World Pasta Day: share your MoneySaving pasta recipes

MSE_James

It's World Pasta Day so at MSE Towers we've been thinking about MoneySaving ways to cook with pasta. 

Last night we didn't have much food in the house and my partner and I were too tired to pop out to the shops so we cooked up some pasta with bacon and a cheese sauce. It wasn't quite a classic carbonara sauce, but it was the perfect Sunday evening comfort food and used what we already had in the fridge.

Over the years Forumites have shared some fantastic MoneySaving pasta meal ideas on this board:

• Pasta with oven roast veg
• Pasta meals heated in a slow cooker
• Pasta sauce suggestions
• Sauces for pasta with no tomatoes
• Where to find interesting pasta shapes that don't cost too much

If you dig deep enough on the Old Style board you'll also find tips for making your own pasta.

What's your current go-to low-cost, low-effort pasta-based meal?

Wraithlady

Nigella's orzotto - made with orzo pasta rather than rice, substituting spinach or broccolli for the asparagus. Possibly not rock-bottom costs, but you get a risotto-like dish in a quarter of the time

Gem-gem

Not low effort if you make from scratch...

Pasta (spaghetti) with prawns, mushroom and a tomato/chilli sauce

I prefer spaghetti but can use any pasta. 

Tomato/chilli base sauce - I make it from scratch but you can use a jar. 

Tomato / chilli sauce base.
Into the slow cooker I chuck - home grown tomatoes, onion, red pepper, chilli and garlic. Slow cook for around 8 hours and then blend till smooth. I batch cook and then freeze into margarine tubs. (This I also use as a pizza base sauce).

Recipe
pasta
prawns (can use seafood instead)
mushrooms
one tub of base sauce
tomato purée and / or sundries tomatoes
lemon juice
White wine

1. Slice mushrooms and cook in a little oil until cooked, add tomato base, tomato purée / chopped sundries tomato, lemon juice and a dash of white wine - bring to the boil and simmer till it starts to reduce / thicken. 

2. Add prawns and continue to reduce. 

3. add cooked pasta to the sauce - give a good stir and serve. 

4. It is great with some grated fresh Parmesan cheese and garlic bread. 

Quick version 
1. jar of lidl tomato / chilli sauce
2. prawns
3. mushrooms
4. pasta. 

Rosa_Damascena

Italians will serve with just butter / olive oil and seasoning. You can't get more MSE than that!

saving_is_good

I used up some cime di rapa that I got in my veg box the other day. 

Cut the stems into shortish pieces and keep the leaves separately.
start boiling some pasta..

now here is where recipes digress..  some say boil the cime di rapa with the pasta, others say cook the stalks in olive oil… 

I fried the stalks in olive oil, added finely sliced garlic, after a few minutes I added some anchovies and the washed leaves… don’t panic, it does reduce like spinach… I added the pasta and with a splash of oil and serve it like that.

it was so nice that we agreed we’d eat it again…

the taste of the cime di rapa reminded me of nettles or dandelion leaves. They are technically turnip leaves, so if you’re growing root veg in the garden you can use the leaves to make this… I’ll possibly try it with radish leaves or young dandelion leaves in the future.

saving_is_good

One of the simplest (but most decadent) pasta recipes i do is fry garlic with cooking bacon, add cheap cream cheese and a splash of the pasta water and serve with pasta. 

JIL

I packet of spaghetti, I jar of chilli pasta sauce, 1 pack of uncooked frozen prawns. A bag of rocket.All from Aldi.
Cook spaghetti, either cook prawns in the pasta sauce or in a frying pan.

Either way, they all just get mixed together. Top with rocket

I only make this when I'm in a hurry. 

Eta: just read Gem Gem, very similar to this! Great minds lol

coffeehound

Tagliatelle / linguine / spagetti
Pesto
Salmon (canned or frozen) or some white fish fillets
Frozen peas, boiled with pasta for final 3 mins
Chopped spring onions
A bit of lemon zest
Cherry tomatoes
Pine nuts
Some olive oil as required

Boil pasta
Fry-up the odds and ends briefly together
Combine with pasta 
Bob's your Auntie

MSE_James

Thank you everyone - some great suggestions here. I will definitely have to try some of them. It's so easy to get stuck in the rut of cooking and eating the same things over and over again.

Kaylataste

Bacon lardons (smoked tastes nicer)
garlic
Small chopped onion
Pot of double cream 
spagetti
Parmesan 

method
Fry lardons,onion and garlic in pan for 5-10 minutes turn heat to low,add cream and cheese,stir together until cheese is melted and sauce has thickened,drain spaghetti,put back into pan and add sauce.Grate Parmesan on top,delicious.

Gem-gem

saving_is_good said:

One of the simplest (but most decadent) pasta recipes i do is fry garlic with cooking bacon, add cheap cream cheese and a splash of the pasta water and serve with pasta. 

I do a similar recipe but I add some spinach and onion.