This recipe is incredibly simple to prepare, delicious, and a big success at dinnertime. Even leftovers are well-received! You may use any type of pasta in lieu of the penne because it only calls for basic ingredients that you almost always have on hand.
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 20 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain, and return to pot.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and parsley for about 1 minute. Season with red pepper flakes and black pepper. Stir into cooked pasta, along with remaining olive oil. Top with Parmesan.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 276 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 42 g |
| Cholesterol | 2 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 53 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Excellent recipe
I absolutely loved this! I omitted the Chili flakes and added small sliced tomatoes it was delicious and my husband is not crazy about Italian pasta. I also used infused olive oil with garlic. I made this 2 days ago and I have already made it again today. It is really one of the best pasta salads I’ve ever had.
Hi, it was okay! I made it again and added Italian seasoning to it.
Just made it and I have to say it’s a winner. I did double the garlic and halve the pasta. The next time I will take the other reviewer suggestion and add sun dried tomatoes and basil.
Too much garlic, it overpowered the dish. Yummy but too simplistic to be a pasta recipe I’ll make again.
I’ve made this several times and really like it. I always greatly increase both the garlic and the tomatoes – by about 4X. Also, the timing for the pasta cook time is a little light – 8 minutes, for instance, leaves the pasta close to crunchy. I would plan on 10-12 min.
I added fresh basil.
,This was great! I used a few strips of sun dried toms, broccoli and a cup of dried penned per person. Thank you!
I used it as a side dish for double stuffed chicken. Also I used butter in place of olive oil and half a bag of pasta. Definitely going to make it again with more garlic and maybe a splash of lemon
Very easy to make. Good flavor but not great.
I love this recipe! I so easy to follow and quick to make. I used 1/2 tsp of the pepper flakes because of my kids. I don’t normally have sundried tomatoes so I used diced tomatoes and it worked fine. I also added about 1/2 cup of heavy cream to make it with some fettuccine pasta. So good!
Simple, straight forward, and easy to prepare! I cut the recipe in half and opted to use a couple hand fulls of grape tomatoes that I sliced in half. I kept the rest of the ingredients the same, except of the red pepper flakes which I added to taste. I added a little chopped fresh basil and some shredded Italian cheese blend. Overall, a nice side dish!
Like other reviewers, I thought it was too bland as-is. That is largely a personal preference though. My rating is for the recipe as-is, though I did end up adding a few things that made it extra good to my wife and me – some salt, butter, and basil at the end. She said it would go great with some fried salmon filets, and we’ll be having that for lunch!
This recipe is definitely a keeper! Instead of penne, I used spaghetti- the only pasta I had on hand. A used way more garlic, fresh parsley, basil, and a added a dash of oregano. What a fantastic dish!
This was okay, I spiced mine up a bit more by adding more garlic, i also boiled my pasta in chicken broth, I added more olive oil, and basil, and grape tomatoes to it and it was better. Next time I may add some bacon pieces. 🙂
This was quite tasty. I made it exactly as written, and included the sun-dried tomatoes. It was nice to see that pasta can be made very flavorful with just a bit of vegetables and spices, and no “sauce” per se.
Very Tasty!
I agree, this is a great baseline for a fresh summer pasta! I used 1/3 box of the wheat penne instead of the entire thing. I also did not want to change up the vegies as I wanted a clean fresh simple pasta, but I did double it. I used Roma tomatoes instead of Sundried. I also sauted the garlic in olive oil with parsley.. threw in the vegies, then added minced onion, and itialian seasoning. I put that mixture aside when I felt it was ready, and took my cooked pasta and sauted it on the skillet with some olive oil and garlic powder to get it a little crisp and absorb some flavor so it was not so bland as it is wheat pasta. Mixed it all together, added crushed red pepper and fresh parmesan shavings and it was delish! 🙂
great recipe, like some others, i reduced the olive oil, and added 1/2 cup dry white wine and reduced prior to adding into the pasta. I also used whole grain pasta. Topped with shredded mozzarella. Delicious, thank you.
A very familiar, “everyday” dish for me – couldn’t live without it! But I’ve never tried it with sun-dried tomatoes. Not sure I’m a fan of that addition.
Left out the sun-dried tomatoes and used a diferent shaped pasta than penne. Perfect side dish.