How To Make Bland Pasta Better — The Amateur Gourmet (2024)

FAQs

How to make bland pasta taste better? ›

Simply cook chopped garlic cloves in a bit of warm olive oil (not hot!), and add cooked spaghetti (reserve some of the cooking water to add later if necessary). Stir to combine and finish off with a handful of fresh chopped parsley, and grated parmesan cheese. Easy peasy and so delicious!

If you don't add enough salt to your pasta water, you'll risk bland, lackluster pasta. The average amount of salt added to the water, as reported across several outlets, was 1½ teaspoons per liter of water.

Spice it up

Red pepper flakes, dehydrated or fresh garlic, dried oregano, parsley, or basil, or an Italian seasoning blend are all good options. Dried herbs and spices should be added at the beginning of the cook time so that they have time to bloom.

Season the pasta water —

After filling your pot with water, season generously with salt. Don't worry, it won't all soak into the pasta. It also won't bring your cooking water to a boil faster! Adding salt means more savory, flavorful results when the pasta is cooked.

Add a little water to a microwave safe container or bowl, with your leftover pasta. Zap for 30-60 seconds, remove, stir well, zap again, and repeat until well heated. The steam from the water will revive your pasta and give you a more even heating. Stirring often will keep it from turning to a gluey mess.

To hot, drained pasta, add 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, ¾ cup grated Emmentaler, Gruyere or Edam and the same amount of mozzarella or fontina. Add 1 stick of butter cut into small pieces. Toss well to coat, adding ½ cup of pasta water to loosen if needed. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

Butternut or acorn squash, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onion are all great options to add to a pasta dish, along with some minced garlic, olive oil, and herbs. Of course, you can also always make a homemade cheese sauce from milk or cream, grated cheese, flour or cornstarch, and salt and pepper.

How do you pimp up pasta? ›

Garnish your pasta with a grating of lemon zest, some crunchy breadcrumbs or even a crumble of crispy bacon to add texture and taste. Herb it up. Experiment with lots of fresh herbs in your pasta dishes.

Try adding something acidic! Acidity is a great “secret ingredient” that will add brightness to your pasta dish and give it a more lively flavor. While warming up your pasta sauces, add a splash of red wine vinegar, lemon juice, or balsamic vinegar, or add some chopped olives or capers.

A really simple way to fix a tasteless spaghetti sauce is give it more depth, this canbe achieved with more tomato puree as well as salt and pepper. On top of that adding Bay Leaves, Italian Herbs, Stock (I tend to use Vegetable Boullion and a Mushroom stock).

Melt butter with garlic very slowly to avoid burning the garlic. Season with parsley, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Add cooked pasta to the skillet and toss until well coated with butter. Increase the heat to medium and cook until pasta is heated through and has absorbed some of the butter.

Once your water comes to a rolling boil, salt it generously. Use about one tablespoon per liter of water. You don't need to fish out the measuring spoons, just approximate about a tablespoon of salt in the cup of your hand. This is the only chance you have in seasoning the pasta itself to avoid it tasting bland.

Spread your leftovers out evenly on a baking tray and bake at 350 for about 15 to 20 minutes, flipping once about halfway through. This will give you evenly heated pasta and some nice crispy bites of toasted deliciousness. To take this up a notch, add a little cheese on top.

Don't skimp on the salt.

Do as Mario Batali does, and salt your pasta water until it tastes “like the sea.” Add salt to the pot as the water comes to a boil. The pasta will absorb the sodium while cooking, adding an extra touch of flavor to the meal.