Very easy and cheap 10 minute 3-ingredient spaghetti recipe

This spaghetti recipe is one of the quickest possible meals, perfect for a busy weeknight or a quick lunch. I often make it if I’m low on supplies and don’t have time to go grocery shopping, the ingredients used are ones that I usually have laying around in the fridge or pantry, like garlic, tomato paste, chili flakes and olive oil. Those are ingredients everyone should have on hand.

The only thing you might not always have, is parsley I personally like to have a pot of parsley growing in my window sill. You can make the recipe without parsley, although I do recommend adding it, since it adds a lot of freshness and a nice pop of color to the dish.

The hidden ingredient in this recipe, is the pasta water. The starchy and salty pasta water is what binds everything together, the fat from the olive oil and starch in the pasta water makes a creamy and glossy sauce, without even adding any cheese or cream, never underestimate the power of pasta water.

Below you will find the full recipe, a video demonstration and step-by-step instructions.

What you’ll need

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Prep Time 3 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

• 1 tbsp Olive oil Extra virgin
• 1 handful Spaghetti (~56 grams)
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 2 tsp Tomato paste

Spices & Herbs

• 1 tsp Chili flakes
• 1 Handful Fresh parsley

Keyword Cheap, Quick

Instructions

1. Start by peeling and dicing your garlic, heat up a pan with olive oil over medium heat and bring water to a boil in a medium sized pot.
2. Heavily salt your water, once the water is boiling add your spaghetti
3. While the pasta is boiling and once the oil in the pan has heated up, add your garlic and chili flakes, let that sauté together flavoring the oil with the aromas of the garlic and chili flake
4. After sautéing the garlic and chili flake for around 2-3 minutes, add the tomato paste, let that sauté for another couple of minutes to remove the bitterness.
5. Then reserve about a cup of the pasta water and add to the pan, stir around to emulsify the tomato paste with the water, for a minute or so
6. Lastly transfer the spaghetti straight from the pot to the pan, and stir the pasta around in the sauce making sure to cover everything in the glossy sauce, if more moisture is needed add more pasta water, and if you accidentally added too much water, don’t worry, just turn the heat up a bit and let the excess water evaporate.
7. Serve in a deep plate or bowl, garnish with some more fresh parsley and ENJOY!