It's a weeknight, and all you have is some dried pasta and the jar of sauce. This is ideal for during the week, but there are no laws saying you can't spruce it up a little to make it feel like something special. This roundup of recipes is the perfect list of upgrades to your weeknight pasta.
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The great thing about these is that they don't add more to do; they just make the meal in front of you more filling and special without all the extra effort. These recipes are for when you want to spruce up your pasta nights without all the extra decision fatigue.
The Presentation Pivot
People forget how important it is to plate up your meal with some intent. A great way to do this is to serve your pasta family style, using one large serving bowl placed at the centre of your table so everybody can share and self-serve. Try to use nice plates and cutlery too. This has a very real psychological effect.
We eat with our eyes, but food always tastes better when presented on a nice plate. Compare food on a plastic plate to a real plate, and the difference is second to none. I like to think of it as an act of self-care. It can really make a difference not only to the food and how it tastes, but also to your mood.
one large serving bowlreal ceramic plates
The 5-Minute Side Salad Formula
A great way to get a quick side salad on the plate is to use shop-bought and pre-made ingredients. You can start with pre-washed, bagged greens. These do cost a little more, but they reduce your prep time significantly. I like to add nuts and seeds to provide healthy fats and extra protein. This will turn the salad into something more filling, and the texture difference is satisfying.
Remember not to dress your salad too early, as it always tends to make your greens go soggy. The best way is to dress them right before serving. Another shortcut is using bottled dressing, although this can be high in sugar and salt, so a good tip is to check the labels and go for something lower in salt and sugar and healthier.
You could even stretch out the bottled vinaigrette by adding some extra olive oil and a little vinegar. Think of this as perfectly acceptable nutrition. There is definitely nothing wrong with eating this way.
bag of pre-washed mixed greensbottled vinaigrette
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Low-Effort Mix-Ins for Bulk and Nutrition
One of the great things about pasta is that you can throw a lot of things at it and bulk it out into something worthy of a meal. I like to cook things using one pot, which I use for quick cooking. If you use things like peas and corn, then they will go in during the last couple of minutes. If you opt to use things like broccoli or carrots, those take only slightly longer to cook, so don't forget that. If you don't have fresh veg, then go for frozen. They work just as well, and they'll actually cook super quick, no chopping required.
For protein, I tend to use tuna a lot, but you could also make it veggie by using your favorite bean. These are great to keep in your pantry and are budget-friendly when compared to a fresh protein like chicken. If you do use fresh meat or protein, don't add it straight into your pasta water. You need to cook the fresh protein separately, not only to properly cook it but to get maximum flavor by giving it color from a good sear.
A great tip to get extra veg into your kids is by grating zucchini. It just blends into the sauce, and your kids won't even notice. Another great shortcut is to use rotisserie chicken. It's already cooked; all you need to do is warm it through.
| Pasta Base | Kid-Friendly Veggie to Toss in the Boiling Water | Easy Protein Addition |
|---|---|---|
| Macaroni and Cheese | Frozen peas or small broccoli florets | Canned tuna or diced deli ham |
| Spaghetti with Marinara | Grated zucchini or frozen spinach | Pre-cooked frozen meatballs or canned white beans |
| Penne with Butter and Garlic | Frozen corn or diced carrots | Shredded rotisserie chicken |
| Fettuccine Alfredo | Frozen chopped kale or cauliflower florets | Leftover chopped sausage or bacon bits |
The Ten-Second Fancy Finishers
Having a well-stocked pantry can really help with jazzing up your pasta. I'm a big lover of adding fresh grated parmesan to my pasta dishes, and I would never use pre-grated; there's just no comparison. Fresh is so much better, and it also melts better. Pre-grated parmesan tends to be covered in starch and not melt as well, and often these are not even 100% parmesan.
Adding some olive oil also helps elevate your pasta, but remember to just drizzle it on at the end. This will stop it from cooking and destroying the flavor, the gentle flavor of the actual oil. Red pepper flakes can give your pasta a gentle kick too. I always like to keep a jar of them in my pantry. They will vary by brand in terms of heat, so also keep an eye on the use-by date, because as they age, they lose potency.
Small additions like these can make your pasta dish seem more adult than kids' pasta, and they don't require a whole lot of extra effort.
red pepper flakesgood olive oil right before eating makes the sauce taste richer. These tiny additions take almost zero time but completely change the meal.
Cambom Rotary Hand Crank Cheese Grater
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Just remember that plain pasta is perfectly fine, but if you want a quick upgrade, these tips are the way to go. There's definitely no shame in easy cooking, and you can still eat well doing so. The big win here is for busy parents or people who are exhausted after work.
I always think that once you learn a few of these little tips, you'll be surprised how proud you are that you didn't just dump the pasta into a bowl, but you didn't overwork yourself either. These quick tips will mean that you actually look forward to a low-effort meal.