10 Genius Ways To Cook Pasta That Actually Work (And Taste Amazing)

The results: Damn. These were good. Some of the prep is a little time consuming, but it's difficult to mess up. These sweet potato gnocchi came out light and airy, yet still doughy and a tiny bit sweet. They were delicious, TBH. I topped mine with a tiny bit of butter, thyme, and shaved pecorino cheese to add a savoriness to the semisweet dumplings. I will definitely be making these again.

The idea: By now, you've probably seen videos of cooking spaghetti in red wine all over Instagram and blogs. Basically, you bring a large pot of water and a bottle of red wine to a boil and add the spaghetti. Once done, the noodles should change color into a deeper, purplish color and absorb some of the wine's flavor. According to multiple recipes I found online (like Food and Wine's and Mark Bittman's), you can use any dry red wine.

The results: This was definitely not your average spaghetti. The pasta soaked up a lot of the wine, so when it was done cooking, the spaghetti was almost the color of soba noodles and it had a deep flavor that was a mixture of slightly sweet, bitter, and nutty. As a wine lover, I really enjoyed the taste of this pasta dish, but I could see people being turned off by the unusual flavors. If I made this again, I would toss it in a bit of olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes to let the wine flavors really come forward.

The idea: Spaghetti carbonara is one of life's greatest pleasures, but making it the proper ~Roman~ way takes a good amount of time and effort, and you just don't always have time for that. Which is why this cheater's carbonara —which gets dinner on the table in about 15 minutes flat — is a total lifesaver. This recipe saves time because it doesn't require you to whisk together egg yolks and Parmesan to make an egg-based sauce. You just fry up some bacon or pancetta, add cooked spaghetti to the frying pan, crack an egg on top, and mix it all up.

The idea: Instead of waiting for water to boil in a saucepan, you can save time and water by cooking pasta in a frying pan, according to a video on Chowhound. The concept is very simple: Add pasta, salt, and a little bit of cold water to a pan. Turn up the heat and, and after about 8 minutes, the pasta will be perfectly cooked — and you can use the remaining starchy water in the frying pan to make your sauce.

The results: If you're the type of person who hates waiting for water to boil, then this could be a game changer. This method was incredibly easy and hands off. Other than tossing the ingredients into a pan and turning on the stove, there's not much to it. Ultimately, this method wasn't much quicker than making pasta the traditional way, but the noodles came out perfectly al dente. I used some of the leftover, thickened water to toss my pasta with butter, salt, pepper, and Parmesan, and the result was super simple, but very satisfying.

The idea: I used to think no-boil lasagna noodles were the only type of pasta you can bake without boiling first, but as it turns out, that's not the case. I read on several blogs, including Genius Kitchen and Half Baked Harvest, that you can start with any uncooked, tubular noodles, cover them in sauce and a little bit of water, and cook them in the oven — no boiling required. The pasta absorbs the liquid from the sauce and water, and the whole thing creates steam while its cooking so the noodles stay moist.

The results: This one is a game changer, and I can't believe I didn't try it sooner. I covered the baking dish with aluminum foil and baked my pasta for about 40 minutes, then added fresh mozzarella, and cooked it for a few more. The pasta came out absolutely delicious, and the noodles were cooked perfectly. One cool thing about this method is you can dress up your baked pasta as much or as little as you'd like. Play it simple with just ziti, tomato sauce, and cheese, or go crazy (like this recipe) and make a homemade sauce loaded with veggies and four cheeses. In other words, baked ziti will never be the same.

The idea: We know this handy gadget cooks rice to perfection, but it also supposedly cooks pasta every time with no stirring or draining required, according to this recipe. You pour pasta directly into the rice cooker and then add just enough water so that the pasta is covered in liquid. Press the button, and let your dinner cook itself.

The results: Now, obviously, everyone doesn't have a rice cooker sitting around, but if you do, you should definitely try this hack out. The nice thing about this method is that, other than dumping pasta and water into the rice cooker and pressing a button, there is literally no work required. When the cooking stops, your pasta is ready to eat. The one downfall is that it's a bit harder to control the exact doneness of your pasta. The trick is watching how much water you put into the rice cooker. If you like your pasta more al dente, make sure to just barely cover the noodles with water. If you like softer pasta, add enough water so it rises about a quarter inch above the noodles.

The idea: Whenever I make pasta, I find I always have leftovers, which never taste quite as good the next day. So when I found a fun recipe for leftover spaghetti on Recipe Tin Eats, I wanted to give it a try. These leftover muffin tin spaghetti nests are perfect individual portions, freezer friendly, and they're a fun on-the-go snack for kids or a cute party app to serve to a crowd. All you have to do is take leftover pasta tossed in tomato-based or cream sauce, mix the pasta with an egg, and pack that mixture into muffin tins with some cheese. Bake them in the oven for 10 minutes and voilà: delicious pasta cups that are golden brown on the edges.

The results: Truth be told, I'd rather eat a bowl of pasta than spaghetti in muffin form, but these came out just fine. As the recipe promised, these spaghetti nests freeze very well and they thaw right away in the microwave or oven, which makes them a handy snack to have around. They'd also make a perfect lunch box meal for kids. You could always dress the spaghetti nests up by adding a meatball on top or hiding some veggies inside. The key to this recipe is that you have to pack the spaghetti tightly into the muffin tins for them to keep their shape when they're done cooking.