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RecipesWhipped Up

Italian

Skillet Tomato Pasta

Pasta cooks in crushed tomatoes, garlic, and chili flake in one skillet. There is no cream. The sauce is the tomato and the pasta starch.

Prep
5 min
Cook
20 min
Total
25 min
Servings
4
Difficulty
Easy
Jump to recipe
One-pan tomato pasta with garlic and chili.

Why you’ll love it

  • One skillet.
  • No cream.
  • Chili flake is the heat.
  • Pasta starch thickens the tomato.

Ingredients

Servings4

Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.

Rough grocery estimate for the full recipe: about $5–8 at a typical US supermarket. Prices vary by store, region, and season.

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Instructions

  1. 1

    Warm the oil, garlic, and pepper flakes in a deep skillet over medium until the garlic smells sweet, about 1 minute.

  2. 2

    Add the tomatoes, water, salt, and pasta. Stir.

  3. 3

    Bring to a simmer. Cook 12 to 14 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and the sauce clings.

  4. 4

    Add a splash of water if it sticks before the pasta is done.

  5. 5

    Stir in the lemon juice.

  6. 6

    Finish with parsley.

Pro tips

  • Stir so the pasta does not weld to the pan.
  • This is salted in the sauce. Do not also salt a pot of water. There is no separate pot.
  • The lemon is small and necessary.

Easy substitutions

Short pasta
Broken spaghetti
Parsley
Basil
Lemon juice
A pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are very sharp, plus skip the lemon

Storage and reheating

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Reheating

Warm with a splash of water until hot.

Nutrition

Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.

Calories
420
Protein
13 g
Carbs
70 g
Fat
10 g
Fiber
5 g

Budget friendly · Stovetop, One Pan · Vegetarian, Dairy-Free

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Kitchen tools we love

Practical tools these recipes actually use. This is not a review roundup, and these are not paid placements. If affiliate links are added later, they will be labeled and disclosed.

  • A heavy 12-inch skillet

    Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.

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Ingredients