The Easiest One Pot Meal You Will Ever Need
If you’re looking for a recipe for easy dinners, here is one you have to check out. It’s a quick and cheap dinner recipe invented out of pure desperation.
I was looking for an easy dinner with no fuss and less dishes to wash. After a long day of work, I just didn’t have the energy to boil the pasta, then drain, then mix in with sauce–in separate pots! For this recipe, all you need is one pot and two ingredients–talk about an easy dinner idea!
As I also mentioned, this is a very frugal dinner recipe. You only need two ingredients (assuming you already have water and oil). This recipe is also a great easy cooking recipe for beginners. You will be amazed at how easy it is to put together. You can serve this as a stand alone meal or with a side salad/vegetables.
Here is my favorite go-to recipe for those quick easy dinners we all need. Enjoy!
A word about options.
This meal is totally fine as a stand alone meal. The sole purpose of this recipe was to quickly put dinner on the table, but for those of you who feel inclined to do a little extra, here are my recommendations:
Olives – Any kind, but Kalamata are the best combined with the flavors in marinara or spaghetti sauces.
Sauces – You can use any kind, any flavor. My favorite is brand is Bertolli. They make the prettiest craft jars and look great in my pantry to store my rice, grains, seeds, and nuts!
Vegetables – Any kind. My favorites are steamed spinach, broccoli, carrots, and squash. Whatever you have or whatever needs to get eaten first. Anything will work.
Bread – I would go with whatever you have on hand. Even some simple toasted bread will work.
Salad – Can be a simple lettuce and tomato. Another option is sliced tomatoes by themselves with dressing with herbs and cheeses on top, or sliced tomatoes with sliced cucumbers.
One-Pot Pasta
Notes
Top with dairy or vegan cheese, fresh basil, kalamata olives, or whatever sounds good to you.
You can add vegetables to the pot or as a side dish and/or a salad.
Ingredients
- 1 - 16 oz. box uncooked pasta (this recipe works well with elbow macaroni or penne)
- 1 - 24 oz. jar of prepared marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce (whatever type or flavor you prefer)
- 1-2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil (optional)
- 28 oz. water (3 1/2 cups)
Instructions
- To a 6-quart pot, add uncooked pasta and sauce.
- Fill the empty sauce jar with water and add to pot, plus add an additional 4 oz. of water
- Bring the ingredients to boil over medium heat. Once it starts boiling, cover and simmer on VERY LOW HEAT for about 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, give the pasta a slight stir and cover again to sit for about 5 minutes.
- After sitting for 5 minutes, drizzle with olive oil (optional) and give it another stir. Now it is ready to serve.
