Pastina with Egg and Cheese, Otherwise Known As Comfort Food
This simple recipe for pastina with egg and cheese, otherwise known as comfort food, will make everything feel a little better! Especially when eaten out of a Peter Rabbit bowl.
Jump to:
- ❤️ Why I love this recipe
- 🤔 What is pastina?
- 🧀 Ingredients you need
- Ingredient notes and substitutions 📝
- 💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
- 👩🏻🍳 How to make this recipe
- 🤔 Recipe FAQs
- 💕 Other comfort food recipes we love
- 🧐 We want to know what you think!
- Pastina with Egg and Cheese, Otherwise Known As Comfort Food
❤️ Why I love this recipe
I love the general category of comfort food.
As in poached eggs on buttered toast. Cream of Wheat. Scrambled eggs with little dollops of ricotta cheese.
Sometimes a warm bowl of comfort food is the only thing that will do when you are feeling blue, or tired, or overwhelmed by the busy-ness of it all.
Or maybe you just want to be 5 years old again, for a few minutes. Anyway, I have my little repertoire of meals that fall into this category, and I was delighted to remember this one in this book I just finished reading.
The book is called I Loved, I Lost, I Ate Spaghetti by Guilia Melucci. For all of you who read Eat Pray Love it is basically the same type of book, only this time the eat and the love parts are combined.
And scattered throughout this book are Guila’s various recipes for this that and the other thing, mainly Italian dishes.
And that is what this recipe is based on. Tiny pasta swirled with a little butter, cheese and an egg. It’s comfort food perfection that is ready in 15 minutes.
🤔 What is pastina?
Pastina is the tiniest pasta there is – it is little tiny dots of pasta that cook up quickly, and because of its tiny size it tends to be a little softer than most pasta.
Perfect with butter…and even better with the other ingredients in this recipe!
🧀 Ingredients you need
The basic components are pretty simple: water, pastina, egg, butter, cheese, salt and pepper. It cooks up in about 5 minutes start to finish, and turns into a creamy, slightly cheesy concoction that needs to be eaten with a spoon.
Ingredient notes and substitutions 📝
- Pastina: And if you can’t find pastina, go for the tiniest pasta you can find. Little stars or even orzo.
- Egg: Any size egg will do.
- Butter: I like salted butter for this recipe, but unsalted will work too!
- Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated if you can!
💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
Missing something or want to swap in something different? Check out the links below to find more ingredient substitution ideas. 👇🏻
👩🏻🍳 How to make this recipe
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
STEP 1: Bring one cup of water to boil in small saucepan.
STEP 2: Add pastina and salt and cook until most of the water is absorbed, 3-4 minutes or whatever the instructions on your box suggest.
STEP 3: Turn off heat and stir in egg, letting it cook in the hot pasta.
STEP 4: Add a little butter, a little grated Parmesan cheese and a little salt and pepper. Eat slowly out of your favorite bowl with your favorite spoon.
🤔 Recipe FAQs
Pastina can be a tricky thing to track down! First check your grocery store in the pasta aisle. If you can’t find it there, you can order a good-sized supply of pastina here. And all my friends and loved ones know that I go through it so fast that whenever they see it, they pick me up a box…or six!
You can use whatever kind of cheese makes you feel the most comforted! Just make sure it is a melty kind (like American or finely shredded cheddar) that will mix up into your pastina.
Pop your question in the comments section below and I will get back to you pronto!
I ladled mine into my Peter Rabbit bowl, settled into my favorite chair, and immediately felt much better.
So if you are looking for a good book to read give I Loved, I Lost, I Ate Spaghetti a try…and the next time you need a little pick-me-up, cook up some of this pastina. Preferably served in a Peter Rabbit bowl.
💕 Other comfort food recipes we love
🧐 We want to know what you think!
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section right below the recipe card.
Pastina with Egg and Cheese, Otherwise Known As Comfort Food
This simple recipe for pastina with egg and cheese, otherwise known as comfort food, will make everything feel a little better!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup pastina
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan
- Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Bring one cup of water to boil in small saucepan.
