Ina Garten has built her reputation on creating recipes that combine simplicity with outstanding flavor, such as her Greek salad and blueberry ricotta breakfast cake.

One standout summer option from Garten is her garden pasta. The dish is nearly a no-cook preparation because the only stove time involves boiling the noodles.

Even though the summer garden pasta from Garten involves only a few straightforward steps, it cannot be assembled at the last minute before serving.

To build the sauce, Garten lets the tomatoes, basil, and olive oil rest together for four hours ahead of combining with the cooked pasta, which means some advance planning is necessary.

Despite the waiting period, the finished dish delivered a tasty and straightforward meal that felt special enough for a summer gathering.

Two Business Insider reporters prepared the recipe to see the results firsthand.

Ina Garten's summer garden pasta calls for just five primary ingredients.

To prepare the dish, gather these items:

Angel hair or another dried pasta shape
Parmesan cheese
Cherry tomatoes
Minced garlic
Basil leaves

Seasonings include high-quality olive oil, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.

We prepared the recipe once with angel hair pasta as suggested and once with spaghetti. Both versions performed well, showing that almost any pasta on hand will work.

We began by slicing the cherry tomatoes in half, the main attraction of the pasta.

Anneta selected cherry tomatoes still attached to the vine, while Erin bought two pints from a nearby Trader Joe's.

Either choice succeeded, although the loose pints proved slightly quicker to halve because they were already off the vine.

Garten's original recipe uses four pints of cherry tomatoes for six servings. We halved all quantities to make a smaller batch.

We next readied the remaining components for the marinated tomatoes.

Following the recipe, Anneta finely chopped three garlic cloves and cut nine basil leaves into thin strips.

Stacking the basil leaves and slicing through the pile a few times completed the task in seconds.

This brief chopping represents nearly all the advance work required. For extra speed, jarred minced garlic works well.

We combined the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.

We seasoned the mixture with half a teaspoon of salt, several pinches of red pepper flakes, and freshly ground black pepper.

We finished by covering the tomato mixture completely with olive oil.

We used roughly half the olive oil amount Garten suggests. This quantity still covered the tomatoes and formed a light sauce base in the bowl.

We stirred the mixture thoroughly and then sealed the bowl with plastic wrap.

Garten advises letting the bowl sit at room temperature for about four hours, so choose a convenient kitchen spot and skip the refrigerator.

The meal's simplicity stood out and reminded Erin of slow-cooker recipes because it requires little attention after the initial setup, aside from boiling the pasta.

Shortly before the four hours ended, we cooked the pasta noodles.

We added olive oil and salt to the boiling water as directed.

Anneta used angel hair pasta while Erin chose spaghetti already in the pantry.

Cooking times vary by pasta type, but Garten recommends cooking until just al dente.

Because angel hair is so thin, it finishes faster than thicker shapes and keeps the overall process quick.

While the pasta cooked, we gave the tomato mixture one more stir.

A wonderful aroma filled the room, similar to bruschetta.

The scent of fresh basil and sweet cherry tomatoes made it clear why the word garden appears in the recipe name, as these are ingredients many people grow at home.

Once the pasta finished cooking, we added the noodles to the tomato mixture along with the grated cheese.

We followed Garten's guidance by adding freshly grated Parmesan and extra basil leaves, then tossed everything in the same pot used for the pasta.

The Parmesan helped bind the sauce and coat the noodles evenly.

The straightforward pasta dish looked appealing and tasted equally satisfying.

Allowing the cherry tomatoes to marinate for four hours produced deep flavor, while the olive oil, seasonings, and Parmesan created a rich coating for every strand.

We kept sampling the tomatoes while mixing the pasta, and Anneta noted she would prepare them again for a cheese board or Greek salad.

Anneta found the angel hair pasta ideal because its light texture balanced the tomato richness and kept the meal refreshing on a warm evening.

Erin observed that the spaghetti absorbed the sauce well and created a heartier portion, showing the choice depends on preference.

We will certainly prepare Garten's summer garden pasta again, even after summer passes.

Although we both enjoy pasta with hearty meat sauces, we appreciated this lighter version for its remarkable ease and depth of flavor.

From mixing the tomato base to boiling the pasta, we used only a few dishes and spent under ten minutes on active cooking.

The recipe is accessible for beginners yet polished enough for guests, and because it uses common pantry items it will become a regular in our rotation.