Martha Stewart's One-Pan Pasta
Author Notes: This pasta cooks entirely in one pan (without boiling water first) and makes its own sauce, all in about 9 minutes. Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart Living (June 2013) —Genius Recipes
Serves 4
- 12 ounces linguine
- 12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
- 1 onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 sprigs basil, plus torn leaves for garnish
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- Coarse salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 1/2 cups water
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
- 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 (the linguine should lay flat).
- Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil mixture, stirring and turning pasta frequently with tongs or a fork, until pasta is al dente and water has nearly evaporated, about 9 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, divide among 4 bowls, and garnish with basil. Serve with olive oil and Parmesan.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
25 days ago Marghet
Just made this and it was so good and easy! After reading the comments, I also put in 4 cups of water, but for us the noodles were really al dente so I let it hang out a little longer. Also, I sauteed the onions and garlic until they were soft before adding the rest of the ingredients. It was great! Love spicy so I added more red pepper flakes than it called for. Will make again!
about 1 month ago anne reiswerg
I made this last night after reading several comments below. I used Safeway brand pasta (don't judge me) with 4 cups of water - not 4.5. I kept it on a hardy boil and kept stirring the pasta so it would not stick to the pot. It came out great. I transferred it to a waiting bowl pretty quick to slow the cooking.
about 2 months ago glasshalfmd
I decided to try this recipe again after finding it very flawed when I first made it two years ago. Once again, the liquid did not cook down fast enough (despite using a broad skillet and a powerful burner), so in order to save the pasta from overcooking I had to lift it all out of the sauce after 8 or 9 minutes- at which point it was perfectly al dente- and add it back to the properly reduced sauce 6 or so minutes later. I wonder whether many who love this recipe have a higher tolerance of soft pasta than I do. I can imagine this might work with about 2.5 cups of water.
about 2 months ago karenbamonte
I cooked it exactly as it is written and also refuse to eat anything but al denote pasta, it has worked perfectly every time. Perhaps the pasta here in Italy is made differently than in the U.S.
about 2 months ago glasshalfmd
I used pasta made in Italy (and cut on copper does) on both occasions. I guess the bottom line is that this recipe doesn't have a high degree of what statisticians would call inter-rater reliability.
about 2 months ago Jamie
I use De Cecco linguine. Maybe the brand makes a difference?
about 2 months ago JoAnna
I made this tonight with tomatoes that were picked this morning. I didn't have an onion, so I omitted that, and I used whole wheat spaghetti instead of linguine. Garnished with some pecorino. Wow. I will be making this a lot for the rest of the summer!
2 months ago Jamie
Love the simplicity of this recipe. I add 1/2 c Parmesan at the end off heat. Don't over cook the pasta. Check the pasta at 8 minutes for al dente. I haven't gone beyond 9" and it's perfect every time.
3 months ago Jeanette DeMain
I've made this three times now, and it has been fantastic each time. I even used spaghetti and it came out fine. I do add a dollop of tomato paste at the beginning, and then just a bit of heavy cream at the end. If you let it sit for a few minutes off the heat, the sauce thickens up quite nicely.
6 months ago Shortrib
I'm with the gooey crowd on this one. It's got a very different consistency from the standard pasta plus sauce method. Apparently you love it or you don't. Interesting experiment but I won't make it again.
8 months ago Tanya
Disgusting. .Definitely will not do this again. .
10 months ago Deisi Rohsig
Nothing to eat at home and no desire to leave the house. I remembered this episode and realized we had the ingredients. I told my fiancé and he did not believe one could cook pasta like that. It was simply AMAZING and now we can't stop talking about it! Thanks a million! Deisi and Greg
11 months ago Marion barker
This is a great recipe. In my opinion, the most important thing is to cook the pasta at a robust boil so the water will evaporate appropriately but still be enough to turn into a creamy sauce. To give it a flavor boost, I lightly rub the pan with olive oil, heat it for a minute or two, and then place 3 slices of prosciutto in the pan and cook it for 5 minutes or so until mostly crispy. Remove the prosciutto from the pan, drain on a paper towel and crumble. Add the other ingredients and follow the recipe EXCEPT reduce the salt to at least half of what's called for (partially to compensate for the saltiness of the prosciutto and partially because the amount of salt called for in the original recipe is too much). When plating, sprinkle the prosciutto over the pasta along with the basil, parmesan, and olive oil. Delish!!
11 months ago Scott E Calibraxis
What others call creamy, I call "starchy disgusting mess."
11 months ago Scott E Calibraxis
Disgusting. Everything stuck to the bottom of the pan like crazy, and the tomatoes were dead long before the pasta was done
11 months ago BR95510
Perhaps the pan was too hot?? I had great success with this dish, even over a campfire! I'd encourage you to give it one more try.
11 months ago I_Fortuna
Although the recipe should be brought to a boil, the heat can be turned down and boiling will continue. Leaving the heat too high will definitely cause food to stick.
Also, this is a dish that one needs to stand over , watch and stir frequently for it to be successful. It is done in a short time so everything else should be prepared in order to concentrate on this, the final dish.
In addition. testing the pasta fairly frequently to determine if it is al dente is advisable. This is a no fail recipe but one must watch closely and test. : )
12 months ago keg72
I made this for dinner last night and thought it was great -- it was very silky. I'd be interested in trying to add a pat of butter to the finished dish next time to amp up the silkiness even further.
12 months ago Henny Bogan
What type of onion? White, yellow, red... does it matter?
about 1 year ago I_Fortuna
I am very picky about al dente pasta and don't like the idea of one pot pasta dishes as I fear over cooking but this looks delicious. : )
about 1 year ago Heidi
I made this today...AHHHHH-MAZING! came out a wee bit creamy and perfectly al dente. Clams or shrimp along with a splash of White wine would be an awesome addition. This is going in my repertoire for sure
about 1 year ago strawberrygirl
Just made this and it was delicious. I used bucatini instead of linguine since that was what they had at the only store in my neighbourhood that was open on Labour Day. Next time I'll reduce the water to 4 cups. The sauce was still pretty soupy when the pasta was done, so I took the pasta out with tongs, reduced the liquid for a few more minutes, and then added the pasta back in. That worked well but wasn't ideal.
I can see this being a good base recipe to tweak in the future with extra veggies, capers, etc. I'll definitely be making this again.
about 1 year ago Rebecca Firkser
Made this last night and it was a HUGE hit! I threw in some capers, manchego rind, and white wine too-- amazing!
about 1 year ago gretch374
I forgot to say I had some fresh feta on hand and used that to top it off. Yum.
about 1 year ago gretch374
Wow this is great! Even my six year old had seconds, and he usually picks out every onion he can see. I'm happy to say that he didn't even look for them today, just ate the whole thing and asked for more. I will absolutely be putting this in regular rotation. Thank you!