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.
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❤️ 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!
👩🏻🍳 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.
My nonna used to make almost this exact recipe for me when I was little and not feeling well! I couldn’t remember how she did it, so I never was able to make it, I only remembered parts. I can’t believe I stumbled across this recipe! The only thing she did different was to use a half teaspoon of chicken bullion in place of the salt. I’m under the weather today, and I made this, standing over the oven crying in happiness. It’s like she’s here with me. I even have the little bowl with pink roses she used to serve it to me in (her name was Rose). I cannot thank you enough! I’m so happy to be able to make this for other people now!
Ally! Thank you for telling me about this – you made my whole day! Notes like this are the reason I do what I do. :) I hope you feel better soon, and I love that you are having this special pastina out of your Nonna Rose’s bowl! xo
Oh how I love this recipe! I remember this or something similar that my grandmother or mother made for me. Would have never known how to make it if it weren’t posted here. I’m so thankful!!! I crave it a lot! It’s great to make you feel better when under the weather, pick you up when feeling down and my newest: if you have a little too much spirits to drink the night before this will make you feel good as new the next day while lounging on the couch! Thank you!!!!
Hi Lisa and thank you!! You’ve described the feeling I get when I make and eat this recipe just perfectly – it’s the best pick me up comfort food recipe I know! :)
Kate, t’s really awesome! This will quickly become a favorite in our house!
Thanks Olga! It’s my all-time favorite comfort food. :)
My grandma always made pastina with chicken broth and spinach…to this day it is my favorite soup! sprinkle a little Parmesana Reggiano on top and you have a 5 star soup!
Hi Donna! That sounds a lot like my parmesan polenta chicken soup – I’m going to have to try it with pastina now! Here’s my recipe – see what you think! :) https://www.framedcooks.com/2017/02/parmesan-polenta-chicken-soup.html
This looks amazing! I’m on a liquid/pureed diet for the next 3 months (due to some extensive dental work to correct my bite) — is this something that I could eat without the ability to chew, like the mashed potatoes I’m getting so sick of?) or would I need to make it and then puree it with an immersion blender? Thanks!!!
Hey Jeff, and yes! I recently got a filling changed and they had to numb up the whole side of my mouth and they told me no chewing until the novocain wore off. it took FOREVER to wear off and I was starving, so I made myself a bowl of this and it goes down with zero chewing. Plus you get the protein of the egg. Speaking of, here’s another no-chew recipe you might like, and I hope the next three months go okay for you. Let me know if you need any other recipes like this. https://www.framedcooks.com/2012/10/soft-scrambled-eggs-with-ricotta-and-chives.html
THANK YOU, KATE — you just made the next 3 months look a lot more bearable!!!
Yes, you can eat without chewing it! You might want to cook the pastina a bit more than normally called for, in this case. I had a serious jaw problem for several years and this is one of the things that sustained me! I have gotten to the point where I make a big batch, store and then zap in microwave – including for breakfast!
Thanks Virginia, was planning to over cook it a bit, and a big, mappable batch sound like a good idea!! Also thinking about add-ins; some anchovy paste, an extra yolk, some pureed arugula, roasted garlic…. so many possibilities!
I feel the need to comment because I’ve been making this recipe ever since I found it three years ago. My mom had purached a box of pastina for soup, but she never ended up using it so I looked up different recipes for pastina and this one seemed the easiest (I’m lazy and a college student). I would just like to say that this recipe has been with me through so many obstacles in my life. I have cried over boys, cried over deaths (both fictional and real), cried over stress, and relaxed all while eating this pastina recipe. I have purchased far too many boxes of pastina at this point and I think it just might be my favorite recipe to ever exist. Cheese actually kind of messes with my stomach, but do I care? Hell no. I could be allergic to every component of this recipe and I would still eat it. I don’t even care. Whoever invented this recipe is my hero and you’re also my hero for publishing it online and allowing me to find it during MANY times of need. Most girls my age lose themselves in a bottle of some sort of alcohol when they’re feeling down, but I lose myself in a bowl of this magical stuff. I will break any diet to eat this stuff. I’m very very passionate about it. Thank you so much, again.
P.S. None of this is exaggerated. I am dead serious.
Natalia, I have gotten thousands of comments on this blog over the years, and this one literally brought happy tears to my eyes. As a blogger, I send my posts out into the world not knowing who will read them and what they will think, and hearing this from you reminds me why I do what I do. You eat all the pastina you want, girl – you sound like an amazing person, and you made this blogger so happy today. xoxo
I made it for four. It was a serious hit. And freaking delicious. (I may have also added a hair more parm…don’t judge.)
I will NEVER judge on more cheese in any context. :)
My daughter had her wisdom teeth out. She loved it she is a very picky eater. I made with chicken broth instead of water it came out very tasty.
Oh gosh, I remember the day my daughter had her wisdom teeth out – hope yours is feeling much better! And love the idea of making this with chicken broth. :)
A good recipe but the pasta I used said to cook for nine minutes and it was correct. It takes that long to absorb most of the water too.
Thanks Jim! And yes, always good to follow the box for pasta cooking directions as things can change from pasta to pasta. Glad you liked the recipe! :)
My comfort food since I can remember, am almost 70. When I’m cold, sick or even just want something quick, Virginia easy and yummy. All my grandparents were from Italy. I think it was called uovo e pastina – might have spelled the egg part wrong. My version is to boil and drain well the pastina – then I add eggs beaten with some milk, making it creamy! I barely grease a fry pan with regular olive oil and cook and stir over low heat until the way I like it. Served with a dollop of butter and sprinkled with grated Parmesan/Romano – Heaven in a bowl!
I agree – it IS just heaven in a bowl! Love the milk in there – I’m going to try that next time. :)
Try it with chicken stalk instead of water
Will give that a try!
Just made this for the second time this week I tried it yesterday and added to much peer I think I got it perfect now and it is so good like a warm hug inn a bowl
My Nonni made this when I was a child . My Mom made it and I make it foright you little. Love in a bowl. We make ours a bit diffently. We use chicken broth like others have mentioned. Also we add about a tablespoon of milk right before serving. It is really creamy that way.
Love in a bowl – that’s exactly right! And I’m going to try the milk in mine next time. :)
I have been eating pastina since I was a little girl, my Italian Nana was the first one who started making it for us. In our version you drain the pastina, add it back in the pan with the butter, egg, and salt and cook it on low until the egg cooks past the wet phase but still maintaining its creamy texture. Don’t cook too long or it will dry out. Definitely a comfort food in our family! Thanks for sharing this version!
And thanks for sharing your version – I’m going to try that for lunch today!
Has anyone tried this with diced chicken?
Hi Stephanie! I think adding some shredded cooked chicken at the end would be delicious!
The instructions say 3-4 minutes. Mine took 8 minutes before it got to the right consistency (just Barely not soupy). Maybe this is because i doubled the recipe. Double the quantity, double the time?.
Hi Bethy, and thanks for all your comments on this one! Yes, you probably needed a little extra time due to the amount, but glad it came our so well for you! :)