Cheap Two Ingredient Cheesy Pasta Recipe
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Nothing says comfort food quite like my two ingredient cheesy pasta dish.
This recipe uses just two ingredients to create a delicious and thrifty pasta dish which is perfect for using up odds and ends of cheese or when you don’t have the time or energy to make a proper sauce from scratch.
I love Italian food and we get through loads of pasta in our household. It’s cheap and often provides a quick and easy dinner on busy weeknights. I also tend to make myself pasta if I don’t want a sandwich on days I work from home.
Two Ingredient Cheesy Pasta Recipe
The first time I tried this recipe I wasn’t sure if it would work properly or whether it would taste awful. However, it makes a super cheesy pasta dish and uses just two ingredients; Pasta and Cheese.
The reason this recipe is so great is that it makes a lovely cheesy pasta dish without the need for extra ingredients so is perfect for those on a tight budget or wanting to use up ingredients at the end of the month.
Usually to make a creamy pasta sauce you’d make a roux with flour and butter and then whisk in milk. Or simply use some cream (which isn’t a partially thrifty ingredient) with an egg stirred through to stop it from going claggy.
Other thrifty Pasta Recipes
Pasta With Basil and Parsley Pesto
Easy Tomato Pasta Sauce Recipe
Two Ingredient Cheesy Pasta
For this recipe, the starchy pasta water is used as a base for the sauce instead, creating a creamy sauce from something that is usually thrown away, although I know many people do add a few spoonfuls of pasta water to their pasta sauces before serving.
This is one of those recipes that needs to be eaten immediately – it isn’t one that freezes or reheats particularly well. It’s not a sauce that can be made ahead of time either. However, for a simple and comforting lunch, it’s perfect.
I’ve kept this to two ingredients plus water to keep the recipe as cheap and simple as possible. You could of course add anything else you have in such as garlic, herbs, cooked chicken or ham or veggies.
Which Cheese To Use For Two Ingredient Cheesy Pasta?
When making this recipe I used 20 grams of parmesan and 15 grams of cheddar. Most other types of hard cheese should work well in this recipe and you can mix and match if you would like to.
This recipe is perfect for using up small odds and ends of cheese, cheese that’s a little bit stale or the hard end rind of parmesan. Grate the cheese on the finest setting of your grater as this means it will melt into the sauce much more easily.
Don’t worry if you don’t have the exact amount of cheese listed in the ingredients, if a few grams difference, either way, isn’t going to make a huge amount of difference.
Which Pasta Should I Use?
This dish can be made using any type of pasta. I chose spaghetti because it’s my favourite and because it’s usually the cheapest to buy in supermarkets at around 20p – 30p for the value packet.
I used around 75 grams of pasta for a lunch portion for one person but again you could adjust it to how much pasta you’d usually serve. I find approximately half the amount of cheese to pasta works well.
You could also use fresh pasta instead of dried but the weight needed may change slightly from what it listed below.
Two Ingredient Cheesy Pasta Recipe
Two Ingredient Cheesy Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 75 grams dry (uncooked) pasta per person
- 35 grams hard cheese per person
Instructions
- Boil the kettle and pour the water into a sauce. Place on the cooker top and bring to boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions and set a timer for this minus one minute, eg, instructions say to cook for 10 minutes, set a timer for 9 minutes.
- While the pasta is cooking, grate the cheese on the finest side of your grater.
- Around a minute before the pasta is cooked, remove from the heat and use a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the pasta to another pan (do not drain the pasta over the sink).
- Add a ladleful of the starchy pasta water to the pan containing the pasta, so the pasta is just covered in water.
- Cook the pasta on high for around one minute and allow the water to become starchy and thick.
- Turn the heat down to low and add the cheese. Stir in carefully allowing the cheese to melt and coat the pasta.
- Serve immediately adding a sprinkling of parmesan to the finished dish.
Notes
I've based these instructions and amounts on one serving but they could easily be doubled.
