Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Garlic Breadcrumbs

Name: Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Garlic Breadcrumbs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 pints cherry tomatoes; Olive oil; Salt and pepper, to taste; 1 tbsp red pepper flakes; 1/2 cup olive oil; 1 cup breadcrumbs; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 cup W&W pesto; 1 lb pasta; Grated parmesan

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·Trust With Google·Leave a Review

Pesto pasta with roasted tomatoes, garlic breadcrumbs, and a chili oil drizzle is the what I make when I want to elevate pesto a bit. My kids are obsessed with pesto, so I make it all the time. But, sometimes it's nice to have an adult version with a more well rounded flavor profile. The tomatoes go soft and jammy in the oven, the breadcrumbs bring crunch the dish didn't know it was missing, and the chili oil means every bowl gets as much heat as you want. Fifteen minutes of hands-on work - the oven and the pasta pot do the rest.

Pesto pasta with roasted tomatoes and garlic breadcrumbs

This is what happens when a jar of good pesto meets a sheet pan of blistered tomatoes - big flavor built in three easy pieces. I make my own basil walnut pesto for this one, but store-bought works too if that's where you're at tonight. If pasta night is a regular thing in your house, this one sits right alongside my Chicken Marsala Pasta and Blackened Shrimp Pasta in the weeknight rotation.

Watch the full reel on Instagram → @whisk__and_wine

Jump to:

Ingredients for Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes
Why You'll Love This Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes
How to Make Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes
Substitutions
Variations to Try
Equipment
Storage
Top Tip
FAQ
More from Whisk & Wine
More Easy Pasta Recipes
Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Garlic Breadcrumbs
💬 Reviews

Ingredients for Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes

Four simple components come together here - roasted tomatoes, chili oil, garlic breadcrumbs, and the pesto pasta itself. Here's what you need for each.

Roasted Tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Chili Oil

Red pepper flakes
Olive oil

Garlic Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs
Garlic cloves, minced
Olive oil

Pesto Pasta

W&W pesto
Pasta

For Serving

Grated parmesan

See recipe card for quantities.

Why You'll Love This Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes

This isn't just pesto pasta - it's pesto pasta with layers, and every one of them earns its spot in the bowl.

Ready in under 40 minutes. Roast the tomatoes while you toast the breadcrumbs and cook the pasta - everything overlaps.
Built-in texture. Silky pesto, jammy roasted tomatoes, and crunchy garlic breadcrumbs in every single bite.
Heat that's optional. Drizzle the chili oil on however much - or little - you want per bowl.
Weeknight easy, dinner-party worthy. Simple ingredients that look and taste like you tried a lot harder than you actually did.

How to Make Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes

Five steps, most of them happening at the same time - here's exactly how it comes together.

Cherry tomatoes tossed with olive oil on a sheet pan before roasting

Roast the Tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a sheet pan, then roast for 20-25 minutes, until blistered and soft.

Olive oil and red pepper flakes infusing in a small saucepan

Infuse the Chili Oil

Meanwhile, warm the olive oil and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan over low heat for 3-5 minutes to infuse. Set aside to cool.

Garlic breadcrumbs toasting golden brown in a skillet

Toast the Garlic Breadcrumbs

In a skillet, toast the breadcrumbs and garlic in olive oil over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.

Pasta tossed with pesto and roasted cherry tomatoes

Cook the Pasta & Toss with Pesto

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water, then drain. Toss the pasta with pesto, adding the reserved pasta water as needed to loosen. Fold in the roasted tomatoes.

Top and Serve

Top with the garlic breadcrumbs, a drizzle of chili oil, and grated parmesan.

Substitutions

A few swaps that won't wreck the dish if that's what tonight calls for.

Store-bought pesto → skip the homemade route entirely if you're short on time. A good jarred pesto still gets you there.
Gluten-free pasta and gluten-free breadcrumbs → both swap in 1:1. Just watch the pasta's cook time, since gluten-free noodles go from al dente to mush fast.
Panko instead of regular breadcrumbs → panko toasts up even crunchier if that's the texture you're after.

Variations to Try

Once you've made the base version, here's how I change it up.

Add torn burrata on top right before serving for a creamy, melty finish.
Add grilled chicken or shrimp to turn this into a heartier one-bowl dinner.
Swap the chili oil for calabrian chili paste stirred right into the pesto if you want the heat built in instead of drizzled on top.

Equipment

Nothing fancy required here - just a few pieces that make the process easier, plus a note on the ingredients worth spending a little more on.

USA Pan Half Sheet Pan (Premium) - Heavy-gauge aluminized steel that won't warp, so the tomatoes roast evenly instead of steaming in a puddle.
Nordic Ware Naturals Half Sheet Pan (Budget) - Non-toxic, uncoated aluminum, and it's the pan I reach for most weeknights.
All-Clad Stainless Steel Skillet (Premium) - Even heat means the breadcrumbs toast golden instead of burning in spots.
Lodge Cast Iron Skillet (Budget) - Non-toxic, practically indestructible, and it gets breadcrumbs just as crisp.
Le Creuset Saucepan (Premium) - Small and heavy-bottomed, so the chili oil infuses gently without scorching the flakes.
Cuisinart Chef's Classic Saucepan (Budget) - Does the same job for a fraction of the price.
All-Clad Stockpot (Premium) - Room for pasta to move around freely, which is half the battle for even cooking.
Cuisinart Stockpot (Budget) - Gets the job done without the splurge.
A word on the pasta and cheese: for a dish this simple, the ingredients are doing all the talking, so I reach for imported, bronze-cut pasta like Garofalo or Rummo - the rough texture holds onto the pesto instead of letting it slide off - and real Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, grated fresh, not the shelf-stable stuff in a green can.

Storage

Here's how to keep leftovers tasting like day one.

Store cooled pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of water or olive oil over medium-low heat to loosen the pesto back up - the microwave works too, just cover it so it doesn't dry out. If you're meal-prepping, keep the chili oil and extra breadcrumbs separate and add them right before serving so the breadcrumbs stay crunchy instead of going soft in the fridge.

Top Tip

Reserve that pasta water before you drain - it's liquid gold for loosening the pesto without watering down the flavor. And don't rush the chili oil infusion. Those 3-5 minutes over low heat are what actually pull the color and heat out of the red pepper flakes. Skip it, and you just have olive oil with flakes floating in it.

FAQ

Here's what people ask me most about this one.

Can I use store-bought pesto?

Absolutely - a good jarred pesto works fine here. Look for one with real basil and olive oil near the top of the ingredient list, not seed oil as the base.

Can I make this ahead of time?

Roast the tomatoes, make the chili oil, and toast the breadcrumbs up to 2 days ahead and store them separately in the fridge. Cook the pasta and toss everything together right before serving.

What can I use instead of chili oil?

A spoonful of calabrian chili paste or even a pinch of plain red pepper flakes stirred into the pesto gets you close, though you'll lose that glossy drizzle on top.

Why did my breadcrumbs turn out soggy instead of crisp?

That usually means the pan wasn't hot enough or they sat too long before serving. Toast them over medium heat until deep golden, and add them to the pasta right at the end so they stay crunchy.