8 One-Pot Pasta Dinners for Lazy Nights

Some nights you want to cook. You pull out the cutting board, line up your mise en place, and enjoy the process of building a meal from scratch. And then there are the other nights — the ones where you stare into the fridge at 6:45 PM with zero motivation and seriously consider eating cereal for dinner. This list is for the second kind of night. One-pot pasta is the ultimate lazy dinner move. Everything goes into a single pot — pasta, sauce, protein, vegetables, liquid — and cooks together. No draining. No separate pans. No pile of dishes mocking you from the sink. You eat well, you clean one pot, and you move on with your evening. Every recipe here costs under $2 per serving and takes 30 minutes or less. Let's save some weeknights. ## 1. Dump-and-Bake Chicken Parmesan Pasta **Cook time: 35 minutes | Servings: 6 | Cost per serving: ~$1.60** This is the recipe that converts one-pot skeptics. Raw penne, marinara sauce, diced chicken, water, and a blanket of mozzarella cheese — all dumped into a baking dish and baked until bubbly and golden. The pasta cooks directly in the sauce, absorbing every bit of flavor. No boiling water. No breading and frying. Just dump, bake, and eat. Our full [Dump-and-Bake Chicken Parmesan Pasta](/recipes/dump-and-bake-chicken-parmesan-pasta) recipe walks you through the exact ratios so the pasta comes out perfectly al dente every time. This one is a crowd-pleaser for families and feeds a small army. ## 2. Creamy Garlic Tuscan Chicken Pasta **Cook time: 25 minutes | Servings: 4 | Cost per serving: ~$1.85** Sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, garlic, and chicken thighs in a creamy parmesan sauce, all cooked with penne in one pot on the stovetop. This tastes like something you would order at an Italian restaurant, but it comes together in 25 minutes with ingredients that cost next to nothing. The key is cooking the chicken first, removing it, building the sauce in the same pot with all those browned bits, then adding the pasta and liquid. Everything finishes together. Get the full method in our [Creamy Garlic Tuscan Chicken Pasta](/recipes/creamy-garlic-tuscan-chicken-pasta) recipe. ## 3. Aglio e Olio — The Minimalist Classic **Cook time: 15 minutes | Servings: 4 | Cost per serving: ~$0.75** Five ingredients. Fifteen minutes. Under a dollar per plate. [Aglio e Olio](/recipes/aglio-e-olio) is the Italian answer to "there is nothing in the house." Spaghetti, garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and parsley. That is the entire recipe. The technique matters here more than the ingredients. You toast thin slices of garlic in olive oil until they are just barely golden — not brown, not burnt — then toss the cooked pasta directly into the oil with a splash of starchy pasta water. The water emulsifies with the oil to create a silky, clinging sauce. It is simple, elegant, and the kind of meal that reminds you that good cooking does not require a long ingredient list. While this is technically a two-pot recipe (you boil the pasta separately), the cleanup is still minimal and it belongs on every lazy night rotation. ## 4. Spicy Peanut Noodles **Cook time: 20 minutes | Servings: 4 | Cost per serving: ~$1.25** Not all one-pot pasta has to be Italian. [Spicy Peanut Noodles](/recipes/spicy-peanut-noodles) bring a bold Southeast Asian flavor profile with creamy peanut butter, soy sauce, sriracha, lime, and garlic. Cook your noodles, drain, and toss with the sauce and shredded vegetables right in the same pot. This recipe is also secretly one of the most nutritious options on the list. Peanut butter provides healthy fats and protein, and you can load it up with shredded carrots, cabbage, and edamame for a fiber and vitamin boost. It tastes even better cold the next day, making it an excellent packed lunch. ## 5. One-Pot Cheeseburger Pasta **Cook time: 25 minutes | Servings: 5 | Cost per serving: ~$1.70** All the flavors of a cheeseburger — beef, cheese, pickles, mustard, ketchup — translated into a one-pot pasta dish. Brown ground beef in the pot, add elbow macaroni, broth, diced tomatoes, and a squirt each of mustard and ketchup. Simmer until the pasta is cooked, stir in a handful of shredded cheddar, and top with diced pickles. Kids absolutely demolish this. It scratches the fast-food itch without the drive-through price tag, and the whole thing is done in under half an