A perfectly light, satisfying comfort pasta. And cherry tomato and garlic confit does all the work for you as it slow cooks in the oven, so you can enjoy this decadent dinner with only 15 minutes of work.

What is tomato confit?
The word confit means to preserve. In cooking, it is used to describe the process of slowly cooking something in oil. Imagine deep frying, but at a much lower temperature for a prolonged period of time.
Light pasta sauce - My favorite way to use tomato & garlic confit
The tomato and garlic confit serve as a perfectly light, olive oil based pasta sauce. You will need the following ingredients:
- olive oil
- salt
- garlic
- parsley
- cherry tomatoes
- thyme
- pasta

Step by step tomato confit recipe - with photos
Preheat oven to 275F. With a paring knife, poke a hole in each clove of garlic and each cherry tomato (photo 2). Add the garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, salt, thyme, and (optional) red pepper flakes to an 8”x8” or approximately equivalent base area baking dish. I used a 6"x10" dish in the photos. You don't want to use a dish too large or the olive oil won't cover as much of the tomatoes. Toss to coat (photo 3). Cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes. You can leave it in the oven for up to 2 hours, so no need to worry if you get busy doing other things.

Remove from the oven (photo 1 below) and squeeze all the garlic cloves out of their skins, discard the thyme sticks, and carefully smash the tomatoes and garlic cloves with a fork (photo 2 below). Mix well (photo 3 below). Taste and season with salt as necessary. Place back in the (off) oven to keep warm until the pasta is cooked.

Place a large pot of water on high heat for the pasta. Season with 2 teaspoon sea salt. Cook per the package until al dente. Mix the drained pasta with the tomato and garlic confit in your serving dish. Toss to coat well. You want all the noodles to be covered in the olive oil, tomato, garlic confit mixture. Garnish with parsley leaves. Serve immediately.

Looking for more delicious vegetarian pasta recipes?
If you love this recipe, I know you'll enjoy these:
- Aglio e Olio Gnocchi with Broccoli Rabe & Pumpkin
- Pasta Puttanesca
- Pasta with Basil, Tomato, Arugula, & Pine Nuts
Or check out my pasta archives here.
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Tomato & Garlic Confit Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 cloves garlic unpeeled
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes any size, color, shape
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes optional
- 6 sprigs thyme fresh
- 1 pound pasta I used tagliatelle
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275F. With a paring knife, poke a hole in each clove of garlic and each cherry tomato.
- Add the garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, salt, thyme, and (optional) red pepper flakes to a 8”x8” or approximately equivalent base area baking dish. Toss to coat. Cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and squeeze all the garlic cloves out of their skins. Discard the thyme sticks, leaving the leaves. Then, carefully smash the tomatoes and garlic cloves with a fork. Mix well. Taste and season with salt as necessary. Place back in the (off) oven to keep warm until the pasta is cooked.
- Place a large pot of water on high heat for the pasta. Season with 2 teaspoon sea salt. Cook per the package until al dente.
- Mix the drained pasta with the tomato and garlic confit in your serving dish. Toss to coat well. Garnish with parsley leaves. Serve immediately.
Helen
I'm such a garlic confit lover and this recipe is exactly what I needed in my life! Even my kiddos who aren't the biggest garlic fans devoured this.
Candice
So glad you liked it, Helen... thank you for taking the time to share!
D D
This was fantastic! A favorite now 🙂 Thank you for such an easy and delicious recipe.
Candice
Thank you for taking the time to share, D... I'm so glad you liked it!
Charlotte
I don’t normally leave reviews, but this was seriously so good. I’ve made pasta with roasted garlic before, but this confit garlic/tomato combo was next level. Ugh my only regret is not making more. So so good. Will definitely make again very soon.
Candice
I'm so glad you loved it, Charlotte... and I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review! Enjoy!
Aline
OMG! This was amazing!! It looked, smelled and tasted incredible and it was literally no work at all!!! Thank you for the recipe!
Candice
You just made my day with this sweet comment, Aline... so glad to hear you enjoyed it!! Yay!