Ease is subjective, and its meaning can vary depending on who you ask. In this collection of staff favorite recipes, easy can mean that your meal comes together in 15 minutes, or that it requires no more than six ingredients, or that you can pop a casserole dish of kitchen staples into the oven without firing many neurons. With all that newly acquired free time, you can finally live the weeknight life you’ve always dreamed of: Sign up for adult kickball! Host that book club! Go to bed at 9 p.m.!
Here’s a dirty secret: I sometimes have to pause and ask myself, wait … is orzo a pasta? (Yes, it really is.) And it shines in this Ali Slagle recipe. That tender little short-cut pasta (not a kind of rice!) cooks so quickly and so easily, as does the shrimp! So you can have a rich, flavorful, deeply delicious dinner on the table in no time. KRYSTEN CHAMBROT
My husband has been making his own version of this Lidey Heuck recipe at least every other week since 2010, but he uses cannellini beans instead of chickpeas. We like the way the beans nestle into the little divot of each orecchiette. MARGAUX LASKEY
Recipe: Pasta With Spicy Sausage, Broccoli Rabe and Chickpeas
Feta pasta dominated social media and my stomach for what seemed like an eternity, and I can’t wait to make it again soon. The always-genius Melissa Clark streamlined the viral recipe so that, with minimal effort, you end up with a savory, mouthwatering comfort dish on the table in about an hour. The fact that you can easily substitute vegan feta with perfect results is a big-time bonus for any hot girls with lactose intolerance. KASIA PILAT
It might sound dramatic to say that my relationship is built upon this seafood pasta from Colu Henry, but it’s true. We’ve celebrated birthdays, Valentine’s Days and anniversaries with a big bowl of tomatoey, briny, herbaceous bucatini (our preferred noodle) at the center of our table. Over the years, we’ve made it with shrimp, inexpensive frozen seafood medleys and all manner of tender herbs and teeny tomatoes. On the fancy-to-fussy matrix, it is maximally occasion-worthy with exceptionally minimal effort. TANYA SICHYNSKY
I grew up ordering these noodles at Hong Kong-style cafes in my Southern California hometown, but it didn’t occur to me that I could — should — cook them on my own until Hetty McKinnon created this perfect, simple recipe. Charred scallions and scrambled egg end up tangled with thin, tender rice vermicelli noodles coated in curry powder. They’re ingredients that I tend to keep in my pantry and fridge, and I sometimes throw in squid or shrimp thawed from the freezer along with the peppers. GENEVIEVE KO
Written by the queen herself — Nigella Lawson — this recipe reminds us that cooking food you love doesn’t always require company. This single-serving spaghetti and shellfish recipe is bright and briny, and it comes together in less than 15 minutes — the minimum amount of time you should spend celebrating yourself on a random weeknight. ELEANORE PARK
Recipe: Spaghetti With Clams
Parsnips are such an underrated root vegetable. It’s all “carrots this,” “potatoes that!” But I’m telling you that parsnips have the range, as proved in this Melissa Clark recipe, which involves roasting them until they’re super tender. The real aha moment is giving the entire dish the bacon-leek treatment, which complements parsnips’ earthy flavor so very well. NIKITA RICHARDSON
Recipe: Pasta With Parsnips and Bacon
This Alexa Weibel recipe gave me permission to cook dry pasta in something other than water — a brilliant move that adds flavor without adding time. Angel hair pasta boils in a lush cream sauce, and the finished dish is topped with a mound of garlicky sautéed mushrooms. Once you make this, it will be tough to return to plain-old water the next time noodles are needed for dinner. SARA BONISTEEL
Recipe: Mushroom Ragù Pasta
When I realized my pantry had everything I needed to make this takeout classic — adapted by Sam Sifton from Shorty Tang and Ed Schoenfeld — it was a game changer. Keep your pantry stocked, and treat yourself to a quality chile paste, crisp or oil, and you’re most of the way there on any night of the week. MARK JOSEPHSON
Recipe: Takeout-Style Sesame Noodles
At the drop of a hat, bucatini amatriciana is my default pasta. But then there is Ali Slagle’s tomato-butter pasta. Having picked up the butter thing from Marcella Hazan, this recipe has similar DNA but is simpler, and it’s not just for summer if you have slow-roasted tomatoes in your freezer. FLORENCE FABRICANT
Recipes: Pasta Amatriciana | Tomato-Butter Pasta
Alexa Weibel’s one-pot zucchini-basil pasta is so quick to make and full of flavor. It’s creamy and comforting, and that gremolata adds such a nice burst of flavor and texture. I make extra gremolata because everyone always wants more! KIM GOUGENHEIM
I quickly throw together dinner based on this very adaptable recipe from Florence Fabricant about 10 times a year. I don’t think I’ve ever actually used the green fettuccine, even though the photo of the noodles is what caught my eye in the first place. I often substitute frozen peas for asparagus, and it tastes delicious even if you don’t have dill. BRETT ANDERSON
This brilliant Melissa Clark noodle recipe satisfies my frequent cravings for Chinese pork-and-chive dumplings, and it’s a full meal that’s ready in 30 minutes. JULIA MOSKIN
