Let’s face it: if you’re in college, pasta is definitely a staple meal for you. Whether you just add butter and cheese to your noodles or you prefer some type of red sauce, I can confidently say you consume pasta at least once a week, if not more. If you’re anything like me, pasta is consumed almost nightly for dinner. It’s just so easy and so reliable. But as much as I like pasta, it can get pretty boring eating the same combination of noodles and sauce every night. Recently, I’ve discovered ways to shake my basic bowl of pasta up, and my tastebuds are thanking me.
Add a protein
Like many other college students, I don’t really have much experience with cooking raw meat. The one time that I did cook chicken, I cooked it so long that it burnt. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to get salmonella. That’s why I usually pick up some fully cooked options from the grocery store to add to my pasta.
If you’re a fan of chicken sausage for breakfast, then you should definitely consider adding it to your bowl of pasta. Trader Joe’s has a lot of chicken sausage options available, and they’re all fully cooked. You just need to heat them up on the stovetop. I personally love the Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage and the Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage. After heating up on an uncovered pan for a few minutes, they are ready to slice up and add to your pasta.
Your protein doesn’t have to be meat like chicken or beef, though. You can also throw in some seafood. Yes, I know cooking seafood sounds hard, especially if your kitchen is limited like most college kitchens are. But, whipping up some frozen, fully cooked seafood is super easy. Once again, I get my frozen seafood blend from Trader Joe’s, but you can find frozen seafood at many grocery stores. I just heat up some olive oil in a pan on medium heat, add some garlic powder and salt, and throw the seafood blend in. It has shrimp, scallops, and calamari. Within a few minutes, you’ll see the shrimp go from translucent to pink, and you’ll be able to tell that it’s done. If you’re a fan of cream sauces, like alfredo, you definitely need to try adding some seafood.
Add a vegetable
Unfortunately, I never grew out of that childhood “I hate vegetables” phase. So, like a child, I need to sneak vegetables into foods I actually like. If this is you, or even if you actually like vegetables, you should try adding some veggies to your pasta.
My go-to vegetable to add to my pasta is spinach. I throw it in my pot once I’ve combined my sauce and noodles, and it cooks down pretty quickly. Because it gets so small compared to when it’s raw, I barely even notice it. Plus, I do think it actually tastes good, especially with a red sauce.
While some people really aren’t fans of them, mushrooms are another vegetable you could throw into your pasta for some added texture and flavor. Simply roast or sauté your mushrooms and add them to your bowl. If that’s a lot of work for you, try a frozen veggie, like peas. They’re super easy to sauté and add to your dish.
Change up your sauce
It can be tempting to use the same marinara sauce every time you make pasta or just use butter and cheese. But your tastebuds are getting tired of tasting the same flavors every time you eat pasta. You can switch up your sauce with very few ingredients.
I am a red sauce fanatic. You will never catch me eating anything else. But as much as I love the classic tomato sauce, I needed some change. So, I found some heavy cream in my fridge and added a splash to my sauce. And, unsurprisingly, it turned orange — just like vodka sauce. While yes, I know it’s not a true, restaurant-level vodka sauce, it’s close enough for me. Instantly, my pasta went from classic tomato to a creamy penne vodka. I even stirred some parmesan cheese into the sauce and threw in some red pepper flakes. Now, this sauce is a staple in my kitchen. It beats just having the same, boring tomato sauce every night.
Although I really only eat red sauce, I do know that there are some easy ways to make other sauces from scratch. If you’re someone who just throws some butter on your pasta, there’s plenty of ways to upgrade that too. You can quickly whip up a garlic butter sauce for your pasta. Simply melt some butter and add some olive oil to a pan, sauté some minced garlic, add some dried basil or chili flakes, and then mix in with your pasta. You can even add some parmesan cheese. Much better than just plain butter, right?