Yes, you won’t believe it till you try it: This pasta is streamlined in everything but taste, and the flavors are sublime.
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 its own water -- none of the liquid is thrown away -- and 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 = 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 (much easier than a spoon for tossing the pasta to coat in sauce).
It 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.
A revolutionary technique: The recipe is inspired by a pasta one of our cooks tried in Puglia, Italy. Cooking the dried pasta in a skillet, not the usual large pot, along with the other ingredients seemed radical, but now we consider this dish one of our “back pocket” recipes. Soon you will too.
Watch how to make our Original One-Pot Pasta:
One-Pot Pasta is in our new book, "One Pot: 120+ Easy Meals from Your Skillet, Slow Cooker, Stockpot, and More."