Pasta with sautéed cherry tomatoes, olives and feta is a quick and easy recipe that takes less than 30 minutes to make. A savory pasta dish that’s perfect for dinner after a long and busy day.
How is it almost the end of October already? Work is busy, weekends are packed, it’s dark when I get up and dark when I leave from work to head home. The days are a blur and to top it off we’re heading into the holiday season.
When everything is moving full tilt ahead, I like to take the time to sit down and have a proper dinner – that’s where this pasta with sautéed cherry tomatoes, olives and feta comes in.
I’m a big fan of quick and easy pasta dishes. I love using just a few ingredients to come up with a flavorful, delicious dinner. This recipe comes together in under 30 minutes, it’s easy to make and it’s packed with flavor (my favorites – olives and feta).
While the pasta is cooking, sauté the cherry tomatoes quickly with garlic – it only takes a couple of minutes for them to become soft and release their juices. The cooked pasta is tossed with the savory sautéed cherry tomatoes, salty olives and feta. Crunchy walnuts and fresh basil complete the dish. An easy, flavorful dish to end a long and busy day.
A couple of notes:
- As with all quick and easy dishes, it’s important to prep all your ingredients before you begin cooking.
- This dish works well cold, so make a little extra and bring it to lunch the next day.
- I used fusilli but penne would be a good alternative.
Pasta with Sautéed Cherry Tomatoes, Olives and Feta
Pasta with sautéed cherry tomatoes, olives and feta is a quick and easy recipe that takes less than 30 minutes to make. A savory pasta dish that’s perfect for dinner after a long and busy day.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Pasta
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 8 oz of pasta – I used fusilli
- 8 oz of cherry tomatoes – about 1 1/2 cups – cut in half
- 2 cloves of garlic – minced
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 5 twists of black pepper from a pepper mill
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 5 or 6 basil leaves – finely minced
- 2 tbs walnut pieces
- 12 kalamata olives – minced
- 2 oz of feta – diced
Instructions
- Prepare all ingredients so they are ready to use. Slice cherry tomatoes in half, mince garlic, mince basil, measure out walnuts, mince olives and dice feta. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. I usually add a veggie bouillon cube to the water or you can salt the water before adding the pasta.
- While the pasta is cooking, add one tablespoon of olive oil to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté minced garlic for 30 seconds. Add chopped cherry tomatoes, black pepper and red pepper flakes and sauté over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until cherry tomatoes are soft and wilted and have begun to release their juices. Remove pan from heat.
- Before draining pasta, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water.
- Drain pasta, add the pasta to the large sauté pan with cherry tomatoes.
- Add basil, walnuts, olives and most of the feta to the pan. Toss gently to combine. If the pasta seems dry, add a little pasta water to create a sauce.
- Sprinkle the remaining feta on top of the pasta and serve.
Rain here today so no golf! Instead made this recipe, added extra cooking water to finished dish for even more flavor. Love the red pepper flakes kick. Delicious.
Thanks, Mom – you better squeeze as much golf in as you can before you get snowed in!
A perfect example of the simplicity and deliciousness of a quick meal, with some basic high-quality ingredients. ‘Bravo!
Thanks so much, Mimi!
I’m thinking these beautiful tomatoes are from your garden? We just received the last of the Farm’s this past week.. I’ve got a few on my counter, reluctant to eat them because I don’t want to see them go! : ( No doubt, another year is flying by! SO hard to believe the holidays are upon us. In July when we were planning out travels, I thought, ‘oh there’s plenty of time to plan.’ Then I blinked and here it is the end of October! :0 I love this pasta recipe. So full of flavor and of course those briny olives are the best! Thank you for this beauty Geraldine! 😀
All my tomatoes are gone, Traci – but I still have some cucumbers growing. I’m just about to start “winter” crops – mostly kale, chard and maybe some carrots and beans too. I’ll be interested to see what you post using winter veggies – does your CSA continue through the fall? Hope you have a great rest of the week!
This is my kind of meal! Pasta, tomatoes, a little cheese….and left overs! Right now I need meals that come together quickly that the whole family will enjoy. Time just seems to keep going faster and faster…but we still have to eat! And I want it to be yummy 🙂
Thanks, Kathy – my favorite meals are the quick and easy kind – and this one is exactly that. Hope you try it.
We’re so lucky that something with so much flavor and beauty can come together in less than 30 minutes! You are the master of just such recipes! Thank you for sharing another winner, my friend!
Thanks so much, Annie – 30 minute meals are my favorite! Hope you have a great rest of the week!
I love your quick and easy pasta dishes, Geraldine! I would switch up the feta for goat cheese because I’m obsessed with it, lol. Thanks for another super easy dish for a busy week. Great leftovers for lunch, too!
I’m definitely going to have to try goat cheese, that’s a great idea, Robyn. It would be more creamy and tangy than feta – but just as delicious.
I agree that it is so nice to have a quick healthy dinner when we are super busy but those are the hardest times to do it. I feel like I forget all my quick meal ideas when I’m in a hurry and need them. This looks like it would be a hit with the whole family! Have a great week!
Hope you try it, Karen – have a great week!
I have NO clue where the year went, but I wish life had a pause button! I swear it moves faster as you get older, too, which makes me beyond sad. Anyways, pasta ALWAYS cheers me up, especially when it’s this delicious and pretty! This is perfect, Geraldine! Love all the textures and flavors going on here! Perfect for an easy dinner or a lunch! Cheers, friend!
Wouldn’t a pause button be wonderful – I guess that’s what Sundays are supposed to be but sometimes it just doesn’t happen that way. And I agree, pasta always cheers me up too, Cheyanne!