The sauce for these summer spaghetti comes together in the Thermomix® mixing bowl while the pasta cooks in parallel on the hob. What really makes this recipe stand out: We quarter the 8 cherry tomatoes, set 12 pieces aside raw, and add them on top just before serving. The raw tomatoes on the plate taste fresher than anything that has been cooked.
This recipe comes straight from everyday cooking: quick, budget-friendly, and enough for 4 people. Courgette, pepper, onion, garlic, frankfurters, and crème fraîche come together in the Thermomix® to make a rich, creamy sauce that needs just 8 minutes of active cooking time in the mixing bowl. The 500 g of spaghetti cooks alongside it, and everything is on the table in 30 minutes. The settings work identically on TM31, TM5, TM6, and TM7.
Quick Thermomix® Summer Spaghetti
Ingredients 0 / 13 ✓
- 500 grams spaghetti
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 onion
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 300 grams zucchini
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp instant vegetable broth
- 8 cocktail tomatoes
- 150 grams vienna sausages
- 100 grams crème fraîche
- 2 branches oregano
Instructions 0 / 8
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1
Cook Spaghetti.
Cook spaghetti according to package directions in enough salted water and keep warm.
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2
Meanwhile, peel the garlic and onion, add to the mixing bowl and chop for 5 seconds/speed 6.
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3
Wash and clean the peppers and zucchini, cut into pieces, add to the mixing bowl and chop for 4 seconds/speed 5.
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4
Add oil, salt, pepper and instant broth and braise for 3 minutes/LEFT ROTATION/VAROMA/speed 1.
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5
Meanwhile, wash and quarter tomatoes, slice Vienna sausages.
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6
Set aside 12 tomato pieces, add the remaining tomatoes, sausages and crème fraîche to the mixing bowl and cook for 5 minutes/LEFT ROTATION/100 °C/speed 1.
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7
Wash oregano, shake dry and pluck the leaves.
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8
Spread spaghetti in plates, pour sauce over it and serve garnished with tomato wedges and oregano leaves.
Tip: If you want the sauce to be creamier, add a teaspoon of cornstarch along with the instant broth.
Nutrition per serving
Why this recipe tastes better in summer than any simple tomato pasta
Most cherry tomato pastas rely on olive oil, garlic, and basil. We take a different approach: the sauce is rich from the crème fraîche, savoury from the frankfurters, and has texture thanks to the courgette and pepper sautéed into it. Two Thermomix® details make all the difference. First, we sauté the vegetables for 3 minutes at Varoma temperature using reverse blade direction, so the pieces are moved around rather than chopped up. If you forget the reverse blade direction, you end up with a mushy sauce instead of a chunky one. Second, the 12 raw tomato quarters do not go into the sauce at all. They go on top as a garnish at the very end. From May through September, when cherry tomatoes are properly ripe, that fresh contrast is what takes the dish from fine to really good. For a vegetarian version, leave out the frankfurters or replace them with diced tofu. The sauce carries both without any trouble.
Anyone who enjoys trying different pasta ideas will find a version made with almost entirely fresh ingredients in our Spaghetti Tomato-Mozzarella, or a particularly quick cheese version in our Parmesan Pasta.
What makes the Thermomix® sauce rich and chunky at the same time
Three specific details determine the final result. We have refined this recipe at exactly these points over the years.
- Garlic and onion first, then the larger vegetables. We chop 2 garlic cloves and 1 onion finely for 5 seconds at speed 6. The pepper and 300 g of courgette go in afterwards in rough pieces and are chopped for just 4 seconds at speed 5. This keeps visible vegetable pieces rather than turning everything into a purée.
- Reverse blade direction when sautéing and cooking. When sautéing (3 minutes/Varoma temperature/speed 1) and when cooking the sauce (5 minutes/100 °C/speed 1), the blade runs in reverse. The blunt side pushes the pieces around rather than chopping them. This is where the Thermomix® genuinely makes a difference.
- Crème fraîche goes in at the very end. The 100 g of crème fraîche is added together with the frankfurters and tomatoes in the final cooking step. If it cooks for more than 5 minutes at 100 °C, it can split. Added briefly at the end, it stays creamy.
While this sauce comes together in the mixing bowl, the spaghetti cooks in parallel on the hob. That is exactly where the time is saved: one appliance for the complete sauce, no second pan needed for sautéing. Active mixing bowl time is just 8 minutes, the rest takes care of itself.
Four mistakes that cost you that summer flavour
Sauce turns mushy instead of chunky
This happens when the vegetables are blended too long or without reverse blade direction. At speed 5, 4 seconds is enough for the pepper and courgette. Any longer and it turns to mush. Our fix: Keep a mental timer, and run two short pulses at speed 5 rather than one long one. From the sautéing step onwards, use reverse blade direction consistently.
