Save Time (and Your Sanity) With These Genius Pasta Hacks

Measure out one portion of spaghetti using the hole in the center of a pasta ladle.

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It's the perfect portion for one person. Who knew?

Get the cooking tip: pasta ladle hack

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Place a wooden spoon over the top of the pot to prevent the water from boiling over.

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Nothing is more painful to cleanup than a pot of pasta water that boils over, but this simple hack prevents that!

Get the cooking tip: wooden spoon hack

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Boil spaghetti in red wine.

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It sounds crazy, but this actually works and tastes good. Plus it turns the pasta a brilliant shade of purple.

Get the recipe: spaghetti cooked in red wine

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Cook veggies (like leafy greens or broccoli) in with the pasta.

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In the last 1-2 minutes of cooking the pasta, throw those veggies into the bubbling, salted water. The pasta and they veggies will cook simultaneously and you can drain everything out in one colander.

Get the recipe: pasta with fava greens

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Save the Pasta Water!

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Seriously, starchy, salty pasta water is the KEY ingredient to any really good, authentic Italian pasta sauce. A couple of spoonfuls into your sauce, and you'll become a believer.

Get the cooking tip: why you should save pasta water

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Always Use a Food Processor to Make Homemade Pasta Dough

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Take it from Italian chef Fabio Viviani himself. "Grandma's" way of making pasta, aka by hand, takes forever and is super messy. Whipping the dough up in a food processor takes a few minutes with no mess, plus it frees your hands up for a glass of wine. Winning!

Get the recipe: Fabio Viviani's homemade pasta

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Cook the sauce and the pasta together in one pot.

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Martha Stewart's method for one-pot pasta (sauce included) is worth trying at least once, either in a slow cooker or in a pot over your stovetop.

Get the recipe: one-pot tomato onion linguine

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Cook no-boil lasagna in meat sauce over the stovetop for a one-pan, skillet meal.

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You won't have to hassle with layers or with turning on your oven.

Get the recipe: easy skillet lasagna

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No pasta present? Try instant ramen!

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The sauce, made from olive oil, butter, pecorino (or parmesan), and black pepper, soaks into the instant ramen in an unbelievable way.

Get the recipe: ramen cacio e pepe

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Hack ravioli using wonton wrappers.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Rebecca Firkser

The wonton wrappers make it practically effortless to assemble homemade ravioli.

Get the recipe: roasted beet ravioli

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