One-Pan Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta That Skips the Boiling Process

If you want a rich, satisfying Italian dinner with absolute minimal cleanup, this clever one-pan technique is a game changer. By letting dry pasta cook directly in a bath of cream, fresh cherry tomatoes, and aromatic herbs, the noodles absorb the savory liquids from the inside out, naturally thickening the sauce into a silkily smooth glaze.

Ingredients: 5 ounces of dry pasta (such as tagliatelle nests), ½ cup of heavy cream (20%), 1 cup of water, 8 to 10 cherry tomatoes, 1 ounce of fresh spinach, 1 ounce of red onion, 1½ ounces of finely grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and salt and black pepper to taste.

To start, arrange your dry, uncooked pasta nests in a single layer inside a wide, deep skillet. Scatter the sliced red onion, whole or halved cherry tomatoes, and fresh spinach leaves all around the noodles, then sprinkle the dried Italian herbs, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper evenly over everything.

Pour the cream and water directly into the pan, ensuring the liquid levels submerge the pasta nests about two-thirds of the way up.

Pop a tight-fitting lid on the skillet, turn the heat to medium, and let everything simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Give the mixture a careful stir every few minutes to break up the nests and keep the noodles from sticking to the bottom of the pan as they soften.

Once the pasta reaches a perfect al dente texture and the liquid has transformed into a rich, bubbling sauce, scatter the finely grated Parmesan cheese right over the top and stir it in thoroughly until melted.

If your cream sauce looks a bit too thick, simply stream in a couple of tablespoons of hot water to loosen it up; if it is still a bit too thin, let it bubble away completely uncovered for another minute or two. Plate the pasta immediately while the cheese is beautifully gooey and the sauce is velvety and hot.