One Pan Pasta Recipe (With Video and Step-by-Step)

Prep Time:

15 mins

Total Time:

20 mins

Servings:

4

It's one of our most popular recipes—and for good reason. This is our original one-pan pasta recipe, inspired by a dish one of our food editors ate in Puglia, Italy. It uses a revolutionary technique: All the ingredients cook together in the same pan (a straight-sided skillet). You don’t even need to boil water first.

You can use cherry or grape tomatoes for this recipe. You’ll also need onion, garlic, fresh basil (this is not a time to use dried), plus extra-virgin olive oil. All go into the pan with the linguine. As the pasta cooks, the water reduces, and the starchiness from the pasta transforms the remaining water into a creamy sauce. Don't skip the Parmesan and more fresh basil to finish the dish! This is a quick and easy weeknight dinner everyone loves.

One-Pan Pasta - pasta in bowls — Credit:
Maxwell Cozzi

Why You Should Make One-Pan Pasta

Here's why we rate this recipe so highly.

Ingredients are minimal: The sauce is just cherry or grape tomatoes, thinly sliced onion, plenty of garlic, fresh basil, extra-virgin olive oil, and a garnish of Parmesan, but they combine to create a rich flavor. There's culinary magic here: The linguine cooks in water that will ultimately become the sauce—none of the liquid is thrown away. As it reduces, all the lovely starchiness from the pasta transforms the remaining water into a creamy sauce that coats every strand.
Cleanup is a snap: This recipe fits so well with our "fewer pans equals fewer dishes" strategy. All you need equipment-wise for this pasta dinner is a small paring knife, a straight-sided skillet, and a pair of tongs, which are much easier than a spoon for tossing the pasta in the sauce to coat.
Comes together so quickly: Prep is short, and then you just bring everything to a boil and cook, stirring and turning the pasta frequently (using those tongs!). Dinner is ready in 20 minutes from start to finish.
The technique is revolutionary: Cooking the dried pasta in a skillet, not the usual large pot, along with the other ingredients once seemed radical, but now we consider this dish one of our "back pocket" recipes. Soon, you will, too.

Directions

One-Pan Pasta - ingredients — Credit:
Maxwell Cozzi

Combine ingredients in pan and bring to a boil:

Combine pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red-pepper flakes, basil, oil, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and water in a large straight-sided skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Credit:
Maxwell Cozzi
Cook, stirring:

Boil mixture, stirring and turning pasta frequently with tongs, until pasta is al dente and water has nearly evaporated, about 9 minutes.

Credit:
Maxwell Cozzi
Season and serve:

Season to taste with salt and pepper, divide among 4 bowls, and garnish with basil. Serve with oil and Parmesan.

Credit:
Maxwell Cozzi

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use other types of pasta?

Yes, you can use other types of pasta. Remember that this one-pan pasta recipe was developed with and tested using linguine, which cooks in the same time as the other ingredients, about 9 minutes. If you substitute another pasta, it needs to have the same cooking time.
Should I use a pot or pan?

For this recipe, it is best to use a type of pan known as a straight-sided skillet. The terms pot and pan are often used interchangeably, but generally, a pot is larger than a pan; a pan has one handle, and a pot has two small handles. You can use other pans for this recipe but don't use a small pan that would crowd the ingredients or a very large pot that would make it difficult to stir the pasta in.
What can you add to one-pan pasta for more flavor?

You can add more flavor to one-pan pasta in several ways. A simple method is to swap all or half of the water for chicken or vegetable broth. For more umami, add anchovy paste or fish sauce or stir in capers or olives.