One Pot Pasta Recipe

This One Pot Pasta recipe is exactly what it means — cook the pasta and sauce in one pot! Fuss-free and yummy, just the way I like my dishes. Seriously! Prep time is 10 minutes tops, and cooking time is 15 minutes.

One pot meals have always appealed to me. Single-burner stoves were a huge part of early married life for me. We couldn’t get a double burner stove because it took up so much space in what were usually cramped apartment kitchens. All throughout married life we’ve only had single-burner stoves. So one pot meals were ALWAYS the way to go. We moved in with my folks a few years ago, and I find that the (few) dishes I cook still use only one pot (even if there are more than two burners available to me now). Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce? One pan. Old habits die hard. Hey, if they’re quick to do and yummy in the tummy, I say it’s the way to go!

One Pot Pasta Recipe

This dish was inspired by Budget Bytes‘ Italian Wonderpot. I’ve had her recipe posted on my One Pot Meals Pinterest board for the longest time. I finally had some time to try it this weekend and was sure glad I did! Please do visit her site (link above) to check out the original recipe. The recipe below is my take on this quick and easy dish.

What you’ll need:

5 cups of beef broth (How I did it: 2 Knorr Beef Cubes dissolved in 5 cups of water)
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 oz. fettucini
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 large white onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
A huge handful of fresh basil
1 tablespoon ground oregano
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for serving

How to cook:

1. Pour the broth into a large pot. Budget Bytes said to break the fettucini in half to make stirring easier, so we did just that. Add ALL the ingredients into the pot — the crushed tomatoes, olive oil, basil, oregano, onion, garlic, sugar, black pepper, salt, the pasta.
2. Submerge all ingredients under the broth. Cover the pot and put on HIGH heat. Bring to a rolling boil. When it’s boiling, remove the cover and put it on MEDIUM heat.
3. Keep the uncovered pot boiling for about 15 minutes. By this time, the pasta would have been cooked and you’ll see some of the broth would have been absorbed. It’s not a soupy dish! It’ll be light and saucy; just you wait and see. Stir the pot once in awhile to stop the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
4. Season to taste. When done, serve in individual bowls and top with a generous serving of Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

It’s super easy! Getting all ingredients together takes 10 minutes tops, and the cooking takes only 15 minutes.

One Pot Pasta Pictures!

Here’s my ever-reliable prep chef breaking the fettucini in half. He had a good time doing this! I was so happy Timmy was helping me out with the dish. He did nibble on some of the fettucini though when he could get away with it. We also had a fettucini swordfight during prep. 😛 Fun times!

The Best Prep Chef in the World

This is what the one pot pasta looks like about 12 minutes into the cooking process. Most of the liquid has been absorbed by the pasta. It smells delicious too!

Italian Flag Colors

We transferred the pasta into a serving dish. I was afraid it’d keep on cooking if we served it in the pot where it was cooked. We wouldn’t want the pasta getting mushy now!

Pretty Pasta

Here you go! Serve each bowl with a big sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. It’s comfort food. You can eat this warm, you can eat this cold.

Comfort food in a bowl.

The biggest highlight of this dish for me was Timmy eating it heartily. This is the first dish I cooked that he enjoyed. My sister told him it was “flat spaghetti”. He didn’t like the basil much but he liked a little of the crushed tomatoes with the pasta. Hurrah! This is definitely a milestone dish for me. 😉

While this dish turned out pretty well, there are some things I’ll definitely improve on next time!

What I’d do differently next time:

• Put more basil. Instead of one handful, I’ll put in three handfuls of fresh basil! I’ll put in the two handfuls during the initial boiling, then the third handful when close to serving so it’s still bright green.
• Instead of 5 cups of water, I’ll use 4 cups instead. So, I’ll dissolve 2 beef cubes in 4 cups of water. That may add even more flavor.

Just those two really. I purposely didn’t add any meat here (save for the beef broth) so it’s kept light and fresh. If you want to put in some meat though, I’d recommend Italian sausage. You’d have to cook it in a separate pan though and add it to the final dish. But then it wouldn’t be a one pot meal anymore. 😉

Come try this! Super quick, super easy, and super light and yummy!

Hi! I'm Toni Tiu, and I've been blogging at at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.