Spring Pesto Roasted Tomatoes
This is less of a “recipe” and more an “I need a quick side dish to go with that rotisserie chicken.” When I say quick — I mean 10 minutes of hands-on — if you drink a glass of wine simultaneously. Spring Pesto Roasted Tomatoes are a fast and easy side dish for the season.
The key to these Spring Pesto Roasted Tomatoes (as with any type of cooking) is being prepared. By prepared — I mean having things on hand that are ready to go…
Ingredients For Spring Pesto Roasted Tomatoes
- Tomatoes
- Pesto
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- Salt
- Pepper
- Fresh Breadcrumbs
Let’s start with the pesto. I make pesto in large batches and freeze them in individual silicone ice cube trays (so they are easier to pop out (I tried it with regular trays and had to let them partially thaw in order to dislodge them). I keep the frozen pesto cubes in a freezer baggie until a need arises – like these tomatoes.
The other thing I always have on hand is fresh breadcrumbs — and not because I’m constantly zhuzhing bread in the food processor… whenever there’s a bit of french bread leftover from a meal – or I’m down to the heel of a loaf of white or sourdough — even an errant bun that never got paired with a hot dog or hamburger — I blitz it and transfer it to a storage baggie in the freezer. So fresh breadcrumbs are always at the ready and very convenient for these pesto tomatoes.
Get my latest recipes, helpful kitchen tips and more good things each week in your inbox.
With these little tips, this is literally a 10 minute side dish. Or you could use store-bought pesto and dried breadcrumbs. I won’t tell.
20 minutes in the oven is all it takes for these Spring Pesto Roasted Tomatoes. It’s easy to make and is absolutely delicious. I also think they have a kind of “fancy” quality that most folks don’t expect on a random Tuesday night. If you don’t like spice, you can skip the red pepper flakes.
Want to add more richness? Toss the breadcrumbs with a little Parmigiano Reggiano. You can easily make this your own recipe and take all the credit for yourself. Just let me know how it turns out for you!
Tried this recipe? Leave a rating and review.
Your comments and shares are invaluable to me and the thousands of readers who use this site daily. If you've made the recipe, leave a star rating and review. We want to hear how you liked it.
We'd love it if you shared the recipe with your friends on social media!
Spring Pesto Roasted Tomatoes
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tomatoes large, ripe
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic (large cloves) minced
- pinch red pepper flake
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup pesto sauce , store bought or see recipe on this site
- ½ cup breadcrumbs fresh
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 400°. For faster cleanup, cover a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with vegetable spray. Set aside.
- Carefully core the stem out of the tomatoes and discard. Slice the tomatoes in half, crosswise. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes. Drizzle each tomato with one teaspoon of olive oil. Divide the garlic between the tomato halves and sprinkle a very small pinch of red pepper flakes onto each tomato.
- Add 1 tablespoon of pesto to each tomato half and spread evenly over the tomato. Divide the breadcrumbs between the tomatoes and bake for 18-22 minutes or until tomatoes soften and breadcrumbs are lightly toasted. If breadcrumbs are browning too fast, gently rest a sheet of tin foil over the top to prevent further browning.
- Transfer tomatoes to a serving dish. Can be eaten hot or at room temperature. (I prefer them warm).
NOTES:
NUTRITION:
Pin “Spring Pesto Roasted Tomatoes” For Later!
This is our new favorite easy but classy side dish on the grill! Like 6x in 3 weeks. Tried a slice of fresh mozzarella tonight, fabulous!
Ooohhhh — classy! Love it!
Gorgeous photos! This recipe looks perfect for sping.
Homemade pesto makes everything fabulous! This is my kind of food.
Thanks so much for sharing
Julie
Thermokitchen
I agree. I’ve got so much in my freezer that I’d better start coming up with more ways to use it!
This looks perfect! Basil grows like crazy in my garden so I’m always looking for ways to use the pesto I make with it!
Thanks, Patrick! It’s a great way to use up the basil/pesto from the garden!
Lisa you made simple tomato into gourmet dish. That pesto and crunchy bread crumbs will be delicious you saying simple one I would say this is gourmet one.
LOL! Thank you Swathi — but it really is simple.
I love these classic flavors (I like to freeze pesto for moments like this too), and I love the simplicity of this dish! It’s so good to have these kinds of recipes in your back pocket for when you need them!
I agree, Mary – we all need those fast and easy go-tos!
Love it!! Easy and delicious!! And love your kitchen hacks, or tricks to make life easier.
Anything to make life easier — and wine. A lot of wine.
Great tip for storing homemade pesto, thank you! Many thanks also for this lovely side dish!! So happy spring is here and delicious tomatoes are just around the corner!!
Glad you like the recipe and tip — I think kitchen tips are the BEST!
These look amazing, and I’m going to have to start doing that with my leftover baguettes!!! I refuse to buy store-bought breadcrumbs because the ingredients list is RIDICULOUS, but keeping your own in the freezer is so clever!!! (And the tomatoes.. YUMMMMM)
I know – crazy! My husband always wonders what those little baggies contain — but he never complains about his meals!
Love these, they are perfect as a tasty side or with a salad for a light vegetarian meal:)
Absolutely!
My vegetarian daughter would love these!
We love them as a side dish to chicken, pork, beef or fish — LOL!