When grape tomatoes are overflowing in your garden, whip up a quick, easy tomato sauce! Grape or cherry tomatoes sauteed with olive oil, garlic, and fresh herbs are perfect over pasta, grilled chicken, or fish.
Easy Grape Tomato Sauce
I make this simple grape tomato sauce every summer when I have an abundance of tomatoes in my garden. There’s nothing sweeter than summer tomatoes, especially when you grow them. This sauce is a great way to use them, especially if they come all at once. It’s delicious over pasta, farro, fish, chicken, and more. For more summer tomato recipes, try my Summer Tomato Salad or Gazpacho recipe for a chilled soup with garden tomatoes.
A Few Reasons To Love This Sauce
There’s nothing like summer tomatoes! I plant tomatoes every summer in my garden and grape tomatoes are usually the first to grow. There’s usually so many tomatoes at once, that I came up with this quick and easy sauce that I make every year! You can serve this over fish, pasta, chicken, etc.
- In Season: When your vegetables are in season, you don’t need to add much to make their flavors shine.
- Minimal Ingredients: This sauce has only 4 ingredients, plus olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Vegetarian: Serve this grape tomato sauce over pasta for a fast “Meatless Monday” meal.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this sauce. See exact measurements in recipe card below:
- Olive Oil to cook the garlic and tomatoes in, I use extra virgin.
- Garlic: An Italian grape tomato sauce wouldn’t be complete without plenty of fresh garlic!
- Grape Tomatoes: Since tomatoes are the star of the show, make sure they’re in season and good quality. Cherry tomatoes can be used instead.
- Salt and Pepper season this grape tomato pasta sauce.
- Herbs: Use fresh oregano or basil, or other herbs, like rosemary or thyme, if you have them in your garden.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes for a little spice.
How to Make Grape Tomato Sauce
- Garlic: Cook the garlic in a nonstick pan until golden.
- Tomatoes: Add the tomatoes, salt, red pepper, and black pepper and reduce the heat to low.
- Simmer the sauce, covered, until the tomatoes burst.
- Herbs: Add the oregano or basil and cook, uncovered, for 5 more minutes.
Serving Suggestions
- Pasta: Serve this grape tomato sauce over any pasta, ravioli, or gnocchi.
- Vegetables: Top zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash with the sauce for a lighter option.
- Protein: This sauce would be fantastic over chicken, shrimp, or fish with a green salad for a low-carb, high-protein meal.
- Add Other Ingredients to the Sauce: You could cook chicken, shrimp, or other vegetables, like zucchini or mushrooms, with the tomatoes and serve it over pasta for a complete meal.
- Cheese: Grate fresh parmesan over the tomatoes before serving.
Storage
- Refrigerator: This easy grape tomato sauce will last 5 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: If you love grape tomatoes or have a ton of them in your garden, this grape tomato sauce is excellent for freezing so you can enjoy the flavors of summer into the fall. Double or triple the recipe and freeze in freezer-safe containers for 3 months.
- Freezer Tip: If you often only cook for a couple of people, store the sauce in smaller 2-cup containers. If you plan on feeding a big group, put it all in one large container.
Is there a difference between grape and cherry tomatoes?
Grape tomatoes are oval-shaped, and cherry tomatoes are round. Cherry tomatoes are sweeter and juicier than grape ones. You can use either here.
Variations
For protein you can add grilled chicken or shrimp! And for a spectacular way to prepare fish, try this simple fish with summer grape tomatoes.
More Tomato Recipes You’ll Love
- Garden Tomato Sauce
- Angel Hair Pasta with Zucchini and Tomatoes
- Oven Roasted Tomatoes
- Air Fryer Burst Tomato Burrata Caprese Salad
- Spiralized Zucchini and Grape Tomatoes
Grape Tomato Sauce
Equipment
- large nonstick skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 1/2 lbs grape tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- salt and fresh pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano, or fresh basil
- 1/8 teaspoon red crushed pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large non-stick pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until golden, about 30 to 60 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes, salt, crushed red pepper flakes and fresh black pepper and reduce heat to low.
- Simmer, covered until the tomatoes burst, about for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add fresh oregano and cook, uncovered another 5 to 6 minutes more.
- Serve over pasta, fish, chicken, etc.
Excellant!!