- Add pastina and salt and cook until most of the water is absorbed, 3-4 minutes or whatever the instructions on your box suggest.
- Turn off heat and stir in egg, letting it cook in the hot pasta.
- Add butter, cheese and pepper. Eat slowly out of your favorite bowl with your favorite spoon.
- Feel much better.
Notes
Pastina: These teeny dots of pasta are always my favorite choice for this comfort food recipe, but if you can’t find pastina, any small pasta (stars, orzo, etc) will do in a pinch.
Egg: You will be able to see it, but the egg really will cook in the hot pasta – stir it around until you see it forming little bits of scrambled egg.
So, I had never heard of this before, not being Italian, and had only ever had spaghetti pasta growing up, but a friend of mine who is of Italian ancestry, gave me a box of pastina when she moved. I tucked it away, not having the faintest idea what to do with it. Well, last week I got into a time crunch and needed something to make something for a potluck QUICKLY so in going thru my cupboards I found the pastina, looked it up on line and found this recipe. I made the whole box, thru in 12 eggs, cheddar cheese instead of Parmesan, and some chopped ham, and MAN, was it ever good! Took it to the potluck and everyone liked it even though no one knew what it was. Still had some left over so have been eating it for breakfast. Um, um, good!
I’m so glad you liked it – and I LOVE your additions! Chopped ham – I need to try that myself!
My husband’s family has been making a baked dish for decades that no one seems to know exactly how to say or spell. It usually ends up pronounced like, “bastae”. His father was from Sicily. The dish is 3 cups of cooked, cooled rice, 2 cups parmesan cheese, 9 beaten eggs, salt and pepper. They also throw in about about a cup of chopped ham or pepperoni, which I’m sure was added to the recipe here, in the states, as my husband’s family had a pizza place in St. Louis for several decades and Dad would bake this “bastae” with his sons, probably just adding whatever meat toppings they wanted. This is all combined and baked in a greased, parchment lined pan at 350 for about 40 minutes or until the middle of the top is spongy and bounces back when touched. My mother worked for an Italian family for several years and the first time my husband made this for her, she called it pastina, which is probably more correct, although not exactly the same.
Well, that dish sounds absolutely AMAZING. I am going to have to try and recreate it – thank you so much for telling me about it!
Made this today, it was great.I used pecorino cheese instead of parmesan. Next time i try it with chickenbroth. Thank you for the recepy.
Chicken broth will give it a nice extra bit of flavor!
I made this for breakfast this morning, adding a few slivers of Parma ham to the bowl.
Wonderful. This is the first time in my life I’ve had pastina and it will surely not be the last.
Thank you.
Love the addition of the ham! Welcome to the wonderful world of pastina. :)
Pastina was a childhood favorite of mine whenever I was sick, and I’ve recently started making it for my kids too. I tried your new variation yesterday and I am head-over-heels in love with it! Thank you for giving this classic comfort food an upgrade and keeping it alive for me and my family!
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s the perfect, perfect food for when the kiddos are under the weather – and the grown-ups too! :)
Just happened onto your recipe and it brought me back to my childhood! Had to make it as soon as I could. I am now addicted. I made some for my 11 year old granddaughter, and she loves it too. She says she will always remember Grandma making pastina for her as our special meal, just for the two of us. Thanks for bringing it back into my life!
Oh, THANK YOU for sharing that lovely moment with your granddaughter with me!
Hi, I just wanted to post an update. My twin toddlers love this! It also freezes really well into cubes. :) I started feeding this to them at about 12 months.
Deanne, so happy for this update! And twin toddlers – what a happy busy house you must have. :)
I spent the morning trying to deside what to have for breakfast and nothing sounded good, till I pulled out the pastina, I then sat down in front of my computer and luckly found your recipe. It was yummy!
Since my husband is working from home today, I tripled it and used one of the pods of Knorrs Homestyle Chicken Stock. Perfect comfort food for this rainy day.
Thank you!
