This might come as a shock, but, sometimes after a day of work writing about food, looking at recipes, and staring at food photos, the last thing I want to do is come home and actually cook anything. Sure, my MyRecipes collection is bursting with new dishes to try, but when motivation is low, even following a simple recipe can feel like a chore.
On those nights, I’m turning to something quick: a frozen pizza, boxed mac and cheese, or a super-simple pasta dish. And by super simple, I mean a pasta dish that’s made with store-bought sauce and maybe dressed up with veggies or added protein.
On a trip to Italy this past summer, I was introduced to a two-ingredient pasta dish that is so flavorful and delicious that you don’t even need to doctor it up. All it requires is your favorite pasta and a jar of Barilla’s creamy Sweet and Spicy Pepper Pesto.
How To Make My Favorite 2-Ingredient Pasta Dish
Bailey Fink
A dish with two ingredients—and that’s ready in the time it takes to cook pasta—seriously has no business being as good as this one is. But, Barilla’s slightly spicy, rich, cheesy, and ultra-creamy red pesto sauce is a hero in my kitchen.
It doesn’t take adding any extra oil or ingredients to make it taste better, like some store-bought pestos might require. Instead, you can pour the jar right onto the pasta (always off the heat, as Barilla’s Chef Marcello Zaccaria taught me) and serve it. I usually top every pasta dish with a small mountain of Parmesan cheese and some fresh basil, but that’s completely optional.
As for the pasta, really any short shape will work. I like to use some kind of spiraled, like fusilli, or rounded, like orecchiette, pasta to allow the pesto to cling to every crevice. Recently, I’ve been using Barilla’s Al Brozno pasta because the noodles have more texture that allows the sauce to really stick to them.
If I’m feeling motivated—or if I have veggies in the fridge that are nearing the end of their lives—I’ll throw in some extra ingredients. I’ve added everything from spinach, mushrooms, Italian sausage, and ricotta, and it’s always been a delicious dish. The pesto is still the star, yet adding just a few additional ingredients makes the meal a bit heartier.
Whether I serve it as the simple two-ingredient meal ready in minutes, or spend just a few extra moments chopping and browning a meat, the Barilla Sweet and Spicy Pepper Pesto pasta is always the easiest dish I make on any given weeknight.