This easy one pot penne makes a great “emergency” dinner idea. Cooking the pasta within the sauce makes the sauce creamy without the addition of butter or milk.
I think I’ve made it clear in the past that I hate washing dishes. Which means that when I cook, I make it a priority to use as few dishes as possible. Even if it means not following directions or “traditional” methods (I believe I’ve also made it clear that I dislike tradition for tradition’s sake). So one pot meals are right up my alley.
The other night, I was intending to make chili. As I was in the middle of cooking my ground meat, I realized I’d forgotten a key ingredient. I had fish thawed in the fridge, but I’d already cooked the meat, so I really needed to use it.
And thus my new “emergency one pot penne” recipe was born. (That’s the name I would have gone with if I had thought it would be SEO-friendly.) The large stock pot was already in use, so I opened my kitchen cabinets, found the penne and pasta sauce (always great to have on hand in the event of just such an occasion).
Did you know that many chefs actually recommend not draining and rinsing pasta? The reason is that the starches give it a nicer flavor and texture. But dipping a colander into the pot to pull it out is 1) a lot of effort for what’s meant to be an easy meal, and 2) yet another dirty dish. So no.
My solution was to take that advice and turn it into a one pot meal.
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Easy One Pot Penne
- 1 lb ground meat
- 1 can diced tomatoes, with liquid
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 jar pasta sauce (or homemade)
- 1 box penne
- 2 tsps dried basil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic Parmesan popcorn seasoning (optional)
- 2 tsps red pepper flakes (optional)
Step 01: Brown the meat. I used lean ground turkey, so there wasn’t much reason to drain it (plus I didn’t want to). If necessary, drain yours. I also left a little bit of pink in mine, since it was going to boil, as well. Mostly the cooking part is to separate it into those nice little chunks we all know and love. Once you’ve done that, you can move on.
Step 02: Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, pasta sauce, and spices. Bring to a boil and add the penne.
Step 03: Cook according to the packaged directions, stirring occasionally. The penne I used took 10 minutes to cook.
Step 04: Remove from heat and let cool. The starches from the pasta will help the sauce thicken as it sits.
Serve warm!
As for adding salt to the pot, I felt no need. There was enough salt in the chicken broth to give it flavor. As for whether or not it would make the water boil faster…according to Smithsonian Magazine (and anyone who understands how cooking science works), salt increases the boiling temperature…which means it will take longer to reach the boiling point. So, no, that’s not true.
Does anyone else love adding popcorn seasonings to other foods? I add mine to vegetables, baked potatoes, soups, pastas, etc. It really adds a nice flavor.
If you get to try this for yourself, let me know how it goes!
Easy One Pot Penne
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Ingredients
- 1 lb ground meat
- 1 can diced tomatoes, with liquid
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 jar pasta sauce (or homemade)
- 1 box penne
- 2 tsps dried basil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic Parmesan popcorn seasoning (optional)
- 2 tsps red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
Step 01: Brown the meat. I used lean ground turkey, so there wasn’t much reason to drain it (plus I didn’t want to). If necessary, drain yours. I also left a little bit of pink in mine, since it was going to boil, as well. Mostly the cooking part is to separate it into those nice little chunks we all know and love. Once you’ve done that, you can move on.
Step 02: Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, pasta sauce, and spices. Bring to a boil and add the penne.
Step 03: Cook according to the packaged directions, stirring occasionally. The penne I used took 10 minutes to cook.
Step 04: Remove from heat and let cool. The starches from the pasta will help the sauce thicken as it sits.
11 comments
Sometimes the things you come up with in an emergency are the best. Or those clean out the fridge dinners. They just are hard to recreate! This looks really good!
Carlee, I agree! This is definitely going to be making the rounds on my menu for often. 🙂
Mmm this looks absolutely delicious, I love any meal that is one pot!
Thanks, Stephanie! I agree. 🙂
I’m always looking for one-pot meals. This looks delicious-thanks!
Yum, that looks so good, its amazing the things you can come up when pressed for time, and ingredients!
This sounds like something, I would want in my back pocket. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Fast and easy are the best and Inlove the one pot idea.
I made this, tonight. There are a couple of measurements you might add to the recipe. I used a 16 oz box of penne, a 24 oz jar of sauce and a 14.5 oz can of tomatoes. I kept all other proportions the same. After ten minutes, the pasta was hard as a rock. I added more broth, probably about a cup more, didn’t measure, and cooked another 12 minutes–pasta was still not cooked thru. Then just put the lid on and walked away for 15 minutes, after turning off the heat. The dish was lovely, after that. So, please update what proportions you used in the items I mentioned, as it would be helpful, since mine clearly didn’t match yours on the three items.
Um, no? I don’t make recipe adjustments if I haven’t tried them. Especially when, for one of them, you say you didn’t even measure. You are welcome to start your own blog, though.
Um, yes? You don’t say what size can of tomatoes, or what size bag of pasta or what size jar of sauce. They come in different sizes. I hadda guess, since you didn’t specify. Take your snark and shove it. Have a nice day.