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

Updated on July 2, 2016 at 12:00 PM

POPSUGAR Photography | Erin Cullum

Pasta, the blank canvas for a million possibilities of saucy goodness, is a staple in the kitchens of seasoned and newbie cooks alike. Whether you've been boiling pasta like a boss for years or are still crossing your fingers you don't end up with a pile of mush, these cooking hacks will up your pasta game big time.

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

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

Get the cooking tip: pasta ladle hack

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

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

Get the cooking tip: wooden spoon hack

Boil spaghetti in red wine.

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

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

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

Get the recipe: pasta with fava greens

Save the Pasta Water!

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

Always Use a Food Processor to Make Homemade Pasta Dough

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

Cook the sauce and the pasta together in one pot.

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

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

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

Get the recipe: easy skillet lasagna

No pasta present? Try instant ramen!

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

Hack ravioli using wonton wrappers.

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

Get the recipe: roasted beet ravioli