Vegetarian Recipes

Roasted Tomatoes

https://www.loveandlemons.com/roasted-tomatoes/

Have you ever tried roasted tomatoes? If you haven’t, I’m here to tell you that you have to make this roasted tomato recipe before summer ends. While I love using juicy fresh tomatoes in recipes like pico de gallo, Caprese salad, and panzanella, roasted tomatoes transform into something totally different. As they roast, they lose moisture, and their flavor intensifies. They come out of the oven chewy & tart, with a super-concentrated, intense umami flavor. These little guys are totally irresistible!

Make sure you roast a big batch – you’ll find endless ways to use them. Around here, we can’t get enough of them on pizza, in pasta, or on their own straight out of the oven!

How to Roast Tomatoes

Luckily, making oven-roasted tomatoes couldn’t be easier. All you need is olive oil, salt, and tomatoes. When you’re choosing tomato varieties, choose small to medium-sized ones. I especially like to roast cherry tomatoes, but grape tomatoes, or plum tomatoes work too. The hardest part is waiting for them to cook! Here’s how to roast them:

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Slice the tomatoes in half, and place them with their cut sides up in a single layer on the baking sheet.
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, and transfer the baking dish to the oven. Roast the tomatoes until they’re shriveled and browned around the edges. That’s it!

At 250 degrees, my cherry tomatoes took about 4 hours to get totally shriveled and brown around the edges. The time will vary depending on the size and juiciness of your tomatoes – roasted grape tomatoes can take as little as an hour, while larger tomatoes will need longer.

When I have time to let them cook, I love to do a really long, slow roast like this. But some days, I don’t have all afternoon to make roasted tomatoes. When I’m in a hurry, I roast them at 300 degrees to help them cook faster, or I’ll start at 250 and turn up the heat to 350 partway through, once the tomatoes have begun to wilt down. They come out great just the same! Just be sure not to start with too high a temperature – if the oven is too hot, the tomatoes will burst, not shrivel.

What To Do With Oven Roasted Tomatoes

With their concentrated umami flavor, roasted tomatoes are an excellent addition to pastas, salads, soups, tomato sauce, and more! Here are some of my favorite ways to use them:

How do you like to use roasted tomatoes? Let me know in the comments!

If you love these oven roasted tomatoes…

Try roasted red peppers, cauliflower, asparagus, beets, or delicata squash next!

Roasted Tomatoes

Total time

3 hours 10 mins

Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Recipe type: Component

3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh thyme, optional

Preheat the oven to 250°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the cherry tomatoes cut side up on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and fresh thyme, if using.
Roast the tomatoes until they’re well shriveled around the edges, 2½ to 3 hours. The time will vary depending on the size and water content of your tomatoes.

Note: to speed up the process, I often turn up my oven to 300 or 350 halfway through the roasting time. This allows the tomatoes to begin to dehydrate and then continue to roast. Too high of a temperature too early will cause them to burst instead of shrivel.

Vegetarian Recipes

Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Here’s a quickie recipe for those nights when you just need something fast and delicious. This Lemon Ricotta Pasta is super fast, light, and fresh, which makes it perfect for an easy weeknight dinner during the summer. The bright lemon flavor perfectly compliments the light and creamy ricotta, and the little pops of sweetness from the peas make every bite a little more interesting. Simple, fresh, and easy.

Originally posted 3-4-2011, updated 6-8-2022.

Do I Have to Use Fresh Lemon?

This is one of those recipes where you really do want to use a fresh lemon instead of bottled juice. The zest from the lemon adds a ton of bright, summery lemon flavor to the pasta without making the sauce too sour. We add just a little of the juice to balance the creaminess of the ricotta, but the zest is where you’re getting all that gorgeous sunny lemon flavor!

Not All Ricotta is Created Equal

I find there is quite a bit of variation in the quality of ricotta from brand to brand. Some are smooth, mild, and sweet like fresh milk, while others are bland and grainy. My preferred brand is Galbani, but they didn’t have any at the store when I went, so I got the generic Kroger brand. It was definitely a bit grainy, but the pasta was still quite delicious despite that!

Also, make sure to get whole milk ricotta. Low-fat ricotta just doesn’t hit the same in this recipe.

What Else Can I Add?

This simple pasta is a great jumping-off point for making a more elaborate pasta, if that’s what you’re in the mood for. Try adding some sliced chicken breast, fresh basil, or fresh spinach. Garlic butter shrimp would also go great with this pasta!

What to Serve with Lemon Ricotta Pasta

This pasta is so light and fresh that I suggest keeping any side dishes really simple, light, and fresh as well. I would go with a super simple side salad, or maybe some roasted asparagus and tomatoes.

Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Lemon Ricotta Pasta is light, fresh, and quick to prepare, making it the perfect pasta for weeknight dinners in the summer.

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine American

Total Cost $4.27 recipe / $1.07 serving

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings

Calories 400kcal

Author Beth – Budget Bytes

Ingredients

1 lemon $0.89
8 oz. pasta* $0.67
1 cup frozen peas $0.50
1 clove garlic, minced $0.08
1 Tbsp butter $0.11
1 cup whole milk ricotta $1.60
1/4 cup grated Parmesan $0.36
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste) $0.02
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (or to taste) $0.02
1 pinch crushed red pepper (or to taste) $0.02

Instructions

Zest and juice the lemon. You’ll need about ½ tsp zest and 1 Tbsp lemon juice.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions (boil for 7-10 minutes, or until tender). Before draining, reserve about 1 cup of the starchy water from the pot.
Place the frozen peas in the colander before draining the pasta so the pasta will thaw the peas as it drains.
Add the butter and minced garlic to a large skillet and sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic is fragrant.
Add the drained pasta and peas, and about ½ cup of the starchy pasta cooking water to the skillet with the butter and garlic. Stir to combine, then turn off the heat.
Add the ricotta, Parmesan, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon lemon zest to the skillet. Stir until everything is well combined, the residual heat from the skillet and pasta have warmed the ricotta, and the ricotta has formed a creamy sauce. Add more of the warm reserved pasta water if needed.
Season the pasta with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Notes

*Use any short shape pasta.

Nutrition

How to Make Lemon Ricotta Pasta – Step By Step Photos

Zest and juice one lemon. You’ll need about ½ tsp of zest and 1 Tbsp juice.

Cook 8oz. pasta according to the package directions (boil for 7-10 minutes, or until tender). Reserve about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.

Add 1 cup of frozen peas to a colander, then pour the boiled pasta over top to thaw the peas as you drain the pasta.

Add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 clove garlic to a large skillet. Sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic becomes very fragrant.

Add the still-hot pasta and peas to the skillet along with about ½ cup of the hot reserved pasta water. Stir to combine, then turn off the heat.

Add 1 cup whole milk ricotta, ¼ cup grated Parmesan, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and ½ tsp lemon zest to the pasta. Stir until the ingredients are combined, the residual heat from the pasta and skillet have warmed the ricotta, and the ricotta has turned into a creamy sauce.