Crème fraîche splits
If the sauce gets too hot or cooks for too long, the milk fat curdles and the sauce looks grainy. Our fix: Stay at 100 °C and no higher, and genuinely add the crème fraîche only in the final 5-minute step. If you want to be safe, use crème fraîche with at least 30 % fat content. It is more heat-stable than lower-fat versions.
Sauce too thin
Watery courgette and ripe tomatoes release liquid as they cook. Our fix: Add a level teaspoon of cornflour along with the instant stock. It binds the liquid during the same 5 minutes without changing the flavour.
Pasta and sauce are not ready at the same time
If you put the spaghetti on too early, the pasta clumps together while the sauce is still sautéing. Our fix: Chop the garlic and onion in the mixing bowl first, then put the pasta water on to boil. By the time the water reaches a boil, the vegetables are chopped and sautéed, and both components finish at exactly the right moment.
Five variations we actually cook ourselves
- Vegetarian: Leave out the 150 g of frankfurters or replace them with 150 g of diced smoked tofu. Brown the tofu briefly with the vegetables, then continue as normal.
- Lighter in high summer: Swap the crème fraîche for 100 g of soured cream or 80 g of cream cheese. It becomes slightly fresher and more tangy, which works well with ripe tomatoes.
- Spicier: Chop half a chilli along with the garlic and onion, or add half a teaspoon of chilli flakes to the stock.
- More vegetables: Stir in a handful of peas or a second courgette during the sautéing step. The sauce easily handles 100 g more vegetables. If you do, increase the stock slightly.
- Cheesier: Stir 40 g of freshly grated Parmesan into the hot sauce at the end. The Thermomix® grates it in 10 seconds at speed 10 beforehand.
What we put on the table alongside the summer spaghetti
Because the sauce is already savoury and filling, a crisp salad on the side is usually all it needs. Our green salad from the Thermomix® with a homemade dressing is ready in the three minutes the vegetables take to sauté. If you fancy some bread to mop up the sauce, our Thermomix® baguette is the perfect match. And if fresh summer pasta has got you hooked, our Spaghetti Tomato-Mozzarella is the purely vegetarian, Mediterranean cousin of this recipe.
How long the sauce keeps and how to reheat it
The finished sauce keeps in a sealed jar for 3 days in the fridge. Because it contains crème fraîche, we would not keep it any longer than that. When reheating, warm the sauce slowly: best in a pan over medium heat, or in the Thermomix® for 3 minutes/90 °C/reverse blade direction/speed 1, so the crème fraîche does not get too hot again and split.
We store the spaghetti and sauce separately. Cooked pasta firms up in the fridge, so cook fresh pasta shortly before eating, or reheat leftovers with a splash of water. We do not recommend freezing this sauce: the crème fraîche separates on thawing and the vegetables turn watery.
Frequently asked questions about Thermomix® summer spaghetti
How long do the summer spaghetti take in the Thermomix®?
30 minutes in total, including 15 minutes of preparation. The active mixing bowl time for the sauce is just 8 minutes (3 minutes sautéing plus 5 minutes cooking). The rest runs in parallel with the pasta water.
Why add the 12 tomatoes raw at the end?
Tomatoes that cook in the sauce lose their freshness and bite. The 12 raw quarters on top bring exactly the fresh, lightly sharp contrast that makes the dish taste like summer. That is why they go on the plate at the very end.
Which Thermomix® models work?
All of them. TM31, TM5, TM6, and TM7 all use the same settings: 5 seconds/speed 6 for garlic and onion, 4 seconds/speed 5 for pepper and courgette, 3 minutes/Varoma temperature/speed 1 for sautéing, 5 minutes/100 °C/speed 1 for the sauce, all with reverse blade direction. No difference between models.
How do I make the sauce even richer?
Add a level teaspoon of cornflour along with the instant stock. It binds the liquid released by the courgette and tomatoes during the same 5 minutes, without changing the flavour.
Can I make this recipe vegetarian?
Yes. Leave out the 150 g of frankfurters or replace them with 150 g of diced smoked tofu. The crème fraîche sauce works well either way, and the core flavour of the sauce stays the same.
Which pasta works best?
Goes well with: Parmesan.
You might also enjoy: Pasta with Salmon Thermomix®.
Classically, 500 g of spaghetti, because the sauce clings well to long pasta. Penne or fusilli work just as well and actually catch the vegetable pieces and tomato quarters even better. The sauce is enough for 4 servings of pasta.
