One-Pot Corn Pasta

Dinner Therapist is my column dedicated to solving your dilemmas around the most important — but, let’s be honest, sometimes most dreaded — meal of the day. Prepping dinner night after night can be so hard. Here, I deliver practical and hopefully fun advice to make cooking less complicated and more enjoyable. Follow along for all the recipes. Got your own dinner struggles? We want to hear from you! Fill out this super-quick form for your chance to be featured in an upcoming column.

As a professional recipe developer, avid home cook, and mom, I regularly get asked about my favorite type of recipe to cook. My answer isn’t what most would expect, although it does usually garner a lot of head nods in agreement. 

I love recipes that are low-effort, high-reward; they’re what I cook most at home. Impressive yet surprisingly easy meals are my jam. Don’t be fooled by my job — I feel the dinner struggle just as much as you. Figuring out what to cook night after night and finding the time to cook is not easy. I’m with you 100%. 

However, this is a problem I love trying to solve. Which is why I regularly get texts from friends to help figure out easy dinner solutions, and it’s why I get stopped by other parents at after-school activities to ask what I’m cooking for dinner, so they can get inspiration for their family dinner. And, it’s why I’m qualified to be The Kitchn’s Dinner Therapist.

I love creating recipes that are easy; require minimal prep; use a limited number of budget-friendly, readily available ingredients; call for the least amount of cookware possible (hello, easy cleanup); include vegetables; and, if possible, leave leftovers that reheat or pack well for lunch the next day. Most importantly, these dinners should taste absolutely incredible and be way more than the sum of their parts. 

As soon as summer hits, there’s a shift in my cooking style. I crave simplicity in my meals, lean on easy-as-can-be recipes, and, more than anything, want food that tastes like summer. This one-pot pasta checks all those boxes, and then some. 

Once sweet corn pops up at the market, this quick and easy family dinner is a staple in my meal plan roster (if fresh corn is not available to you, frozen corn will work just fine). It’s a true one-pot pasta (no draining necessary) that’s packed with corn, basil, and scallions, and tossed with a light and creamy no-cook sauce made with pasta water, ricotta, and Parm. It’s simple to pull together (with the option for advance prep), and easy to clean up.

• Any dried short pasta shape will work. I happen to love cavatappi and recommend it for two reasons: It has a shorter cook time than some other shapes (just six to eight minutes), and those squiggles are perfect for capturing ricotta and corn kernels. That said, use whatever short pasta shape you have in the pantry. Orecchiette, fusilli, penne, rigatoni, and farfalle also work really well with this recipe.
• Get a head-start on chopping, if you like. The scallions, garlic, and corn can all be prepped up to a day in advance and refrigerated until you’re ready to use. Just be sure to store the corn separate from the scallions and garlic (which can be stored together). And if you’re grating your own Parm, that can also be done ahead of time. I do recommend waiting until the last minute to chop the basil, so it will keep its color. 
• Wait to add the corn. Once the pasta comes off the heat, add the corn. This ensures that the kernels keep their crisp bite and don’t get chewy. 
• Do let the pasta sit for a few minutes after coming off the heat. You’re ready to dig in, I know! This is perhaps the toughest step of the whole recipe, but the wait is worth it — I promise. This gives the sauce a chance to thicken up a little. 
• Add the basil just before serving. After letting the pasta sit, add the basil and give it a good stir to combine. This will ensure the basil keeps its vibrant green color; otherwise, it will become muddy in color when added to the warm pasta too soon.