) chopped flat or curly parsley
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions

1. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy non-stick frying pan.
2. Squeeze sausage out of the casings into the pan, and saute sausage over medium heat until it’s well-cooked and starting to brown, about 8-10 minutes.  (I like to use an old-fashioned potato masher (affiliate link) to break up the sausage while it cooks.
3. While the sausage is cooking cut cherry tomatoes in half to make 4 cups sliced cherry tomatoes.
4. Mince the garlic to make 2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic.
5. Wash the Greek oregano, basil, and parsley and pull oregano and basil off the stems; then chop the herbs.
6. Grate Parmesan cheese.
7. When the sausage is nicely browned, remove it and set aside.
8. Put the 6 tablespoons of olive oil into the same pan, heat the oil over medium heat about one minute.
9. Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook 1-2 minutes (don’t let the garlic brown.)
10. Then add the cherry tomatoes and cook about 4 minutes, or until they’re starting to soften.
11. Add the cooked sausage, chopped oregano, chopped basil, and chopped parsley and cook about 4 minutes more.
12. If you're serving the Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce with pasta, bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt, add pasta and lower heat to a low boil, and cook pasta the time on package instructions.
13. If you're serving the sauce over zucchini noodles, use one of my Three Ways to Make Zucchini Noodles and make enough zucchini noodles for the number of people you’re serving. Then heat the final tablespoon of olive oil in another pan over medium-high heat, add the zucchini noodles, and cook about 2 minutes, turning over occasionally. The noodles should be barely soft, with a little crispness left.
14. Serve the cooked, drained pasta or hot zucchini noodles in individual pasta bowls, topping each one with a generous scoop of the sauce and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes

If you're serving the sauce with zucchini noodles, use one small zucchini per person or one medium zucchini for every 2 people.

The sauce will keep in the fridge for several days and can be reheated in a microwave or on the stove.

Nutritional information is for the Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce alone. Carb Count and other nutritional info will vary depending on whether you use zucchini noodles or another type of pasta.

Recipe inspired by too many cherry tomatoes in the garden and Kalyn’s infatuation with the Spiralizer.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 367Total Fat 28gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 21gCholesterol 85mgSodium 634mgCarbohydrates 5gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 23g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce recipe is great for low-carb or Keto diets when it’s made with higher-fat pork sausage and served with zucchini noodles or a lower-carb pasta option. Olive oil is considered a good fat, making this dish perfect for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, but South Beach would definitely prefer chicken or turkey Italian sausage. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Sauces to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for pasta sauce made with cherry tomatoes, Italian sausage, olive oil, and fresh herbs was first posted in 2014, and I have literally made it every summer since then. It was last updated with more information in 2025.

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