What's for dinner? The easiest pasta recipes for days when you can't face cooking

We all have them, and if you're having a day where you want to throw your kitchen in the bin, then make one of these dinners and clap yourself on the back

Pasta is the obvious solution for this week.

Spaghetti Carbonara

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

Made in the traditional way, using eggs and parmesan cheese, this is a delicious dish

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 125g pancetta or unsmoked streaky bacon

• 1 small onion

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 100g fresh grated parmesan cheese

• A little olive oil

• 4 large egg yolks

• 350-400g of dried spaghetti or linguine

Method

1. Put a large pan of water on to boil, add just a little salt. Be careful not to oversalt the water as you will be using some of it later in the sauce. A little less than a teaspoon is plenty. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Chop the pancetta or streaky bacon.

2. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and add the chopped bacon. Fry until the bacon is crisp and golden, this will take about five minutes.

3. While the bacon is cooking add the pasta to the pan of boiling water and bring it back to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan and cook for ten minutes or until the pasta is done but still has a little bite.

4. Remove the cooked bacon from the pan and set aside.

5. Add the onions and garlic to the frying pan and sauté until soft, about another five minutes. While the garlic and onion are cooking, whisk the egg yolks in a medium sized bowl with some fresh ground black pepper. Add the grated parmesan to the eggs and mix it to combine. When the pasta has about three minutes left to go, take a ladle of the cooking water from the pasta, and add that to the egg and cheese mixture. Whisk it to combine it well. Put the cooked bacon back in the pan with the sauteed garlic and onion and warm it through for a moment.

6. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving just a little more of the cooking water in case you need it to thin the sauce, and pop it back in the pan.

7. Do not return the pan to the heat, instead finish the dish off the heat or you will scramble the eggs when you add the sauce. Add the bacon, onion and garlic to the pasta and pour over the egg and cheese.

8. Using a large fork or tongs, lift up the pasta and mix it with the sauce so that everything is well combined and coated in sauce. The sauce will thicken nicely, but not scramble, this will only take a minute or two. If you think the sauce is a little thick, add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water and mix that through.

9. And that is it, you are ready to serve. Divide the pasta between four plates or pasta bowls and top it with lots of parmesan cheese shavings. Have it with some garlic bread and a fresh green salad if you fancy it. A wonderful, tasty dinner in twenty to thirty minutes that the whole family will love.

Blue cheese and roasted tomato spaghetti

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

This simple vegetarian dish celebrates the rich, juicy flavour of roasted tomatoes with a hint of rich blue cheese

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• dash of olive oil

• ½ tbsp honey

• 2 tbsp cider vinegar

• Spaghetti for four

• 100g blue cheese, crumbled

Method

1. Toss the cherry tomatoes and cloves of garlic in the honey, cider vinegar, sage and a little oil and seasoning. Place on a baking tray and into an oven heated to 160°C. Roast until they have completely softened.

2. Put the Spaghetti on to boil in lightly salted water and drain when cooked. Toss the pasta with the tomato and garlic making sure to use all of the juices.

3. Drizzle with a little oil and taste and season. Crumble the cheese into the pasta while it is still hot and serve.

Creamy chicken pasta

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

Quick and easy this is comforting and delicious

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 chicken fillets, cubed

• 4 tbsp crushed pistachios

• ½ red chilli, finely chopped

• 180ml cream

• 100g pasta

• 2 tbsp Parmesan

• a handful of mint leaves, chopped

• 2 tbsp sunflower or pumpkin seeds

• salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat.

2. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add the pistachios and chilli, and cook for 5 minutes.

5. Stir in the cream, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack.

7. Drain the pasta and tip it into the pan with the cream sauce.

8. Add the parmesan, mint, and seeds and stir well to coat the pasta.

9. Season to taste and divide the pasta between warmed serving bowls.

Spaghetti with bacon and chilli

Chef Mark Moriarty shares the pasta dish he turns to when the last thing he wants to do is cook a meal

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 200g dried pasta

• 100g rindless streaky bacon 

• 4 garlic cloves, crushed 

• 2 chillies, diced 

• large handful parsley, chopped (if available) 

• 100g Parmesan, grated 

• 1 lemon, juice and zest 

• olive oil

Method

1. Place the pasta in boiling salted water, cook until just tender (6 minutes). 

2. In a pot, heat the olive oil. Cut the bacon into lardons, fry in oil until crispy. Add the garlic and chilli and cook over a medium heat for two minutes or until the garlic has started to turn golden, season heavily. 

3. Remove the pasta from the water and add to the oil mix, add a ladle full of pasta water, followed by the parmesan, lemon juice, zest and parsley.

4. Season with some more olive oil, lemon and salt and serve in warm bowls.

Creamy mushroom pasta

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

This garlicky, creamy mushroom sauce with herbs and grated Parmesan is ready in the time it takes to cook your pasta

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly

• 2 shallots or one onion, sliced thinly

• 600g chestnut mushrooms, stalks removed, sliced thinly

• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped

• black pepper and sea salt

• 150g Parmesan

• olive oil

• 100ml cream

• 50ml white wine

• 450g pappardelle, tagliatelle or even linguine

• 100g butter

Method

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a little olive oil and add the butter until melted. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until just starting to soften. 

3. Add the sliced chestnut mushrooms next, season well and cook down until soft and starting almost caramelise, for around 5 minutes. 

4. Next add the white wine, cooking down until the smell of alcohol has burned off and the sauce has started to thicken.  

5. Add the cream, Parmesan and parsley last and cook for just a minute longer. Toss the pasta through the mushrooms with a few tablespoons of pasta water and serve.