One-Pot Spaghetti With Cherry Tomatoes and Kale

Recipe from Anna Jones

Adapted by Tejal Rao

Updated July 23, 2024

One-Pot Spaghetti With Cherry Tomatoes and Kale
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(8,079)
Comments
Read comments

In this simple recipe, raw pasta and cherry tomatoes are simmered together in a single pan, cooking the pasta and forming a thick, starchy sauce at the same time. The efficient technique is internet famous, but this is the British cookbook author Anna Jones’s vegetarian take on the phenomenon, adapted from her book “A Modern Way to Cook.” The technique is easy to master and endlessly adaptable: When you add the kale, you could also toss in a couple of anchovies and a generous pinch of red-pepper flakes. When you season and top with cheese, you could add a pile of fresh chopped herbs, like mint, basil or oregano. —Tejal Rao

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1pound spaghetti
  • 1pound cherry tomatoes, halved (about 2 pints)
  • 2lemons, zested
  • ¼cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1bunch kale or spinach, leaves only, washed and chopped
  • Black pepper
  • Parmesan, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

699 calories; 27 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 18 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 98 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 946 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring just over a quart of water to a boil. Meanwhile, place spaghetti, tomatoes, lemon zest, oil and 2 teaspoons kosher salt in a large, dry, shallow pan. (The pan should be large enough that the dry spaghetti can lie flat.)

  2. Step 2

    Carefully add the boiling water to the pan with the spaghetti. Cover pan, and bring up to a boil. Remove lid and simmer for about 6 minutes, using tongs to move the spaghetti around now and then so it doesn’t stick.

  3. Step 3

    Add kale or spinach and continue cooking until remaining liquid has reduced to a sauce and the pasta is cooked through. Taste, season with salt and pepper, and top with Parmesan.

Ratings

4 out of 5
8,079 user ratings
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Comments

Anna Maria

It's difficult to tell sarcasm on the internet (maybe the author is making fun of people who demand fresh pasta always?) but to any concerned Americans: As an Italian, I can promise we normally use dry pasta in all our famous pasta recipes that you love so much. Our food is much more simple than food snobs try to pretend it is, and that's why it's so good!

Deb

I like very spicy food, so mine has a lot of garlic, red chili pepper flakes, etc. The first time I made this was for a Vegan friend who was visiting. In place of Parmesan, I placed dry roasted almonds--unsalted--in my food processor and pulsed until they were the texture of fine meal. I stirred this into my finished dish and everybody thought it was cheese. It added protein to the dish and I omitted the one thing that made it non-Vegan--the Parmesan.

Lynn Olson

People: The whole point of the dish is the way the pasta is cooked! That’s what gives it distinctiveness. You can cook it traditionally but then it’s not this dish. I’m single and it gave me 4 meals. Loved it

Gaby G

I added 1 Tbsp. Tomato paste at the beginning.turn out delicious! More tomato taste.5*

~Chrissie O.

Let the naysayers boo. This was lovely! I added the tomatoes when I added the boiling water, so they'd really have time to "burst." THEN, I added diced onion, zucchini, yellow squash, and minced garlic (I wanted them to be softer but not soft-soft). I did use maybe a little more water (1/3 cup-1/2 cup? I splashed - very precise!), when I realized the pasta was really absorbing the liquid. DON'T SKIMP ON SALT; the dish isn't salty! Added fresh basil. SOOOO GOOD!!!!

mikelmotorbykel

Used a box of thawed and drained frozen spinach bc that’s what I had on hand. Turned out great!

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Credits

Adapted from "A Modern Way to Cook," by Anna Jones (Ten Speed Press, 2016)

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