How to Make Quick and Easy Pasta
Here are 8 fantastic quick and easy pasta recipes! No matter how bare your cupboards are, I bet you can scrape together the ingredients for one of these classic Italian pasta dishes.
Choose from a classicAglio e Olio (garlic pasta), tomato basil pasta, Spaghetti Napolitana (tomato pasta), Arrabiata (spicy tomato pasta), pasta with anchovies, spaghetti with olives and tuna pasta!
8 quick and easy Pasta Recipes
Here are 8 quick pasta recipes that are simple Italian classic pasta dishes.
Don't mistakesimple for bland, because while these are quick and easy, all of these are totally slurp-worthy and you'll find these on the menu of trattoria's all across Italy.
I used to have these scrawled in my barely legible handwriting on a scrap of paper stuck on my fridge, along with my "go to marinades" (which I summarised into one image in this post here). Much neater typed out into this post!
Click here for a PDF printable version of all these recipes on one page.
These are simple easy pasta recipes that are classic Italian pasta dishes. Never mistake simple for bland!
More really quick pasta dishes
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Servings 6 people
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These pasta recipes are simple Italian classics you'll find in trattorias all across Italy. "Pantry" meals that take less than 15 minutes to make, each makes enough for 6 people. For all recipes, follow the Base Steps then move onto the recipe specific steps. Click here for a PDF printable version of all these recipes on one page.
Use the recipe slider to change the serving size.
Key step (especially for simple pastas like these) - tossing the sauce with the cooked pasta and a splash of pasta cooking water. The fat in the sauce reacts with the starch in the cooking water, thickening the sauce and making it stick to the pasta strands. This is the proper way to make pasta - no self respecting Italian or restaurant would ever skip this step!
- 1 lb/500 g dried spaghetti (or other long pasta)
PASTA WITH OLIVE OIL & GARLIC (AGLIO E OLIO):
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 10 garlic cloves , sliced
- 1 tbsp red chilli flakes
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
FIERY PASTA (ARRABIATA):
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- 21 oz / 600g crushed tinned tomatoes
- 2 tbsp chilli flakes
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
PASTA WITH ANCHOVIES (SPAGHETTI CON LE ACCIUGHE):
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- 2 tbsp anchovies , finely chopped
- 1 tbsp red chilli flakes
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
AMATRICE SPAGHETTI (SPAGHETTI ALL'AMATRICIANA):
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- 1/2 brown onion , diced
- 14 oz/400g crushed tinned tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
- 6 oz/ 180g thinly sliced guanciale , or diced pancetta or bacon
FRESH TOMATO & BASIL SAUCE (POMAROLA):
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- 24 oz/800g fresh cherry tomatoes , halved
- 1/4 cup fresh basil , lightly packed
TOMATO SPAGHETTI (SPAGHETTI NAPOLITANA):
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves , crushed
- 1 brown onion , diced
- 28 oz / 800g crushed tinned tomatoes
- 1/4 cup fresh basil , lightly packed
SPAGHETTI WITH OLIVES AND CAPERS (SPAGHETTI ALLA PUTTANESCA):
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- 14 oz/400g crushed tinned tomatoes
- 1/2 tbsp red chilli flakes
- 4 oz/100g black sliced olives
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
PASTA WITH TUNA (SPAGHETTI AL TONNO):
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- 1/2 brown onion , diced
- 14 oz/400g crushed tinned tomatoes
- 5 oz/150g tinned tuna
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
Base Directions (for All):
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Cook 1lb/500g of dried spaghetti (or any other long dried pasta) in a large pot of salted boiling water per packet MINUS 1 minute.
-
Meanwhile, prepare one of the sauces below.
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When pasta is ready, scoop out 1 cup of pasta cooking water, and drain pasta.
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Add pasta into chosen sauce with 3/4 cup pasta cooking water.Toss pasta until sauce thickens and sticks to pasta (called "emulsifying" the sauce), 1 - 2 minutes. Use more pasta water if needed to loosen sauce.
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Season with salt and pepper to taste. Finish pasta per chosen recipe.
PASTA WITH OLIVE OIL & GARLIC (AGLIO E OLIO):
-
Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook until golden - be careful not to burn it.
-
Toss with pasta and cooking water per Base Directions. Toss through parsley and chilli flakes, serve with parmesan.
FIERY PASTA (ARRABIATA):
-
Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic, stir until fragrant, then add the tinned tomatoes and chilli flakes, simmer on medium for 5 minutes.
-
Toss with pasta and cooking water per Base Directions. Toss through parsley and serve with parmesan.
PASTA WITH ANCHOVIES (SPAGHETTI CON LE ACCIUGHE):
-
Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and anchovies, stir until the garlic is fragrant and the anchovies have melted.
-
Toss with pasta and cooking water per Base Directions. Toss through parsley and chilli flakes, and serve with parmesan.
AMATRICE SPAGHETTI (SPAGHETTI ALL'AMATRICIANA):
-
Heat oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic, onion and guanciale (or pancetta or bacon) and cook until the onion has softened and the guanciale is golden.
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Add the tinned tomatoes and chilli flakes and bring to rapid simmer. Toss with pasta and cooking water per Base Directions. Serve with parmesan.
FRESH TOMATO & BASIL SAUCE (POMAROLA):
-
Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and cookuntil fragrant, add tomato and cook briefly, just to warm through.
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Toss with pasta and cooking water per Base Directions. Toss through basil, serve with parmesan.
TOMATO SPAGHETTI (SPAGHETTI NAPOLITANA):
-
Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, then add the onion and cook until softened. Then add tinned tomatoes and 1/2 cup water, simmer 5 minutes.
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Toss with pasta and cooking water per Base Directions. Toss through basil and serve with parmesan.
SPAGHETTI WITH OLIVES AND CAPERS (SPAGHETTI ALLA PUTTANESCA):
-
Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, then add tinned tomatoes, chilli flakes, olives, capers and 1/2 cup water. Simmer 3 minutes.
-
Toss with pasta and cooking water per Base Directions. Toss through parsley and serve with parmesan.
PASTA WITH TUNA (SPAGHETTI AL TONNO):
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Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the onion and cook until softened, then add the tinned tomatoes and 1/2 cup water. Simmer 3 minutes, then add the tuna.
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Toss with pasta and cooking water per Base Directions. Toss through parsley. Seafood pasta typically not served with parmesan but you can if you want!
TIPS:
- Canned tomatoes - not all canned tomatoes are created equal. Good quality ones are naturally sweet with better tomato flavour, poor quality ones are sour and often unripe tomatoes. If needed,add sugar to sweeten tomatoes.
- Salted boiling water - use a big pot of water and 1 tbsp salt. Stir pasta once or twice while cooking.
- Time the pasta so it finishes cooking when the sauce is ready. If you leave cooked pasta sitting in a colander, it sticks together and goes hard as it cools. Ideal is to use tongs to transfer it straight out of the boiling water into the sauce - no colander needed!
- Pasta sticks together -If your pasta DOES start to stick together and go hard, loosen it up with a splash of the reserved pasta cooking water (don't rinse it with tap water, this washes away the starch which stops the sauce from clinging to the pasta). Alternative is to use a drizzle of oil - drizzle and toss while hot.
Nutrition information is for Oglio e Olio, per serving.
Serving: 181 g Calories: 468 cal (23%)
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