When we add another bolognese to the blog (Yes, we already have versions 1, 2, 3, and 4), you know it’s something special! This newest version is made with EGGPLANT, meaning it’s the perfect bolognese for late summer. It’s light yet satisfying, creamy yet bright, and full of bold Italian-inspired flavor — everyone will be asking for seconds!

Even better? It’s a breeze to make — just 1 pot required!

Easy Eggplant Bolognese (1 Pot!) from Minimalist Baker →

This Cherry Tomato Pasta recipe is for when you have more cherry (or grape) tomatoes than you know what to do with, or simply when they’re in season and most enjoyable!  Little tomatoes, butter, garlic, and olive oil are simmered to make a deliciously effortless sauce that’s more than the sum of its parts. It […]

This spicy sun-dried tomato pasta salad recipe is our new go-to for summer BBQs, potlucks, picnics, and easy summer lunches. It is incredibly simple to make, with just 7 basic ingredients. Somehow though, it is crazy addictive!  Inspired by a Local Deli We have this deli here in North Jersey that makes awesome sandwiches, but […]

Do you ever look around at the ingredients available to you, the energy you have to give to the cooking process — or, as I recently explained to a medium-sized child shortly before I got uninvited from future family events, the amount of fudge you have left to give from your, uh, bucket of fudge — and decided to boil spaghetti, toss it with garlicky olive oil, and call it dinner?

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This Lap Cheong Mei Fun is a deliciously simple way to enjoy mei fun, or thin rice vermicelli, with Chinese sausage and a bright variety of vegetables!  We enjoyed a dish similar to this at a Chinese restaurant in Queens recently, and it snuck up on me how much I loved it. In a large […]

The perfect late-summer weeknight dish is here: Garlicky Cherry Tomato Pasta with White Beans! It’s a go-to in our kitchen when we’re craving something simple yet nourishing. Featuring salty kalamata olives, burst cherry tomatoes, creamy white beans, and our BFF kale, it’s a vibrant dish packed with textures, flavors, protein, and fiber. 

Vegan, gluten-free optional, and just 10 ingredients and 25 minutes required. Let’s make dinner!

This simple dish begins with getting your favorite pasta cooking on the stovetop.

Garlicky Cherry Tomato Pasta with White Beans from Minimalist Baker →

It’s hard to beat a bowl of pesto pasta. Today, I’m sharing a classic basil pesto pasta recipe from start to finish! You’ll learn how to make basil pesto from scratch and toss it with freshly cooked noodles in perfect proportions.

I like my pesto pasta saucy, so I used a generous amount of pesto here, which is more affordable when you’re making your own pesto. It takes ten minutes or less to make pesto in a food processor, but you could certainly use store-bought pesto if you have a favorite brand.

This vibrant pesto pasta is quick and easy to make for dinner on a weeknight. It’s also a lovely side dish to serve at a dinner party or casual summer cookout. Get ready for the best pasta pasta you’ve ever had.

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Avocado pesto is a deliciously creamy and fun variation on classic basil pesto. This avocado pesto recipe replaces the olive oil with avocado, in addition to the usual basil, Parmesan and pine nuts (in these photos, I used pepitas instead, which are lovely as well). A squeeze of fresh lemon brightens and complements the flavors, and helps keep the avocado green.

You can use avocado pesto on pasta, of course. It makes a stellar veggie dip and sandwich spread, too. You’ll find more uses and tips for it below. The one caveat is that avocados brown with time, so it’s best used immediately or stored in a jar until you’re ready to serve.

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Whether you’re a gardener, farmers market goer, or just love summer produce, this is the dish for you! A summery zucchini pesto pasta with caramelized roasted zucchini, burst cherry tomatoes, sweet + tender red onion, and protein-packed chickpeas. We may or may not have gone back for thirds in the test kitchen!

Just 9 ingredients and simple methods required for this saucy, satisfying, irresistible vegan meal, friends.

Zucchini Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Chickpeas from Minimalist Baker →

Until recently, I was fairly ambivalent about one-pan pasta recipes. I appreciate them in a pinch [here’s a longtime favorite; and this is my total comfort food], but I sometimes find that when the pasta is cooked in a sauce the whole time, it doesn’t quite get that al dente definition and structural integrity that it does when cooked in water. I’m so glad I didn’t quit on them, though, because with this recipe, not to be dramatic or anything, but I feel like I’ve finally cracked the code.

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Welcome to Come on Over, a Food52 newsletter about hosting life’s big and little moments. It’s where we share our editor’s personal tips and tricks, from modern-day etiquette—shoes off or shoes on?—to making extra seating out of every surface of an apartment. This week, Kelly is gearing up for pasta night.

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No two-syllable word hits me quite like “pasta.” Aside from potatoes (hey, I am Irish), there’s no greater comfort food. A tomato sauce base is top tier—I’ll hear no different—and the smell of garlic knots baking as guests walk through the door? Magic. While pasta night is a simple concept, I believe in small elevations that give even the most casual affairs a bit more oomph. So pick your poison (pasta shape) and let’s get into it.

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Weekend flavor meets weeknight ease: 30-minute Tuscan-style shrimp pasta! This CREAMY, dairy-free dish is rich, garlicky, and bursting with bright tomato flavor.

It’s impressive enough to wow any guests but simple enough that you’ll want to make it again and again! Let us show you how it’s done!

How to Make Dairy-Free Shrimp Pasta

This EASY shrimp pasta starts with cooking your favorite pasta (we like gluten-free fettuccine) and soaking some cashews for dairy-free creaminess.

Creamy Tuscan Shrimp Pasta (Dairy-Free) from Minimalist Baker →

I hadn’t planned to spend most of the fall to date making skillets upon skillets of baked, gooey, decadent macaroni and cheese, though given the state of things right now, perhaps this steady dose of comfort food was some unintended brilliance on my part. But mostly it started because we had baked mac and cheese from The Smith one night. My kids fought over the last scrapings from the pan and I reminded them — I honestly don’t even think they realize it sometimes — that I could make it for them, too. And so the next night, I pulled up my trusty Martha’s mac-and-cheese, a forever SK and internet favorite, and it immediately …irked me. Start with cooked pasta? Warm the milk for the bechamel? So many pans, so many bowls, so many steps. On a Tuesday, no less. It felt unacceptable.

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During the current lockdown in Paris, you can still get most things at the supermarket. True, there’s less of a selection as some items are more popular than others; butter, of course, is popular, and so is flour. Fortunately I always have a good stock of both on hand, lockdown or not, but I did neglect to replenish my chocolate supply. But the pasta and rice aisles have suffered the most damage, and the selection of what’s available has been sparse.

Since I’m limiting my time going out, and food shopping, the other day I went to the frozen food store, Picard. Everyone in France loves Picard, although I’m usually happy to dice an onion and don’t need to buy frozen pre-diced onions, nor do I need to buy ice cream. (Theirs is rather good, but I’ve usually got several batches of my own in the freezer.) But I was craving pizza and they have a frozen one with arugula and speck that’s pas mal, as they say in French, which actually means “not bad.” However frozen pizza seems to be as popular as rice and pasta, so I had to get another kind that wasn’t so great (pas terrible.) But I did pick up a bag of those onions and some ground beef because I’ve also been craving Pasta Bolognese, and they were there, and so was I. So I caved.

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