hour. For extra vegetables, stir in some frozen peas or diced onion — they practically disappear into the sauce. ## 6. One-Pot Tomato Basil Penne **Cook time: 20 minutes | Servings: 4 | Cost per serving: ~$1.00** This is the simplest tomato pasta you will ever make. Penne, a can of crushed tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic, dried basil, a pinch of sugar, and enough water to cover. Bring everything to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and stir occasionally until the pasta is tender and the sauce has thickened into a rich, clinging coat. The starch from the pasta blends with the tomato sauce to create a creamy texture without adding any cream at all. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of parmesan. This is weeknight cooking at its most pure — cheap, fast, and genuinely delicious. ## 7. One-Pot Cajun Sausage Pasta **Cook time: 25 minutes | Servings: 5 | Cost per serving: ~$1.80** Sliced smoked sausage, bell peppers, onions, and rotini cooked in a spicy cajun-seasoned broth with a finish of cream. This has big flavor and a little kick, perfect for nights when you want something more exciting than plain tomato pasta but do not want to put in any extra effort. Smoked sausage is pre-cooked, so all you need to do is slice it and let it heat through with everything else. One pot, one knife, one cutting board, and dinner is served. The cajun seasoning does all the heavy lifting — if you do not have a pre-made blend, mix together paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, oregano, and thyme. ## 8. One-Pot Spinach and Mushroom Pasta **Cook time: 20 minutes | Servings: 4 | Cost per serving: ~$1.40** Earthy mushrooms sauteed with garlic, then simmered with pasta and broth until tender. A few big handfuls of fresh spinach get stirred in at the very end, wilting down into the sauce. A splash of cream and a generous handful of parmesan bring it all together into a rich, savory bowl of comfort food. This is a great vegetarian option that does not feel like it is missing anything. Mushrooms have a deep umami flavor that stands in for meat, and spinach adds iron, folate, and a pop of color. If you want extra protein, crack an egg into the pot during the last two minutes and stir it through — it creates silky ribbons throughout the pasta, similar to a carbonara. ## One-Pot Pasta Tips and Tricks **Use the right amount of liquid.** This is the single most important factor. Too much liquid and your pasta will be swimming in watery sauce. Too little and it will stick and burn. The general rule is to use just enough liquid to barely cover the pasta — about 2 to 3 cups for a pound of pasta. You can always add a splash more if the pot runs dry before the pasta is done. **Stir more than you think.** Unlike boiling pasta in a big pot of water, one-pot pasta has limited liquid and a lot of starch. If you walk away and let it sit, the bottom layer will glue itself to the pot. Stir every two to three minutes and you will be fine. **Choose the right shape.** Short, sturdy shapes like penne, rotini, shells, and elbows work best. They cook evenly and hold up to stirring. Long pasta like spaghetti and fettuccine can work but tends to clump together — if you use long noodles, break them in half before adding them to the pot. **Undercook slightly.** Pasta continues to absorb liquid as it rests off the heat. Pull the pot off the stove when the pasta is just a hair firmer than you like it, and by the time you serve it, it will be perfect. **Season at the end.** The liquid reduces as the pasta cooks, which concentrates any salt you added at the beginning. Taste and adjust seasoning after cooking to avoid an overly salty result. ## Why One-Pot Pasta Works for Budget Cooking Beyond the obvious convenience factor, one-pot pasta is inherently budget-friendly. The starchy cooking liquid becomes the sauce, so you do not need to buy a separate jar of pasta sauce. Vegetables cook right alongside the noodles, stretching each serving. And because cleanup is so easy, you are far less likely to cave and order delivery on a tired night — which is the biggest budget saver of all. Keep a box of pasta, a can of tomatoes, and some garlic in your pantry at all times. That is the foundation for at least three recipes on this list, and it means you are never more than 20 minutes away from a hot, satisfying dinner. No excuses, no delivery apps, no regrets.