With a punch of savory flavor from roasted tomatoes, this simple, yet elevated, linguine pasta recipe is perfect for late summer evenings.
So, you roasted a bunch of tomatoes after Monday’s post. Now what do you do with them? Make linguine pasta, of course! This linguine recipe has been one of our favorite dinners this summer. Along with finely diced roasted lemon, the tomatoes infuse the tangles of linguine noodles with rich, savory flavor. These little guys pack such a punch that all you need is a little cheese, a handful of herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil to perfect this simple, yet elevated, linguine recipe.
If you roast the tomatoes ahead of time, this one is super easy to toss together. So pour a glass of wine, kick back, and soak in the last days of summer with a big plate of pasta!
Summer Linguine Pasta Ingredients
Looking at the recipe below, you’ll notice that this pasta takes inspiration from a quintessential summer dish: Caprese salad! Because tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella are a match made in heaven, I put them front & center here. The tomatoes are the star of the show, while the mozzarella adds creamy richness, and the basil freshens it up.
I accent this classic combo with thyme leaves, crunchy pine nuts, zesty roasted lemon, fresh lemon juice, and bitter arugula for extra green. Salt, pepper, and a generous drizzle of olive oil tie it all together.
Linguine Pasta Variations
This simple recipe is flexible, so feel free to play with it depending on your tastes and what’s in your pantry. Here are a few ideas for changing it up:
- Use your favorite cheese! Crumbled feta or goat cheese would be excellent.
- Switch the pasta! I love linguine pasta here, but another long-cut pasta, like fettuccine or spaghetti, would work too. Or for an all-veggie meal, swap the pasta for roasted spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles. This recipe is also fantastic with homemade pasta.
- Simplify your pasta by omitting the cherry tomatoes. Add an extra handful of arugula and finish your linguine with a shower of grated Parmesan cheese.
- Make pesto linguine! Skip the thyme, and toss your pasta with a few big scoops of pesto. It’s delicious with the roasted tomatoes, lemon, and fresh mozzarella.
- Make it vegan by skipping the cheese. Add a few handfuls of roasted chickpeas in its place to make this pasta heartier.
Let me know what variations you try!
If you love this linguine recipe…
Try another of my favorite pastas like this pesto pasta, roasted vegetable pasta, pasta pomodoro, roasted veggie lasagna, or fettuccine alfredo with cauliflower alfredo sauce. Then, find 25 more easy pasta recipes here!
For more easy dinner ideas, check out this post!
Linguine with Lemon & Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 cup Roasted Tomatoes
- 4 very thin lemon slices
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 6 ounces linguine pasta
- 1 1/2 cups arugula
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 3 ounces fresh mozzarella, torn
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- ½ cup fresh basil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the lemon slices on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for for 15 to 20 minutes or until they’re golden brown around the edges. Finely mince the lemons and set aside.
- In the bottom of a medium-sized (cold) pot, combine the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon sea salt.
- Prepare the pasta according to the package directions, cooking until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water. Scoop the hot pasta into the pot, along with the reserved pasta water, the arugula, and toss. If necessary, gently heat until the arugula wilts and the pasta is warmed through. Add the thyme, tomatoes, lemons, and toss again. Top with the mozzarella, pine nuts, and basil. Gently toss, season to taste and serve.
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Perfection! It hit all my favorite notes. A couple of things… I didn’t realize until 5:00 that the tomato roasting takes a couple hours, so I did it in the air fryer, which was a great fix. Also, after reading the reviews, I was confused about lemon peels on or off. I did slice them very thin and was worried that they weren’t crisp, despite browned edges, but I let them sit and I think that helped. I did end up mincing with peels on and it was great. My husband doesn’t love lemons as much as I do but we both devoured this dish and will add it to our regular rotation. Impressive for company, as well. Thank you!