Food Friends: Home Cooking Made Easy Pasta! Cooking up Baked Classics, Pantry Sauces, and Weeknight Wins at Home
Are your weeknight pasta nights starting to feel predictable…even though you know pasta has so much more potential?
When you’re tired and hungry, it’s easy to reach for the same jar of sauce and the same box of noodles. In this episode, we’re showing you how to turn pantry staples and simple techniques into pasta dinners that feel comforting, craveable, and completely new.
By the end of this episode, you’ll:
- Learn the secrets to a crispy-topped, gooey baked pasta that’s worth turning on the oven
- Expand your rotation with dishes built around seasonal greens, wild mushrooms, and bright citrus
- Discover how to harness your pantry to build bold, flavor-packed sauces—including a Samin Nosrat recipe we can’t stop making
Press play and make pasta night the best night of the week.
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Links
Six Seasons of Pasta by Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmber, for all the best ways to make a baked pasta dish
Baked Ziti from All Recipes – Sonya made a version with Cavatapi pasta and swapped sausage for blanched broccoli rabe
Cheesy baked pasta with Sausage and Ricotta by Melissa Clark for NYT Cooking
Baked gnocchi alla Sorrentina from Wishbone Kitchen
River Cafe Walnut Tagliatelle from The Guardian (we skip adding oil to our pasta water)
Sausage ragu by Sara Jenkins and Nancy Harmon Jenkins, adapted by Julia Moskin for NYT Cooking (unlocked)
Bucatini with Swiss Chard, Raisins and Parm by Joshua McFadden by way of Nigella Lawson by way of Amateur Gourmet
Creamy Mushroom Pasta with Garlic Miso Butter by Chandra Ram for Food & Wine
Nigella Lawson’s famous lemon linguine
Chicken Piccata pasta by Anna Theoktisto for Food & Wine
Samin Nosrat’s spicy tuna pantry pasta from Food and Wine