This fresh and easy Margherita pasta recipe comes together quickly. Ripe juicy tomatoes and fresh herbs yield the most delicious summer meal. This recipe is dairy-free, vegan, and can easily be made gluten-free.
Traditional pizza Margherita is a combination of tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes, sweet basil, and fresh mozzarella cheese which represent the colors of the Italian flag.
Pasta Margherita has those same classic flavors plus a couple more simple ingredients added in to enhance the flavors. This pasta dish is the perfect way to enjoy the fresh flavors of seasonal produce.
Ingredients
You only need a handful of ingredients for this easy recipe.
- Pasta - for this recipe, I recommend using spaghetti noodles over short noodles such as farfalle or penne pasta.
- Pasta sauce - we only use a small amount of this, so choose something with a lot of flavor.
- Fresh basil leaves - add so much flavor to the dish. You must use fresh basil, not dried.
- Fresh mozzarella cheese - for dairy-free, I highly recommend making my vegan mozzarella cheese ahead of time.
- Ripe tomatoes - for the best flavor, use in-season cherry tomatoes or sun gold tomatoes. If using Roma tomatoes, you'll want to cut them into smaller pieces.
- Extra virgin olive oil - for drizzling over the pasta.
- Balsamic vinegar - a little bit of this goes a long way and enhances all the flavors.
- Flakey salt and black pepper - to taste.
How to Make Margherita Pasta
Cook pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve half a cup of pasta water before draining the noodles.
Assemble. Add the cooked pasta back into the pot and add the pasta sauce. Toss together until the noodles are lightly coated. If your sauce is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water at a time to thin the sauce as needed. Divide the noodles between four bowls.
Season. Freely top each bowl of pasta with torn mozzarella balls, sliced fresh tomatoes, and torn basil leaves. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the top and add a splash of balsamic vinegar. Season with flakey salt, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Store. Store leftover pasta in an airtight container in the fridge and eat in the next day or two.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this Margherita pasta using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- Make it gluten-free - use your favorite gluten-free pasta.
- Make chicken Margherita pasta - add cooked skinless chicken breasts or a rotisserie chicken to make it more of a substantial meal.
- No mozzarella? - sub almond ricotta or dairy ricotta if not dairy-free.
- Add-ins - red pepper flakes for a little heat or parmesan cheese (dairy free or traditional).
Helpful Tips
- No measurements are needed. Measure the amount of sliced tomatoes, fresh basil, and mozzarella with your heart.
- Reserve pasta water - the pasta water is full of starchy goodness that you can use to thin out the pasta sauce if you want a more cohesive sauce.
- Use your hands - sometimes using a knife to cut the basil can cause it to blacken. For a more rustic look, tear the fresh basil leaves as well as the mozzarella with your hands.
More Italian Recipes
- Italian Green Bean Salad
- The Best Gluten-Free Chicken Parmesan
- Cherry Tomato Confit
- 'Ricotta' Stuffed Shells
Margherita Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti noodles use gluten-free if needed
- ½ cup pasta sauce
- fresh basil leaves, torn
- mozzarella, broken into pieces vegan or dairy
- ripe cherry or sungold tomatoes, sliced
- extra virgin olive oil
- splash of balsamic vinegar
- sea salt flakes to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water before draining the noodles.
- Add the cooked pasta back into the pot and add the pasta sauce. Toss together until the noodles are lightly coated. If your sauce is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water at a time to thin the sauce as needed. Divide the noodles between four bowls.
- Freely top each bowl of pasta with torn mozzarella balls, sliced fresh tomatoes, and torn basil leaves. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the top and add a splash of balsamic vinegar.
- Season with flakey salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Brooky Sherwood says
This pasta dish was as stellar as it was simple. Delicious and satisfying and so easy and enjoyable to make tomatoes and basil are overflowing from my garden right now, I used dairy mozzarella and a sprinkling of Parmesan on each plate. Will be making this frequently throughout August. Thanks Lindsey!!
Lindsey says
I'm so glad you loved it as much as we do!