A veritable tribute to my favorite ingredients of all time, this pantry pasta is a true love letter. It’s not for the faint of heart, not for those who like their food on the bland side. No, this ultimate Pantry Pasta of mine is for people who are in love with big, bold flavors and the noodles that carry them.

In This Post

Read on for a little more about this mega tasty pantry pasta, or just jump ahead to the recipe and get to the cooking of things.

What is pantry pasta?

It’s exactly what it sounds like, to be honest. It is a pasta built on staples and home cooking essentials. It’s also built, more philosophically speaking, on the lovely notion that home cooks should have pantries stocked at least well enough to be able to create simple yet satisfying meals without really having to purchase much else.

I’m talking basic aromatic vegetables like onions and garlic. Canned goods, like the tomato paste and anchovies in this case (tinned fish is beloved all over the world, but Americans seem to still need a good bit of convincing). A happy glug of red wine. Pasta itself is a forever-and-always pantry staple. Vinegar. Olive oil. Butter. Crushed pepper flakes.

Every ingredient listed in this recipe for my favorite pantry pasta is a true staple. Of mine. Of yours? I dunno. What do you consider to be your pantry and fridge staples? I suppose these sorts of lists vary from one home cook to the next, but I’d like to think the things in this recipe are more or less universal in their presence in pantries all over. They are so, so good. So worthy of their places in our kitchens, I think.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

I love this recipe with my whole heart and also my head – as it is lovably practical, resourceful, and dare I say … clever. I adore it. It’s very easy and straightforward for the most part, but I’ll lay out a few nice things to know before tucking in.

Maybe don’t boil the whole box?

Okay, so a full pound of pasta is almost always too much for my family of four, and I don’t love leftover pasta, so I usually only cook ¾ of a box/bag at a time, saving the rest for a later use. Once I have another ¾ pound saved up, I combine them and cook that, always adding to my stock of remnant pasta. I often cook multiple shapes/cuts at once, a style of pasta cookery known by Italians as “Pasta Mista,” or, mixed pasta. Waste not, want not.

Salt the water … yes, like the sea.

I’m always asking you to “salt the water (like the sea)” in any and all of my pasta recipes. This is simply to season the noodles form the inside out. Because while we will absolutely be building the most epic, flavorful, deeply delicious sauce to coat their outsides … when it comes to pasta, it’s all about what’s on the INSIDE. That’s the not-so-secret secret.

So, when I say, “like the sea,” I mean just really throw in a big couple of pinches. You actually do want the cooking water to be salty. This won’t translate to salty pasta, as that salinity will dilute and end up just tasting like well-seasoned food. Think of it this way – you don’t want the pasta to be this giant mountain of flavorless carbs that is simply there for no other reason than to play host to whatever you’re planning to put on top. No, you want the noodles themselves to be delicious, all on their own. So much so that you could simply serve them with say, a drizzle of good olive oil or some great, grass-fed butter and a little pepper – and you’d be good to go.

As James Beard said, “where would we be without salt?” Can I get an amen?

Wait, a tomato sauce with no actual fresh OR canned tomatoes?!

Yes. It’s true! This whole tomato sauce is built on an entire can or tube of tomato paste. There is nary a fresh or even canned + diced tomato in sight. Now, for picture’s sake, I did throw a few partially roasted tomatoes on my finished bowls because frankly, I had them leftover from this week’s Creamsicle Caprese. But they’re not really part of the official recipe, to be honest.

Welcome to Pasta Land

I am sort of on a quest to cook and share every pasta recipe known to mankind, and I’m well on my way. I’ve got a slew of really easy and really tasty pastas here on MKL, if you’re interested in checking them out. This Sticky Balsamic Pasta with Tangled Carrots is a bit of an oddball recipe, but really great – makes for a cool side dish to a rich meaty main. I LOVE the flavors in my Pasta with Mustard Greens and Crispy Sausage. Creamy Tomato and Sausage Rigatoni with Toasted Almonds is another way to wield the pasta + sausage equation, replacing those peppery greens with a punchy tomato sauce.

And the easiest pasta recipe you will ever make is one that sort of walks the line between homemade and store-bought. Yes, my Easiest Hands-Off Spaghetti and Meatballs is delicious and requires almost zero brain power to throw together. Love that.

Why butter and olive oil?

This sauce is VERY rich and luscious, it should probably be noted. It’s what makes this pantry pasta so stinking great. I will use two cooking fats in this sauce – butter and olive oil – each one serving its own very helpful purpose.

Butter: The creamy, basic, richness of it serves to not only add the special flavor that only butter can, but it also balances the acid from all that dang tomato paste. Not to use a totally gross word, but the butter just really contributes to a fantastic MOUTHFEEL, in the end.

There, I said it.

Olive Oil: I can’t go a single day without it, in at least one capacity or another. I always swear that a diet rich in olive oil and the rampant humidity here in Charleston, SC (where I live) are the actual fountains of youth. In this recipe, it brings up the smoke point of the butter (butter is wont to burn, what with its milk solids and everything) and it also lends its fruity, golden deliciousness to the whole dish. Butter and olive oil are great on their own, but I find that cooking with both of them is always just the way to go.

What you’ll need for this amazing pantry pasta recipe

This recipe reads like a love letter to the ingredients I love most. My nearest (literally) and dearest. I truly think that every home cook should have these things around all of the time, because they last for a long time and will always be there for you, when you need a really, really tasty meal without much cost or effort. That, in essence, is what My Kitchen Little is all about.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 small sweet onions, such as Vidalia, diced

Salt, as directed/needed

4 tablespoons butter

2 anchovies, chopped (optional but highly recommended)

3 garlic cloves, minced or grated

Pinch crushed red pepper flakes (or as much as you like, or none at all)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

⅓ cup dry red wine (optional, the rest is for the cook)

6 ounce can or tube of tomato paste (double concentrated is fine, use it all!)

¾ to 1 pound pasta, any shape(s) you like, even a mix! (see note)

How to make it

We’ll built a MAJORLY flavorful almost paste of a sauce in a deep skillet, using the flavor powerhouses I listed above and then thin it out a little bit with the help of the salty, starchy water in which our friendly noodles cooked. Symbiosis, this is. It’s all of the little moving parts ticking along and working together to make something greater than their own sum.

Winning all the way around here.

DIRECTIONS

Begin by making the sauce. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large, deep skillet set over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are nice and caramelized (very golden brown and sweet); about 25 minutes.

Season with a little salt and pepper, and add the butter, anchovies, and garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes to melt the anchovies into the onions, etc. Add the crushed pepper flakes, if using, and the vinegar and wine. Stir and simmer for about a minute. Lastly, add the tomato paste and stir, break it up until things look nice and mixed. Reduce the heat to low and gently cook for about 10 to 15 minutes (you can cover to prevent splatter, if needed).

Meanwhile, cook the pasta: Bring a big pot of salted water to a rolling boil (you want it to be salty water, like the sea). Boil the pasta according to the package directions. When it’s al dente (just a little bite left), transfer it to the pan with the sauce/paste, along with about ½ cup of the starchy cooking water. Toss! Toss! Toss until those noodles are very well coated, adding a little more water until it seems perfect to you. Taste it, and season as you see fit. Serve right away, topped with a shower of cheese (if you want) and/or some fresh torn basil (again, only if you want to).