I may have mentioned this before, but my husband is pretty great. I had a virtual happy hour with one of my childhood friends after work, and so Jim offered to make dinner so I could focus on catching up with my buddy.
Not only did he offer to make dinner, he also accepted (with grace) my thrusting a recipe towards him, requesting that he make something specific. It was an emergency, of sorts. I was in a very urgent mood for PastaRoni.
When I rejoined him following my call, the house smelled heavenly. You really can’t go wrong with garlic and cheese, right? It’s so creamy and saucy, and you can easily add grilled chicken or shrimp to it!
What’s great about this dish is that it comes together all in one pot. Contrast that to fettuccini alfredo which requires boiled pasta and its sauce which usually requires a second pot to make, and this one wins for ease and level of effort versus reward.
If you’ve ever made boxed Pastaroni, you’ll know you boil everything–pasta, spice pack, butter, milk, and water in one pot. That is what I have written to do in this recipe, too. The reason the sauce gets nice and thick (okay, besides all the cheese added to it…) is that the milk and water combine with starchy pasta. It’s that starch that thickens the milk and water in to sauce!
This pasta dish is a great alternative to fettuccini alfredo if you’re looking for a more low-fat, non-cream option. Hope you enjoy!
One-Pot Garlic Parmesan Pastaroni
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Butter salted
- ¼ tsp Onion salt plus more for adjusting to taste
- ½ tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp Parsley, dried
- 2 tsp Better than Bullion Chicken base
- 2 cups Water
- 2 cups Milk 2% or higher fat content
- 8 oz Dry pasta, long style i.e. spaghetti, bucatini, fettuccini, angel hair
- ⅔ cup Grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a medium-large pot on medium heat, melt butter. Once melted, add spices directly to butter and stir, about 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in water and add chicken base. Stir.
- Break pasta in half and add to the pot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, about 7-8 minutes.
- Pour in milk and continue to cook another 5-7 minutes, until noodles are cooked, stirring often to prevent boiling over.
- Stir in cheese until melted, about another minute or two. Turn off heat. Allow to sit for five minutes to allow sauce to thicken. Then serve!