I’m so glad! It’s the perfect solution to a rainy day, I always think. :)
I too didn’t know what to have for breakfast. Tired of waffles, scrambled eggs or toast and eating peanut butter out of the jar…lol. I had a box of pastina in my pantry, sooo….. guess what I made. You guessed it pastina egg and cheese. OMG, I’ve been wanting to make this for the longet time. My Italian mother used to make it for me and my sister when we were little. Once I found this recipe you’d think it was Christmas morning when I was a kid! As a matter of fact I’m just finishing a bowl of it right now….yummmmmmy! So simple and rustic. I could eat this til the cows came home…lol
I feel EXACTLY the same way about this little recipe – I could eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner! Hurray for pastina!
I was intrigued by this recipe. Being raised Irish/Italian this dish never made an appearance. I made it. I loved it. I crave it. My initial mistake was not following the cook times on the box of ancini di pepe that I bought so my first attempt was just a tad too aldente. No problem.. it still tasted so good! The next time I added a little bit of fresh chopped spinach and finely chopped black olives. Absolutely devine! I now will be making the basic recipe for my grandchildren and the other version for me and my hubby.
I’m right there with you on the craving, especially during these chilly winter days. Love your variations!
Plus Pastina (star shaped mini pastas) is totally different then “ancini de pepe.”
Which do you like better?
Love pastina for, oh, over 50, close to 60 years. I have been eating the pastina with cheese and a softly poached egg, which is poached right into a well in the middle of the pastina. Yum!
Oh my gosh, a poached egg. PERFECTION!!
I think Acini de Pepe is a little bigger than Pastina
I will check! But I bet it’s just as delicious. :)
You made this look so yummy on the blog, then so many people raved in the comments that I HAD to drop everything and locate the little Italian grocery store in my town so I could get my hands on some pastina and make this.
You all weren’t kidding. YUM! New favorite quick comfort food.
Yes! This is my go-to comfort foods of all comfort foods! When things get really crazy I have been known to put a poached egg on top, too. :)
i grew up on this and it was the first solid food we give our children , best comfort food around and i like mine thick
Me TOO! I also love it as a light supper after big holiday feasts, so it will definitely be making an appearance this weekend. :)
Hi! Do you happen to know if this freezes well? Thinking about making a large batch and freezing into individual meals for my twins. I have the same Peter Rabbit Bowl!
I haven’t tried freezing it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t. And don’t you love that bowl? :)
I want the oeter rabbit bowl! Thats what caught my eye kut of all the pastina recipes i was searching on pinterest!
I have been eating pastina for close to 60 years. It is very, very hard to find in grocery stores. Anyway, my mom used to make this for us when we were sick. Now when my stomach is on the blink My husband makes it for me with chicken broth and copious amounts of shredded cheese melted into the pastina. Reminds me of my childhood and is a fantastic binder. Going to try your egg recipe or that with the soft-boiled egg, too. Yummmmm! Thanks for the post.
Isn’t pastina the best? It’s so comforting, and the perfect thing when we are under the weather. Thanks for sharing your memories with me!
Just to let you know, I found it finally at Wal-Mart. :)
Yay, Wal-Mart!!
I had a little Italian couple who my husband and I dearly loved. They are now pass on.
He used to cook all the time. And this was one of the dishes he made. I was looking for it on line and then I clicked on this . They called him peter rabbit . To my suprize that is what is on the bowl. He used to make bigger portions. Used about a cup of cheese and 6 beaten eggs.
We just loved this.
Joyce, I just love this story! Thank you so much for writing – it made my day.
I have been eating this for 50 years. I also make it with just chicken broth, garlic powder and butter. I guess it reminds of being little again as that was what I ate when I was a baby. The one with just the chicken broth, garlic powder and butter was for the kids and the grown ups had the egg cheese and black pepper version.Me and my brother would get a soft boiled egg with ours and mash it up in it! The yolk ran all over it…delicious!
I think I have to make that version with the egg yolk right this minute!
Mom used to use milk instead of water. This brought back a forgotten memory. Made it this morning and it was a great day! Thank you
Hi Debi, and I also glad! I’m definitely going to try making this with milk – I love that idea. :)