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Marcella Hazan's Tomato Butter Pasta

Classic Marcella Hazan's Tomato Butter Pasta made in the glass Anyday dish, consisting of linguini in a rich tomato, butter, and onion sauce. This method ensures perfectly cooked pasta without the need to pre-boil water, ideal for a quick Italian meal.
Marcella Hazan's Tomato Butter Pasta
PT7M PT14M

Prep Time

7 mins

Cook Time

14-15 mins

Free Time

to watch reruns of cooking shows

Whip up our version of Marcella Hazan's famed Tomato Butter Pasta with ease using the microwave! This one-pot wonder combines tomatoes, butter, and onions in a delicate ratio to create a velvety and delicious sauce. Want to take it to the next level? Customize it with your favorite add-ins like chicken or shrimp.

Why use an Anyday? The silicone-lined lid traps all of the messy splatters that can occur when cooking tomato sauce at high heat. Trap all of the flavors inside of the dish while you keep your microwave walls clean!

All of Anyday’s recipes are tested (and retested!) in many different microwave and home kitchens to make sure they work—, and work well. Unless specified otherwise, all recipes should be cooked at full power.

Butter, One Dish Meals, Pasta & Noodles, classic recipes, Vegetarian, Food 52, group__ Pasta & Noodles, Italian, linguini, Marcela Hazan, Noodles, One Dish, one dish dinners, one pot, Deep Dish, Spaghetti, Tomatoes, vegetarian One Dish Meals, Pasta & Noodles

What You’ll Need

What You’ll Need

The Medium Deep Dish

The best dish for 1-2 portions of grains, veggies, mac and cheese, ramen, and more.

The Anyhand Mitts

Handle hot Anyday dishes with care with these microwave mitts that double as trivets!
Try Anyday

Select your serving size and microwave wattage in the dropdown. The recipe will change accordingly.

1-2
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Select your microwave wattage in the dropdown. The cook times in this recipe will automatically change accordingly.

[[video-wattage]]

To find your microwave’s wattage, look at the front panel, the side of the door, in the back, in the user manual, or Google the model number. If both an input and output wattage are listed, use the output.

Wattage translates to how powerful the microwave is. The higher the wattage, the faster your food will cook. The lower the wattage, the longer the cook time.

When in doubt, start with less time — you can always add more.

700w

Recommended 

Dish

The Medium Deep Dish

Ingredients

  • 4 oz (115g) linguini pasta, broken in half
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
  • ½ cup (60g) onion, diced
  • 1¼ cups (300ml) water
  • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ cup (180ml) crushed tomatoes or puree
  • Fresh basil, for garnish (optional)
  • Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)

Preparation

  1. Break the pasta in half (sorry, Italy) and place it along with the water in the Anyday dish, ensuring the water covers the pasta completely. Gently stir the pasta in the water to prevent the noodles from sticking together as they cook.
  2. Add salt, butter, and onion on top.
  3. Cook in the microwave uncovered for 14-15 minutes, or until the pasta is slightly al dente. There will be a small amount of water left in the dish — toss pasta vigorously with tongs and do not drain excess water.
  4. Stir in the tomato sauce, and heat up covered for 1-2 minutes if needed. Garnish with basil and serve with parmesan cheese.

Serving suggestions & tips

  • Add canned peppers and artichoke hearts for a delicious dish.
  • Serve alongside chicken cutlets, meatballs, or short ribs.
  • Add cayenne or chili flakes for a spicy twist.
  • Add a dollop of ricotta or burrata on top of each serving.

Recipe notes

  • While we love Marcella Hazan’s original recipe, we found that cooking tomatoes with butter and onions in the first round of cooking resulted in a loud popping sound. When making it in the microwave, we do recommend adding the sauce at the end to finish the dish.
  • This recipe works well with gluten-free pasta as well as short pasta such as rigatoni or penne.
  • If the water overflows, you can switch to a Large Deep or Extra Large, or reduce to Power Level 8 and then continue cooking.
  • Microwave ovens vary, even with the same wattages. Adjust cooking times as needed.