Fusilli pasta is tossed with fresh tomatoes, red onions, basil and shredded mozzarella cheese. This is a quick Summer pasta I make with our garden veggies to serve for dinner or a side dish. You can serve it warm or cold.
Tomato Basil Pasta with Red Onions
This tomato basil pasta is soooooooo good! The first time I made it for my family my husband couldn’t stop talking about it, asking when we were going to have it again!
To be fair, what’s not to love about fresh tomatoes, chopped red onion and basil, tossed with pasta, shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese in a olive oil dressing? It’s the perfect Summer time dinner!
Tip: Don’t skip the red onions! They add the perfect crunch to this pasta and take it to the next level!
Serve this as a main dinner or as a side dish next other Summer favorites like grilled chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs and corn on the cob. We prefer eating this warm, but you can also serve it cold if it’s a hot Summer day.
Looking for more fresh tomato recipes? Try my Cucumber Tomato Salad, Cherry Tomato and Chickpea Salad, Roma Tomato Sandwich, Pickled Cherry Tomatoes, Tomato Mozzarella Salad with Avocado and Chicken Nachos with tomatoes on top.
Ingredients for Tomato Pasta Salad
- Tomatoes, fresh roma or beefsteak taste best, but you can also cut cherry tomatoes in half if that’s what you have!
- Red Onions really make this pasta special, but yellow onions can be used too.
- Fresh Basil, finely chop it up.
- Fusilli pasta, you can use penne, elbow pasta or bow ties if that’s what you have.
- Mozzarella cheese is our fav for this recipe, you can use bagged shredded or fresh mozzarella. Alternatively, you can use feta cheese if you’d like a different taste. Also, you will need 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.
- Kitchen basics: olive oil, sugar, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper
How to Make Tomato Basil Pasta
In a large serving or mixing bowl stir together fresh tomatoes, red onion, basil, minced garlic, olive oil, sugar, and red pepper flakes.
Cook pasta according to the time on the box. You want to make sure you don’t overcook it. Drain pasta.
Add cooked pasta to the mixing bowl with tomatoes, tossing it to fully coat with the olive oil dressing.
Sprinkle in mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper, stirring it a couple more times.
Serve right away if you want it warm, or chill in the refrigerator if you are serving later on.
Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an tight container. Leftovers are good for 3-4 days.
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Tomato Basil Pasta (With Mozzarella Cheese)
PrintIngredients
- 3 large tomatoes (roma or beefsteak) diced (about 2 cups)
- 1/4 cup red onion chopped
- 8 leaves fresh basil finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 16 ounce box fusilli pasta
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large serving bowl stir together tomatoes, red onion, basil, minced garlic, olive oil, sugar and red pepper flakes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook fusilli pasta according to the time on box. You want to cook until al dente, careful to not over cook. Drain pasta.
- Add pasta into the large bowl with tomatoes and toss to fully coat.
- Add in shredded mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste, giving it a few more tosses to mix.
- Serve warm or chill in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
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