Easy 30-Minute Pasta Recipe

Don't you just love when one of the best dishes in the world is extremely easy to make?

Yes, pasta is pretty much one of the easiest meals ever and I don’t care what they say about the carbs. GIVE IT TO ME! I grew up with a Filipino grandma who loved to cook so I pretty much just learned from her (because my mom was the working type who was barely home).

Anyway, I’m sharing with you one of my go-to recipes for pasta. It literally takes 30 minutes to prepare and it saves me from being hangry. It also feeds the whole family so win-win-win! I have another pasta recipe that’s even waaaay easier than this one. That one will be shared later. For now, enjoy my red pasta recipe!

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 pound ground meat - for this dish I used ground turkey
1 jar of pasta sauce - you can use whatever you prefer, we just love to use tomato-based sauces. In this recipe, I used the Prego Italian Sausage & Garlic. One great option is the Creamy Basil Pasta Sauce from Trader Joe’s.
1 bag/box of pasta - again, you can use whatever you prefer. I like using the Italian Pennerigate from Trader Joe’s.
(OPTIONAL) 1 fork-full of Sundried Tomatoes - I like the Julienne Sliced ones from Trader Joe’s
(OPTIONAL) 1 medium sized tomato - diced
(OPTIONAL) 1 spoonful of cream cheese - because I wanted the sauce to be creamier, I add cream cheese
Diced Onion
Diced Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Mixed Italian Seasoning

FOR TOPPINGS: (optional)

Parmesan Cheese

HOW TO MAKE:

Heat up water for the pasta. Once it’s actually boiling, add some salt, oil, and then the uncooked pasta. Make sure to take note of cooking instructions for this.
While you’re waiting for the pasta water to boil, start sautéing onion and garlic.
Add the ground meat and cook thoroughly while breaking it down into really small pieces.
Season with salt & pepper.
Add diced tomatoes and sundried tomatoes (if you want that extra tanginess).
Add the pasta sauce and mix carefully.
You can add some sugar to add some sweetness to the sauce.
Add cream cheese (if you want a creamier taste). You don’t have to but I love me some creamy pasta sauce.
For some extra legitness, add a few dashes of mixed Italian seasoning.
Drain the pasta water and mix it in with the sauce. You don’t have to but I like to do this to make sure everything gets eaten up. :)
Serve and Enjoy! Sprinkle some cheese/parmesan if you like.