Pasta alla Sorrentina is a quick and easy pasta dish that's packed with flavor. Juicy cherry tomatoes, pungent garlic, herbaceous fresh basil, and gooey fresh mozzarella cheese cling to plump tubes of pasta to yield the ultimate summer favorite.
Pasta alla Sorrentina is a twist on the classic Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, deriving from Sorrento in the Campania region of Italy. The original dish is comprised of tender potato gnocchi baked in the oven with simple tomato sauce, bubbly mozzarella and fresh basil.
This variation replaces the gnocchi with large tubes of pasta called paccheri. Meanwhile, fresh cherry tomatoes yield a bright and flavorful sauce of their own. Instead of baking in the oven, cubes of fresh mozzarella are added as a final touch. They're stirred into the hot pasta to soften and barely melt. This is a simpler reimagination of a beloved dish from the Amalfi Coast.
Pasta alla Sorrentina also has a lot in common with Pasta Sciuè Sciuè, which is a dish from nearby Naples. Its name means "hurry hurry," and features a quick-cooking sauce of cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and fresh basil. The biggest difference between these two is the cubed fresh mozzarella added to the former. Regardless of which version you make, each bite will taste like summer!
Ingredient notes
- Pasta: I use paccheri which are very large pasta tubes. They may not be easy to find, and you may need to shop at a specialty Italian market to find them. If you can't find paccheri, rigatoni, penne, fusilli or rotini are also good options. I include a range for the amount of pasta because imported varieties will often weigh 500 grams, or 1.1 pounds, and domestic brands in the US will weigh 454 grams or 1 pound. The difference is pretty negligible so just use the whole package in either size.
- Tomatoes: Use fresh cherry or grape tomatoes for this pasta alla sorrentina. Some people use tomato passata, which is a smooth sauce, but I love the flavor and texture of the fresh cherry tomatoes here. Cooking them down with the olive oil and garlic really helps build the flavor.
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: This is a case where you want to use good quality extra-virgin olive oil. It will really impact the flavor of the finished dish, especially since there are so few ingredients.
- Garlic: Make sure to thinly slice the garlic rather than mincing or chopping it.
- Mozzarella: Do not use low-moisture mozzarella (the kind you'd grate to top pizza). Instead, get a ball of fresh mozzarella and cube it up. This should be easy to find in supermarkets. If you're able to find buffalo mozzarella, don't hesitate to use it here. It's even creamier and more flavorful than the regular kind.
- Basil: Do not use dried basil. You really need fresh basil to get the right results. You can also tear or chiffonade some fresh basil as a garnish.
How to make it
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the paccheri to al dente (it may take much longer than the package indicates). Reserve about ½ cup of the starchy pasta water, then drain the pasta.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add thinly sliced garlic and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant and starting to soften but not browned. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the tomatoes start to burst, smash about half of them with the back of a wooden spoon.
Continue to cook for another 5 minutes, covered, or until the tomatoes create a thick, silky sauce. Uncover the skillet and continue to simmer the sauce for a few more minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper if needed. If you want to remove some of the loose tomato skins from the sauce, you can do that at this time.
Add the drained pasta and basil along with a splash or two of the pasta water (add as much as seems necessary). Stir, cooking for a couple more minutes to allow the sauce to cling to the pasta.
Remove the pasta from the heat and stir in the cubed mozzarella cheese, allowing the residual heat of the pasta to soften it.
Serve pasta alla sorrentina immediately with more basil on top.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
Paccheri may take longer to reach al dente than the package indicates. Keep a close eye, but also make sure you don't overcook the noodles as they will finish cooking in the sauce. Mine said 10 to 12 minutes on the packaage but I boiled them for about 22 minutes and was happy with the texture. Since they are so large, I find it easiest to test for doneness but removing one from the boiling water and using kitchen sheers to snip off a small piece to try.
If you want to stick a bit closer to tradition, you can bake your pasta alla sorrentina. If your skillet is oven safe, you can pop it directly into the oven, otherwise transfer the mixture into a baking dish. Bake at 400°F (205°C) for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the top is starting to crisp up.
You can enjoy this easy recipe year round, but it's especially great in the summer when cherry tomatoes and fresh basil are in season. It's a great option for weeknights since it's quick to make and uses a limited ingredient list!
Other recipes you may like
- Spaghetti Sciuè Sciuè
- Penne all' Arrabbiata (Spicy Tomato Pasta)
- Pasta e Piselli (Pasta and Peas)
- Stracciatella Bruschetta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
- Corn and Tomato Pizza
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Pasta alla Sorrentina (Pasta with Tomatoes, Basil, and Fresh Mozzarella)
Ingredients
- 1 to 1.1 pounds (454 to 500 grams) paccheri pasta (or try rigatoni, penne, fusilli or rotini)
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 to 2 ½ pounds cherry tomatoes (about 3 to 4 pints)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves torn by hand, plus more for garnish
- 8 ounces (225 grams) fresh mozzarella cut into ½-inch cubes
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the paccheri to al dente (it may take much longer than the package indicates). Reserve about ½ cup of the starchy pasta water, then drain the pasta.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant and starting to soften but not browned. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
- Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the tomatoes start to burst, smash about half of them with the back of a wooden spoon and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, covered, or until the tomatoes create a thick, silky sauce.
- Uncover the skillet and continue to simmer the sauce for a few more minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper if needed. If you want to remove some of the loose tomato skins from the sauce, you can do that at this time.
- Add the drained pasta and basil along with a splash or two of the pasta water (add as much as seems necessary), and stir, cooking for a couple more minutes to allow the sauce to cling to the pasta.
- Remove the pasta from the heat and stir in the cubed mozzarella cheese, allowing the residual heat of the pasta to soften it. Serve immediately with more basil on top.
Notes
- Pasta:
-
- I use paccheri which are very large pasta tubes. They may not be easy to find, and you may need to shop at a specialty Italian market to find them.
- If you can't find paccheri, rigatoni, penne, fusilli or rotini are also good options.
- Paccheri may take longer to reach al dente than the package indicates. Mine said 10 to 12 minutes on the package but I boiled them for about 22 minutes and was happy with the texture.
- Since paccheri are so large, I find it easiest to test for doneness but removing one from the boiling water and using kitchen sheers to snip off a small piece to try.
- I include a range for the amount of pasta because imported varieties will often weigh 500 grams, or 1.1 pounds, and domestic brands in the US will weigh 454 grams or 1 pound. The difference is pretty negligible so just use the whole package in either size.
-
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: This is a case where you want to use good quality extra-virgin olive oil. It will really impact the flavor of the finished dish, especially since there are so few ingredients.
- Mozzarella: Do not use low-moisture mozzarella (the kind you'd grate to top pizza). Instead, get a ball of fresh mozzarella and cube it up. This should be easy to find in supermarkets. If you're able to find buffalo mozzarella, don't hesitate to use it here. It's even creamier and more flavorful than the regular kind.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
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