This recipe is the BOMB!!!!! It went together well. The more I will make it, the quicker it will be. I’m very glad I can freeze this sauce!! My husband is a foodie and he said that the seasoning is perfect. We have a very big foodie friend and I would serve this the Colleen. I’ve surprised her a couple of times that I followed a recipe well. 😆
Tossed it in some pasta with butter and parmesan cheese. Just divine!
Made this tonight for my husband and 9 year old granddaughter. What a hit!
I am allergic to garlic and onions and follow FODMOP. I used some pancetta first, in place of garlic and then followed the recipe. A winner!!!!
That was a great recipe I’ll be having that often had it over pasta
Delicious!!! Made this for an easy Sunday dinner with a little angel hair pasta and diced chicken. So amazingly good!!! My husband couldn’t stop eating it!!
So glad you loved it!!
GREAT recipe!! Be sure to try it 🙂
It was amazing
I just whipped this up due to a lot of cherry & grape tomatoes as well as fresh basil to use up & it smells divine for our “meatless Saturday” with cheese tortellini
Actually I thought it was very good! Added a little pasta water and freshly grated parmigiana Reggiano and a grilled chicken breast delicious
Can you freeze the sauce.
Fantastic! I have made this twice and both times it was absolutely delicious. The flavor of the tomatoes is amazing.
I really liked this recipe over pasta and that it was a very easy way to use the grape tomatoes and fresh oregano from my garden. I plan to try it over chicken and fish that I’ll cook in my air fryer.
Can this recipe be canned for use over winter?
I haven’t tried, but I don’t see why not?
I’m making a big batch this week … some for pasta, over baked fish and with spaghetti squash for lunch. I have a ton of tomatoes accumulating from being away a few days!
This was so good and sweet tasting. Will make this for myself when making spaghetti. Thanks for sharing with us!
I’ve just tried this recipe with whole-wheat pasta and it’s just delicious! Thank you so much for sharing it.
I’ve tried others from this page and they’re great as well. I’m trying a vegetarian diet for a week and I’m using recies from this site.
Congrats on your work!
Awesome!
I always love this recipe. I love it on top of Tilapia … no noodles! I always try to make this when I find grape tomatoes on sale!
This was so good! I used basil instead of oregano. Will def be making this a lot!
Love this. I'm always in a hurry and I need quick and easy recipes.
Thank you for posting this recipe. I have made variations on it but always by trial and error, so it's handy to have a concrete version to work with.
I make a similar sauce using roasted cherry tomatoes that I wrote about on my Cooking Ripe! blog:
http://cookingripe.wordpress.com/2012/09/15/roasted-cherry-tomatoes-simple-savories/
I made this twice since I found out about the recipe. I LOVE IT! The last time I had some leftovers and I melted a wedge of laughing cow light garlic and herb cheese it in and put it over spaghetti squash! yumm. The cheese gave it a nice creamy texture and taste without adding a lot of extra calories!
Just made for dinner amazing, fast and easy looooved it. I added mushrooms and next time ill add shrimp yum!! Keep up the great recipes Gina!! they make my weight loss journey easy and healthy <3
oh my amazing!!!! now i know what im doing with all these grape tomatoes i have gorwing :)))) thanks bunches
Made this and instead of pasta used spaghetti squash. Also only used three cloves of garlic. Will be making again soon.
Very cool !
Kate.
Yummy yummy yummy!!! This tasted so good!!!
Delicious! I'm trying to cut carbs, so I skipped the pasta and tossed in some shrimp towards the end of the simmering. Served it with a simple green salad for a complete meal. PERFECT!
Made this for dinner tonight using grape tomatoes and basil and oregano I have growing. DELICIOUS! Definately use fresh garlic. Grilled chicken slices would also be wonderful on top. Thanks for a winning recipe!
Gina you are a genius. I had grape tomatoes in my fridge and didnt know what to do with them. This was delicious. I put it on top a a Tilapia filet and it tasted like heaven. Can you please put more recipes using green beans. My garden is overflowing with them.
My husband loves anything I make from your site, but his one is his favorite!
I have a bunch of homegrown maters that I will use tonight in this method. YUM!
This looks great! So much better than anything canned!
Prefect simple recipe for the perfection that is a summer North Carolina tomato!
I just whipped this up tonight and wow – deliciously simple!
Since I didn't have grape tomatoes, I just chopped up a couple roma tomatoes and then tossed the toss with spaghetti squash. FANTASTIC!
Thank you for sharing another yummy recipe, I will certainly be making this again and again 🙂
Just made it this evening with fresh basil. I left the sauce with more liquid since I started cooking late. Was still very delicious.
