Lazy Girl Three Ingredient Pasta

# 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:

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 about 2/3 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta using a colander.

03 - Return the hot pasta to the pot off 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 to reach the desired consistency.

05 - Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately, optionally garnished with additional Parmesan cheese.

# Expert Hints:

01 -

It actually tastes like you spent hours simmering a sauce, when really you spent minutes whisking starchy pasta water and cheese together.
There's something deeply satisfying about making something this good with ingredients you probably already have hiding in your pantry.
It comes together faster than delivery would arrive, which has saved me more than once on nights when hunger and tiredness collide.

02 -

The sauce will look broken or oil-slicked if the pasta isn't hot enough when you toss it, so don't let it cool even for a moment after draining.
Pre-grated cheese will never emulsify smoothly—I learned this the hard way when my first batch turned into gritty clumps, and switching to a block and a microplane changed everything.
The amount of pasta water matters less than the tossing technique; aggressive movement is what makes the starch, fat, and cheese come together into something silky.

03 -