Lazy Girl Three-Ingredient Pasta (Printable Version)

Quick creamy pasta using butter, Parmesan, and pasta water for an easy, satisfying meal.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 7 oz dried pasta (spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine)

→ Sauce

02 - 3.5 tbsp unsalted butter
03 - 2 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese

→ For Finishing

04 - Salt, to taste
05 - Freshly ground black pepper, to taste (optional)

# How to Make It:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente.
02 - Reserve 2/3 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
03 - Return the hot pasta to the pot off the heat. Add the butter and toss until melted and the pasta is evenly coated.
04 - Sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese and add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss vigorously until a creamy sauce forms, adding more water as needed for desired consistency.
05 - Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately, optionally topped with additional Parmesan.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's genuinely ready in under 20 minutes, which means you can eat dinner before your hunger turns into a bad mood.
  • The creamy sauce tastes like you spent hours on it, but the secret is just butter, cheese, and a little pasta water magic.
  • When your kitchen is almost empty, this dish reminds you that simplicity can taste absolutely luxurious.
02 -
  • The pasta water is not optional—it's the entire reason this works; the starch in that cloudy liquid is what helps the butter and cheese emulsify into something creamy instead of greasy and separated.
  • Timing matters more than you'd think; everything needs to happen while the pasta is still hot, so don't get distracted by your phone or a snack once you've drained the pot.
  • If your sauce breaks and looks oily, don't panic—just add another splash of pasta water and keep tossing; it'll come back together.
03 -
  • Keep your pasta pot on the stove instead of moving the pasta to a bowl; the residual heat of the pot helps everything melt together more smoothly and keeps the sauce at the perfect temperature.
  • If you're cooking for more than two people, make this in batches rather than doubling the recipe, because the sauce is harder to control when you're working with larger quantities.
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