Pasta is one of the most convenient yet delicious foods in our daily life. And putting pasta in the microwave could be the easiest way to cook and reheat it.
However, cooking and reheating pasta in the microwave could dry it out. Also, if it’s not cooked properly in the microwave, it could make it hard and unsavoury.
In today’s blog post, we are going to show you how to microwave pasta without drying it out. For more pasta inspiration, we will also show you some easy recipes so you can make delicious pasta with a microwave.
How to Reheat Pasta in the Microwave Without Drying it Out?
The reason why pasta would go dry after microwaving lies in that the moisture in pasta could quickly be removed during the heating process. All we need to do is to either prevent the moisture from being removed or to add extra moisture to it.
You would be surprised how easy it is to microwave pasta without drying it out. Also, this game-changing hack could be applied to both plain cooked pasta and pasta with sauce.
Put the pasta you want to reheat in a microwave-safe bowl. And add 1-2 teaspoons of water to the pasta.
Cover the bowl filled with pasta with microwave-safe saran wrap or a microwave-safe lid. You don’t have to screw the lid on.
Just cover the bowl with a lid so it can prevent moisture from being removed. After this, it is ready to be cooked. You could now put the pasta in the microwave and cook it with proper settings.
How to Microwave Pasta Without Drying it Out? 3 Easy Recipes
Want to cook raw pasta from the start with a microwave? It is easy to dry the pasta out If it is not done properly.
The following recipes will show you how to microwave pasta without drying it out. What’s better? These recipes are super straightforward and effortless.
Recipe 1. Pasta with Sauce
It is a quick and easy recipe for those who are busy or those who don’t have the equipment to make complicated meals.
Whatever your situation, read on to learn how to effortlessly cook delicious pasta in the microwave.
Ingredients:
- Spaghetti
- Water
- Salt
- Pepper
- Ketchup
- Parmesan cheese
Cooking instructions:
1. Put the desired amount of pasta into a microwave-safe bowl.
(Make sure that you only use microwave-safe containers in the microwave. Many glass containers and ceramic containers available on the market are not microwave safe. For more information, read this.)
2. Pour some water into the bowl. We should make sure that the water can fully cover the pasta in the bowl.
Set the microwave on high power and cook the pasta for around 7 minutes. The cooking time would vary according to the wattage of the microwave. Higher wattage microwave would take around 7-8 minutes to fully cook pasta, and a lower wattage microwave would take a bit longer.
Therefore, we would recommend you to cook the pasta on high power for 7 minutes. And check the pasta for adjustment and then add some more cooking time, so pasta won’t be overcooked or undercooked.
3. Strain the water after cooking. A small colander makes it easy to strain the excess water. If you don’t have one, you can also scoop out the water or just pour out the water carefully.
4. Heat the sauce you want to add to the pasta in the microwave for 35 seconds. So the overall temperature of the dish could be consistent. For extra flavor, you could add some heated butter or olive oil to the pasta as well.
Done and done! Now you have effortlessly made yourself some delicious pasta in the microwave.
Recipe 2. Cheese Pasta
Ingredients:
- Pasta
- Spam
- Black pepper
- Grated cheese
- Olive oil
Cooking instructions:
1. Put pasta and some water in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it with high power for 5 minutes. The water should be able to fully cover the pasta.
2. Cut the spam into small cubes while the pasta is cooking.
3, When the cooking process finishes, strain the water. Add spam cubes, olive oil, black pepper and some salt to the pasta.
4. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients in the bowl before you put the grated cheese on top of them.
5. Put them in the microwave, and cook them on high for another 3 minutes.
This recipe is rather simple and convenient yet delicious. The combination of thick cheese and black pepper makes the pasta surprisingly savory.
Recipe 3. Pasta with Shrimp and Avocado
Ingredients:
- Pasta
- Avocados
- Prawn
- Milk
- Cream
- Salt
- Black pepper
Cooking instructions:
1. Stir fry the shrimp for about 5 minutes with a small amount of wine and salt.
2. Remove the pulp of the avocado and peel them. Chop the avocado into small pieces.
3. Boil the pasta in the microwave on high for 6 minutes with some salt. Make sure the water can fully cover the pasta in the bowl.
4. Put half of the chopped avocado, the milk and whipped cream in a pan. Heat them on the stove. Stir them while cooking until they become creamy.
5. Retrieve the pasta from the microwave. Strain them till there’s a small amount of water left. Add the prepared avocado cream sauce to the pasta.
6. Put them in the microwave and cook on high power for 3 minutes.
7. Mix them well after cooking. Sprinkle in salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix them well.
Finally, put the prawn on top of the pasta.
This recipe is a bit more complicated than the other recipes in this blog post. However, the prawn and avocado could add extra texture to the dish and make it more tasty.