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.
This was just what I wanted on a cold winter day. Quick and easy, just like grandma used to make. I used 3/4 cup of no-sodium chicken broth instead of the 1 cup of water, but otherwise followed the recipe.
Hi Ray and yes! This is my favorite cold-weather lunch. Love your idea of using chicken broth for a little extra flavor. :)
My friend makes it with mozarella too….can i do that?
Hi Tracey, and I don’t see why not! I would use shredded or finely chopped mozzarella to get the best possible meltage. Happy New Year!
OMG! The perfect Italian comfort food! Just like my mother made for us when we were sick back in the 1950’s & 60’s . Comforting, tasty, easy on the tummy…. Just what the doctor ordered. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Isn’t it the best comfort food ever! I’m so glad you found it! :)
My Italian neighbor would make this for her kids, and all the neighborhood kids, so I grew up loving pastina.
Great recipe. Very comforting… And in my adulthood nowadays, I add crispy chopped up bacon to the top….. it is fabulous!!
Hi Nancy! I absolutely LOVE your adult version of this recipe – that’s definitely happening the next time I make this! :)
Omg major comfort food!
I will make this again!
Isn’t it just the best? I’m so glad you liked it! :)
Thank you! This tasted just like the way my Italian grandparents made Pastina for my cousins and I as children! And we never knew the measurements! Thanks!
KC! I’m so glad – it’s the best comfort food ever, right? :)
My only change was to add chicken broth instead of water to boil it in delicious!
Thanks Lynn! I love your chicken broth addition – it gives it a lovely rich taste! :)
Absolutely delicious……just like Mom made years ago……
Thanks Jessica! It’s my favorite favorite comfort food. :)
I made this tonight for my husband and I and it was very very good but if I wanted to add a little bit more juice to it for when it was done what are some ideas?
Hi Stephanie! Do you mean you want to make it a little more liquid? You can drizzle in some warm milk (or even cream!) – or if you want to make it a little lighter, you can stir in a little more chicken broth. If that’s not what you are after let me know and I can send along some more ideas!
When I was young I used to get sick every time one of my siblings came home with a cold and I wasn’t growing as well as I should. An Italian friend of my parents recommended this recipe to them to feed me and it worked! It seems like it’s only been in the last few years that the recipe has begun to be available.
Hi Laura! This is the BEST cure for just about anything – it’s my all time favorite comfort food. :)
Sure, you could just make it with egg white. However, in all seriousness, unless you are on a starvation diet, the eggs aren’t going to be significant. The pastina itself is likely higher in carbs?! I’ve been dieting (lost 15#) and have included reasonable amount of eggs.
Thank you for your input and congrats on your weight loss! Interestingly, I’ve lost 15 lbs. as well with no food off limits. However, often eggs don’t sit well with me so I generally eat only the whites for the protein factor. ;)
Ah, well, then, that’s a valid reason! ????
I’m trying to watch my calorie intake. Can I use just egg white instead of whole egg? Thanks!
Hi there! Yes, you definitely can – it will be a little lighter, but the cheese will still make it flavorful. Happy cooking!
Thanks!
Every time this recipe pops up I swear I’m going to try it. I am going to try it, it looks so easy.
There are two things my Great Aunt Min (aka Grandma) introduced to my sister and I when we were kids, Pastina and Taylor Ham. do you have any recipes with Taylor Ham as an ingredient?
It’s a great one – it’s actually the most popular recipe on the blog. I don’t have any recipes with Taylor ham, but you are inspiring me to come up with one! Such fond memories of Aunt Min. :)
Delicious! Super easy and a hit with the toddler.
Hurray! It’s always great to be toddler-approved – they are the best! :). Happy New Year, Esther!
I needed a hug today, so I made this. THANK YOU, I haven’t had this in years!!
Oh Michelle, I’m so glad! We all need all the hugs we can get these days! :)