Sun Gold Tomato Pasta with Summer Squash
A simple summer pasta with Sungold tomatoes and yellow summer squash. A must for late Summer dinners.
From August until mid-September, my counter is covered with as many sun gold tomatoes as I can grab from the market each week. I don’t remember when I first discovered them, but if you haven’t had a chance to taste them– wow! They are so different than regular cherry tomatoes. Juicy and almost candy-like, I knew it was only a matter of time before I turned them into pasta.
I love pasta– that much is clear. Whenever I have fresh tomatoes around, I usually end up with some type of pasta, whether it’s my simple cherry tomato pasta, my homemade tomato sauce for canning, or even my simple, fresh tomato sauce— tomatoes and pasta work together.
This sun gold tomato pasta one is just as summer-focused as the recipes above but with added summer squash thrown into the mix.
I decided to add in squash because I live by the adage of ‘what grows together goes together’ when it comes to cooking and squash, of course, is having its moment. I admit that I’m not the biggest fan of yellow squash and tend to be much more partial to zucchini (hello, zucchini chocolate muffins, I’m looking at you!)
That said, I love how yellow squash almost melts into the pasta sauce, the same way that the tomatoes finally do after simmering for long enough. It’s a technique that I often use in my recipes, especially this simple zucchini sauce, and I knew that the yellow squash and sun gold tomatoes would be perfect in a pasta recipe like this one.
Tips for Success
I say this so many times that I feel like a broken record, but with simple recipes like this one, the ingredients are key.
I call this a sun gold tomato pasta, so obviously, sun gold tomatoes are my tomato of choice. That said, if all you can find are cherry tomatoes– the red ones– then that works too. Your sauce will likely be a little more red than yellow, but it works!
Rustic cooking is often how I describe my meals and I think that fits perfectly into a recipe like this one. As you are taking the best of what summer produce has to offer and turning it into a simple pasta recipe– rustic, with plenty of liberties are allowed.
I don’t recommend swapping in zucchini and that’s mostly for color. I love zucchini in pasta and cook it often. However, if you use zucchini in this recipe, you’ll get a muted green color that just isn’t as appetizing. If you have zucchini and want a pasta recipe, then check out my vegan pesto pasta or my zucchini pasta sauce.
While I often make vegan recipes, I think the parmesan cheese adds a needed layer of umami and saltiness. If you want to omit it, then I’d recommend either a sprinkle of nutritional yeast or my homemade vegan parmesan cheese.
I’m partial to violife’s parmesan cheese, but not in pasta. I don’t think it melts well and I find that the pasta ends up tasting a lot like coconut. Instead, I’d recommend serving the pasta without any cheese and then if you want a bite of salty, creamy flavor to dollop in violife’s feta cheese, which tastes much more like goat cheese than feta to me.
You are going to love this one! Especially my fellow pasta lovers.
More Tomato Pasta Recipes:
- Mediterranean Pasta with Artichokes
- Cherry Tomato Pasta
- Sicilian Caponata Pasta
- Easy Caprese Brie Pasta
- Chopped Italian Pasta Salad
If you try this recipe, make sure to come back to leave a comment and a rating. Your feedback helps other readers, and seeing you make my recipes makes my day.
Sun Gold Tomato Pasta with Summer Squash
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 medium yellow squash, quartered and sliced
- 2 cups sun gold cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces pasta of choice, I like a short noodle like ziti or rigatoni
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- 1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, taking care not to burn, then add in the squash and cherry tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick, for ~15-20 minutes, allowing the squash and tomatoes to break down. To help the tomatoes break down, you can use the back of a wooden spoon to press the tomatoes down. Add in the salt and red pepper flakes.Â
- While the tomatoes are cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until just under al dente, about 2 minutes under the recommended time on the pasta package. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water.Â
- Once the tomatoes and squash have broken down and made a jammy sauce, add the slightly undercooked pasta along with 1/2 cup of cooking water. Stir constantly, tossing the pasta with the noodles so they are coated in the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add in more of the reserved pasta water, a tablespoon or two at a time.
- Turn the pasta off the heat once the pasta is al dente. Stir in the lemon juice. Add in the parmesan and basil and toss to combine, taste, adding salt/red pepper flakes as desired, then serve immediately.