These zucchini noodles with Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce are a long-time favorite dinner I make every summer! You can eat the sauce over any type of pasta you prefer, but once you try this amazing pasta sauce made with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, sausage, garlic, and herbs, you’ll want to make it over and over!

PIN Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce to make it later!

Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Cherry Tomato, Sausage, Garlic, and Herb Sauce close-up image

When the Spiralizer first came out, I did a lot of experiments with Zucchini Noodles, and there’s no doubt that my obsession with this amazing Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce started around that time. And this amazing fresh-tasting sauce with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, sausage, garlic, and fresh herbs ended up being a recipe I’ve made over and over.

Now years later, this is still a favorite recipe, especially when I have cherry tomatoes that need to be used! So far anyone who hasn’t tried this amazing dish, I’m reminding you about it for my Friday Favorites post for today.

Use your best olive oil, plenty of fresh chopped garlic, and generous amounts of chopped basil, oregano, and parsley, and I promise you’ll swoon over this sauce. When I tested this recipe with my niece Kara, the entire time we were eating it we both kept saying over and over how good it was, and Kara reported that the leftovers were just as good when she reheated them.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  • zucchini or pasta or Palmini Pasta (affiliate link)
  • uncooked hot turkey Italian sausage
  • cherry tomatoes
  • extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
  • minced fresh garlic or Minced Garlic (affiliate link) from a jar
  • red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
  • chopped fresh Greek oregano
  • chopped fresh basil
  • chopped flat or curly parsley
  • freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Ways to eat the Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce:

  • If you have family members who aren’t watching carbs they can eat the cherry tomato sauce over regular pasta of course.
  • My niece Kara and I absolutely love this sauce over zucchini noodles.
  • This amazing sauce would also be delicious to eat with Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta (affiliate link) for an option that’s lower in carbs but identical in flavor to regular wheat pasta.
  • You can also eat it with sauteed Palmini Pasta (affiliate link) for another option that will be low in carbs.

What kind of Cherry Tomatoes should you use?

This recipe will be best with garden-fresh cherry tomatoes and if you have heirloom cherry tomatoes that would be even better. But if you don’t have a garden, any flavorful cherry or grape tomatoes will give a good result.

Can you use dried herbs in this Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce?

I realize not everyone has a herb garden. But the fresh herbs are such an important flavor addition to this cherry tomato sauce that I hope you’ll buy some herbs at the grocery store to make it. You can get away with just fresh basil if you have to buy the herbs; just use a larger amount.

Want more recipes for zucchini noodles?

If you’re already a confirmed zucchini noodle fan, check out Spiralizer Recipes for more tasty ideas for using them, because they’re the perfect low-carb idea when zucchini is plentiful.

How to Make Zucchini Noodles collage photo

How to make Zucchini Noodles:

If you’re a zucchini noodle newbie, you might want to read my post about Three Ways to Make Zucchini Noodles. In that post I give tips for making the noodles and recommend three inexpensive gadgets (affiliate links) that can turn zucchini into noodles. We used the Spiralizer (affiliate link) to make our zucchini noodles; use one small zucchini per person or one medium-sized one for every two people for the noodles.

Zucchini Noodles with Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce collage photo of recipe steps

How to make Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce (with Zucchini Noodles):

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. I use uncooked turkey Italian sausage for this, but use pork sausage if you prefer.
  2. Heat olive oil, squeeze the sausage out of the casings into the hot pan, and cook until the sausage is nicely browned, about 8-10 minutes.
  3. While the sausage cooks, cut enough cherry tomatoes to make 4 cups cherry tomato halves, and wash the herbs if needed.
  4. Remove oregano and basil from the stems, mince garlic, and chop up the basil, parsley, and oregano. 
  5. When all the veggies and herbs are prepped, heat the garlic and red pepper flakes in the oil for a few minutes.
  6. Add the tomatoes and cook about 4 minutes.
  7. Then add the browned sausage, chopped basil, and chopped parsley and cook about 4 minutes more.
  8. Saute the zucchini in a separate pan for about 2 minutes.
  9. To serve, give each person a generous portion of zucchini noodles topped with sauce and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.
  10. I promise this Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce will be a hit with everyone, whether you use zucchini noodles or serve over pasta!

Zucchini Noodles with Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce in two serving bowls with Parmesan on the side

More Ideas with Zucchini Noodles:

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Cherry Tomato, Sausage, Garlic, and Herb Sauce found on KalynsKitchen.com
Yield: 6 servings

Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce is amazing served with zucchini noodles for a great summertime dinner! Or try this amazing cherry tomato sauce with Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta or Palmini Pasta. And of course it will be amazing with regular pasta if you don't care about the carbs!

Ingredients

  • 6 small zucchini (see notes)
  • 19.5 oz uncooked hot turkey Italian sausage
  • 4 cups cherry tomato halves
  • 8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
  • 2 T minced fresh garlic
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
  • 1 T (or more) chopped fresh Greek oregano
  • 3  T (or more) chopped fresh basil
  • 3 T (or more) chopped flat or curly parsley
  • freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions

  1. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy non-stick frying pan.
  2. Squeeze sausage out of the casings into the pan, and saute sausage over medium heat until it’s well-cooked and starting to brown, about 8-10 minutes.  (I like to use an old-fashioned potato masher (affiliate link) to break up the sausage while it cooks.
  3. While the sausage is cooking cut cherry tomatoes in half to make 4 cups sliced cherry tomatoes.
  4. Mince the garlic to make 2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic.
  5. Wash the Greek oregano, basil, and parsley and pull oregano and basil off the stems; then chop the herbs.
  6. Use one of the Three Ways to Make Vegetable Noodles to make enough zucchini noodles for the number of people you’re serving.
  7. Grate Parmesan cheese.
  8. When the sausage is nicely browned, remove it and set aside.
  9. Put the 6 tablespoons of olive oil into the same pan, heat the oil over medium heat about one minute.
  10.  Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook 1-2 minutes (don’t let the garlic brown.)
  11.  Then add the cherry tomatoes and cook about 4 minutes, or until they’re starting to soften.
  12.  Add the cooked sausage, chopped oregano, chopped basil, and chopped parsley and cook about 4 minutes more.
  13.  When the sauce is nearly done cooking, heat the final tablespoon of olive oil in another pan over medium-high heat, add the zucchini noodles, and cook about 2 minutes, turning over occasionally.
  14.  The noodles should be barely soft, with a little crispness left.
  15.  Serve the hot noodles in individual pasta bowls, topping each one with a generous scoop of the sauce and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes

If you're serving the sauce with zucchini noodles, use one small zucchini per person or one medium zucchini for every 2 people.

The sauce will keep in the fridge for several days and can be reheated in a microwave or on the stove.

Nutritional information is for the Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce with zucchini noodles. If you use different pasta that will change the nutritional information.

Recipe inspired by too many cherry tomatoes in the garden and Kalyn’s infatuation with the Spiralizer.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 395Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 640mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 25g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Square image of Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce shown over zucchini noodles.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce recipe is great for low-carb or Keto diets when it’s made with higher-fat pork sausage. Everything in the sauce is a low-glycemic ingredient, and olive oil is a good fat, making this dish perfect for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, but South Beach would definitely prefer chicken or turkey Italian sausage. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Sauces to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2014, and I have literally made it every summer since then. It was updated with better instructions and more information in 2023.

Pinterest image of Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce

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