Love your recipes Gina! Just curious – why is this 2 points/serving? Isn't the only point coming from the oil?
Wow! Cool recipe…easy and yummy. 🙂
Can I can this? I have a ton of mason jars. Do you do any canning recipes? I love you Gina! Thank you so much. As like a lot of the posters I have a ton of cherry tomatoes coming in my garden now and hubby doesn't eat tomatoes! ekkkkk
Thank you!! I don't have too much experience with canning so I don't want to steer you wrong.
did you ever think of maybe uploading some videos? i cook with a lot of your recipes and a video from time to time would be great!!
I've thought of it, but have no experience with it.
These look delicious!Thanks for sharing, Gina
We have a ton a grape tomatoes coming up in our garden. I am going to have to try this ASAP.
Tis the season!
This looks divine! I make a dish similar to this called pomodoro fresca. I learned how to make it in Italy. Thanks for posting.
making this right now! Smells wonderful! Of course it will be good!! Grape tomatoes were really cheap this week and ended up with 7 containers! (my son eats them like candy and him and my husband love them for snacks.) I knew I had too much… this is perfect! Putting mine over some italian-style chicken breast to give it a little more flare. Yum!
I made this last night and it was amazing! I love cherry tomatoes, and bought a bunch (they're cheaper than regular tomatoes where I live, in West Africa). They got super ripe, and I was lamenting the thought of them going bad, and that's when I saw your recipe. And, the cool thing is that I had exactly 1.5 lbs left! I ate a whole cup over homemade whole wheat pasta, and it was fantastic with the smallest sprinkle of parmesan. I can't wait to make it again! Have you ever made a big batch and frozen it in smaller portions? I'm tempted to, but would love your thoughts. Thanks!
I make a big batch and freeze it in canning jars.
Have made this a lot, and absolutely love it! It's a great topper for toast too if you want a smaller snack.
I have made this recipe two times in the past month. It is delicious and super easy to make!
Made this recipe last night and it was delicious. Like Alex I also added a bit of basil and a touch more salt and pepper since I had yellow grape tomatoes, which tend to be sweeter. This was great for lunch cold as a pasta salad!
I made this with regular sized tomatoes since it's what I grow in my garden, so I ended up with a lot of liquid, however I LOVED the flavour! Do you have any ideas as to what I could use to thicken up the sauce next time I make it?
Simmer it uncovered next time so it thickens.
After you chop your tomatoes, put them in a strainer to eliminate the water. It will make more juice as it cooks.
This sauce was delicious! I didn't have any fresh oregano, so I used dried oregano and fresh basil instead. I'm already excited to have my leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
I just made this for lunch! So nice and simple! Excellent use of all these cherry tomatoes that are overflowing from the garden! Thanks for the keeper, Gina!
sounds delicious, our fridge is full of grape and cherry tomatoes from my grandparents that i will never use up, i'll have to give this a try tonight!
I am swimming in Roma tomatoes from my garden. Do you think they would work or should I put those in slow cooker?
Nothing like a simple tomato sauce over fresh pasta! I love it every single time 🙂
I love to make a sauce like this… a perfect way to enjoy the fresh tomatoes this time of year.
Grape tomatoes are so delicious! And your recipe is so delicious too! Oh my G.. tomorrow I'll buy them and prepare this delicious dish, great!
This looks so yummy!
Of all the gluts we get on the farm, tomatoes are my favourite! Do you have any recipes for marrow or courgette/zucchini? I'm almost drowning in them! xx
Grape tomatoes are my absolute favorite tomato! I love eating them well, like grapes (heehee) but also love cooking with them. I can almost taste this this sauce because it looks and sounds so good!
This looks amazing! But why is it 2 pts?
Yes, I was wondering the same thing?
olive oil?
The olive oil itself is only 3 pts and the rest of the ingredients are 0 so I don't understand how 5 servings would be two points each??
the nutritional info does not include the pasta
Oh my gosh that picture is absolutely amazing!! Tell me you submitted that to TasteSpotting!! I have a whole bowl of little tomatoes in my fridge that I've been snacking on this week – they are begging to become a part of this sauce 🙂
Tomatoes should never be in the refrigerator
I love the simple stuff. I roasted tomatoes the other day and couldn't stop eating them. Tomatoes are one of the things I love most about summer!
This looks SO yum and I want to try to make this … this would be good with Shrimp, I bet. Thanks for the recipe, as always!
-Ashley