6 pasta dinners in 30 minutes
The sauce cooks while the pasta boils. Every one of these is on the table in 30 minutes or less.
CThe Cookpath kitchen9 min read · 6 recipes
One-Pan Mushroom Spinach Pasta
- 15 mintotal
- 17 gprotein
- 600kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 2servings
Why it's here: The fastest one here.
13 ingredients · 5 steps · 8 min hands-on
The fastest pasta on the page: 15 minutes, with 8 of them at the hob. Tagliatelle, mushrooms, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes all go into one wide pan with cream, stock and cream cheese, so there is no separate pot of boiling water to watch. It serves two at 600 kcal and 17 g of protein, a comfortable portion that leans on the cream rather than on protein.
Everything goes in raw and the pasta cooks in the liquid. With the lid on, stir every few minutes so the tagliatelle does not stick, then take the lid off and simmer until the sauce thickens and coats the pasta. Slice the mushrooms thin so they cook in the same time. A wide, deep pan matters more than anything else here, and it keeps three days in the fridge.
Creamy Carbonara
- 20 mintotal
- 30 gprotein
- 1000kcal
- Intermediatelevel
- 4servings
Why it's here: One of the strongest on the list.
5 ingredients · 5 steps
The richest dish on the page: 1000 kcal and 30 g of protein a serving, from 225 g of spaghetti, 200 g of pancetta, 480 ml of heavy cream, two egg yolks and 150 g of parmesan, shared between four. It earns its place by being ready in 20 minutes, with the pasta water and the pancetta pan running side by side. A dinner for a hungry table, with a green salad alongside.
Take the pan off the heat before the yolks go in, or they scramble. Stir in the yolks and parmesan until smooth, then add the drained spaghetti and the crisp pancetta and toss until every strand is coated. Keep a cup of pasta water back and add it a splash at a time if the sauce is thick. Serve at once, because it thickens quickly as it cools.
Creamy Pesto Pasta
- 20 mintotal
- 18 gprotein
- 620kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 2servings
Why it's here: One of the strongest on the list.
12 ingredients · 5 steps · 15 min hands-on
Tagliatelle in a sauce of cream and basil pesto, with blistered cherry tomatoes, browned mushrooms and spinach. It comes to 620 kcal and 18 g of protein for each of two servings, ready in 20 minutes with 15 of them hands-on. The sauce is built in a single pan from a short ingredient list, which is what keeps it on the half-hour shelf.
Leave the tomatoes and mushrooms alone in the hot oil and toss them only now and then, so the tomatoes blister and the mushrooms brown. Keep a mugful of pasta water before draining, because the starchy water helps the cream and pesto cling to the pasta. A squeeze of lemon and some basil go on last. Shrimp, chicken or salmon can be added for more protein.
Cheesy Beef Macaroni
- 20 mintotal
- 56 gprotein
- 950kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 4servings
Why it's here: The most protein on this list.
17 ingredients · 6 steps · 12 min hands-on
A from-scratch take on the boxed classic. Beef mince, macaroni and tinned tomatoes cook together in stock in one pan and finish with 220 g of sharp cheddar. At 56 g of protein and 950 kcal a serving, it is the most protein you will find among these six, and it makes four generous plates for a family dinner. It is also a one-pan dinner, which keeps the washing up short.
Stir the tomato paste in for 2 to 3 minutes until it turns a deeper red, then add the tomatoes and stock. Once the macaroni is in, cover the pan and stir every few minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn the heat off before the cheddar goes in. Turkey or chicken mince works instead of beef, and leftovers keep three days in the fridge.
Lemon Boursin Pasta
- 20 mintotal
- 18 gprotein
- 780kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 3servings
Why it's here: Packs well for work.
13 ingredients · 7 steps · 15 min hands-on
Small pasta shells in a creamy sauce of garlic and herb cheese, lemon, white wine and parmesan. It is a rich one at 780 kcal and 46 g of fat a serving, with 18 g of protein, and it serves three in 20 minutes. Fifteen of those are hands-on, mostly the sauce coming together while the shells boil. Garlic, onion and a little chilli flakes build the base.
Lay the lemon halves cut side down in the pan with the onion and garlic, and stir the onion around them for about 5 minutes. Reduce the wine by half, then put the herb cheese in the middle and let it start to melt before the cream goes in. Squeeze in one lemon half, taste, and add the second only if you want more. No wine in the house? Stock does the job.
Creamy Miso Pasta
- 20 mintotal
- 19 gprotein
- 590kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 4servings
Why it's here: Packs well for work.
12 ingredients · 6 steps · 15 min hands-on
Linguine with seared mushrooms in a sauce of cream, miso and parmesan, finished with roasted nori. At 590 kcal and 19 g of protein it is the lowest-calorie dish on the page, and it feeds four in 20 minutes. The sauce uses only 120 ml of cream, so the miso is doing most of the flavour work. Nori and a few chilli flakes go on at the end.
Let the mushrooms sit on one side of the pan so they brown, and toss them only when needed. Keep the garlic and shallot on medium or medium-low heat so the butter does not burn. Add the pasta, then pour in the cooking water a little at a time until the sauce clings. Do not skip the nori, which is part of the flavour. It keeps up to 4 days.
Pasta is the fastest real dinner there is. The water takes a few minutes to boil, the pasta cooks in about ten, and the sauce is made in the same time with nothing more than a pan and a spoon.
The trick is to start the sauce while the water heats, not after. If you do things in that order, everything finishes together and the pasta goes straight from the pot into the sauce.
The dishes here are all under half an hour from start to plate. They vary in how rich they are, from a light lemon sauce to a rich carbonara, so you can pick one that suits the evening.
Keep a cup of the cooking water before you drain. A splash of it loosens a thick sauce and helps it cling to the pasta, which is what separates a good bowl from a dry one.
Three things that help
It is the only time the pasta itself gets seasoned. The water should taste lightly of the sea.
The starchy water thins a sauce without watering it down. Add a splash at a time.
Drain the pasta a minute early and let it cook the last minute in the pan, so it takes up the flavour.
Every dish here is in the app with timers inside the steps, servings you can change and a shopping list that builds itself.
