This creamy 5-ingredient ricotta pasta is one of the easiest pastas you'll ever make! In fact, the sauce comes together in less than 5 minutes, how much more perfect can that be?
This is a recipe my mom has been making forever. In fact, it's a dish that her grandpa used to eat. Every time she would make this recipe, I would get so excited because it's one of my favorites.
To make it, ricotta is warmed up slightly in a touch of olive oil, the cooked pasta is added along with pasta water to make it creamy, and parmigiano reggiano for a bit of bite! So easy, so simple and flavorful!
This ricotta pasta is part of the work from home pasta lunch series where I show you easy pasta dishes that you can make on your lunch break in 20 minutes or less.
How to make ricotta pasta - step by step
Bring a pot of water to boil. When it's boiling, add salt. Throw the pasta in and cook until it's al dente. Be sure to reserve some pasta water.
5-7 minutes before the pasta is done cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic clove. Swirl it around in the olive oil to give it a slight garlic flavor (photo 1), and remove it when it starts to sizzle, a few minutes.
Add the ricotta to the pan, and heat it slightly, until it melts down and becomes creamy, 2-3 minutes (photo 2) If the pasta isn't cooked yet, turn the heat down to low.
Add the pasta to the ricotta (photo 3) and still over medium heat, mix the pasta in with the ricotta.
Add a bit of pasta water to help emulsify the dish, and make it even creamier (photo 4)
Add parmigiano reggiano and mix again (photo 5) Add pasta water if needed.
Plate and enjoy! (photo 6)
More easy pasta recipes
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Recipe
Creamy Ricotta Pasta
Ingredients
- 100 grams rigatoni pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 garlic clove
- ¾ cups ricotta
- 2 tablespoon parmigiano reggiano
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil. When it's boiling, add salt. Throw the pasta in and cook until it's al dente. Be sure to reserve some pasta water.
- 5-7 minutes before the pasta is done cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic clove. Swirl it around in the olive oil to give it a slight garlic flavor, and remove it when it starts to sizzle, a few minutes.
- Add the ricotta to the pan, and heat it slightly, until it melts down and becomes creamy, 2-3 minutes. If the pasta isn't cooked yet, turn the heat down to low.
- Add the pasta to the ricotta, and still over medium heat, mix the pasta in with the ricotta.
- Add a bit of pasta water to help emulsify the dish, and make it even creamier. Add parmigiano reggiano and mix again. Add pasta water if needed.
- Plate and enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- I used rigatoni in this dish but you can use any pasta you'd like - penne would work well or even a long pasta like spaghetti
- I remove the garlic from the oil to produce a subtle garlic flavor, but if you prefer a stronger garlic flavor you can mince the garlic clove, and keep it in the dish.
- If the ricotta you're using has a lot of liquid in it, drain it first.
Robyn says
I did not even notice the title was “work from home series” until I’d made this a few times, but I actually do work from home and have the luxury of cooking my lunch, but don’t necessarily have an hour to spend. This is perfect - easy, quick, works up great for one person. I love using ricotta to make a creamy but lower calorie (and lower effort) sauce for pasta and this one works so well. Sometimes I’ll use goat cheese to mix in if I have any, but either way, this is a go-to lunch for myself!