Food & Cooking Recipes Ingredients Pasta and Grains One-Pan Pasta 3.9 (5,128) 149 Reviews All of the ingredients—pasta, tomatoes, onions, and olive oil—cook together in the same pan. By Martha Stewart Martha Stewart Martha Stewart is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and lifestyle expert who has taught millions of people through generations the joy of entertaining, cooking, gardening, collecting, crafting, and home renovating via her eponymous magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Emmy-winning television shows, and 99 books (and counting). Based in Katonah, N.Y., where she helms her 156-acre Bedford Farm, Martha is America's first self-made female billionaire. Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 18, 2024 Rate PRINT Share 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-pot 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! One-Pot Dinner Recipes You Can Make in 30 Minutes or Less 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. Ingredients 12 ounces linguine 12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if large 1 onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups) 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes 2 sprigs basil, plus torn leaves for garnish 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 4 ½ cups water Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving Directions 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. 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. 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. Maxwell Cozzi Frequently Asked Questions Can I use other types of pasta? Yes, you could use other types of pasta but this one-pot pasta recipe was developed with and tested using linguine, which cooks in the same times as the other ingredients, about nine 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. Try Our Other One-Pot Pasta Recipes: One-Pot Pasta with Broccoli and Lemon One-Pot Pasta with Zucchini and Parmesan One-Pot Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Bacon One-Pan Orecchiette With Chickpeas and Olives Cheater's Mac and Cheese Originally appeared: Martha Stewart Living, June 2013 Rate It PRINT Updated by Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the Martha Stewart recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years.