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.
Can I use couscous or is that pasta too small?
Hi Allie! Yes, you can definitely use couscous. The cooking time might be a bit different so just follow the directions on the box, but the egg/cheese part will work just the same. :)
This is a classic. I make it using chicken broth instead of water.
Isn’t it just the best comfort food ever? And the chicken broth suggestion is a winner – thank you!
Ugh, I am currently a week into being pretty darn sick and I have been craving Pastina and Egg! I remember my Italian mom and grandmother both used to make this for me when I was a kid. I’m guessing it seems like an odd comfort food to some but it’s the simplicity that makes it so amazing! I was almost sure I could wing throwing it together, but I am so happy to find your measurements (water to Pastina) just in case. Even more comforting! Thank you for coming to my rescue.
Oh Janice, I hear you…I am just getting over a nasty summer cold myself (which I kindly shared with my husband too, so we are the Tissue Family right now). And I made multiple bowls of this pastina during the worst of my cold. So glad this recipe found its way to you, and feel better SOON! xo
Just like nana used to make. Made it for hubs and he liked it too but his question was the egg supposed to be stringy like scrambled eggs or incorporated like a sauce ala carbonara ?
Nana always cooked it so it was like egg drop – strips of scrambled egg in it.
Hi Bethy! I like it incorporated like a sauce, and if you take it off the heat when you add the egg that’s what will happen. If you want to have bits and strings of cooked egg, you can leave it on low to medium heat while you stir in the egg and it will cook faster, and make those little solid pieces. Hope this helps! :)
Yep, it helps! Thanks for taking the time to reply!
Of course! Happy pastina! :)
Loved this recipe!
Hi Carol and hurray! I’m so glad – it’s one of my very very favorites. :)
Although I’m half Italian and had this often as a child per my mom and grandma I never learned to make it.
Watching your video and simple directions helped me to relive a fond childhood memory as I made it and shared with my daughter.
Thank You
I doubled the recipe and used chicken broth in place of water and it came out great. Such a yummy bowl of comfort. This will be a staple from now on
Bella! Thank you so much – I do love making this with chicken broth too! Hurray for pastina!
Such a family favorite! But stock up on pasting as Ronzoni will discontinue making it! Sooooo sad!
I KNOW! I am not happy about that – but rooting for Barilla to keep us in stock!
Use chicken broth or stock to cook the pasta and recipe is out of this world.
Mark! You are so right about the chicken broth. YUM!
So I’ve been hearing rumblings on social media up here that some pasta companies are going to stop making pastina.
I hope there’s at least one company that rebels against this movement and continues making it.
(Scoop up as much as you can while it’s still out there cuz!)
No no no, say it isn’t so!
I actually heard it might just be Ronzoni that’s discontinuing it.
Thanks for Barilla…..
I live near Madison WI and it used to be you could find ANYTHING at either Woodman’s grocery – well, suddenly no pastina, not even the stars or ABC types (both of which I used when my kids and grandkids were young). No Barilla brand nor DaVinci brand. I can get some at an Italian specialty store but it’s an extra trip and pricier (though not a problem). But why? Were people not buying it? Now others are noticing the same thing? Weird!
There is no pastina to be found ANYWHERE in North Carolina where I live, and my mom can’t find it in New Jersey either. My sister found some in Woodstock New York and sent me 6 boxes! And of course there is always Amazon…they do still have it. I think we need to start a Pastina petition! :)
I guess you could use one of the other similar types of tiny pasta. I forget the name but its similar to Pastina.
But I can’t find the tiny stars or alphabets or Os either. Sometimes orzo but orzo is NOT the same!
I totally agree about orzo (even though I am an orzo lover) – there’s nothing like real pastina. Say some Italian swears under your breath for me too! :) Happy (hopefully pastina-filled) New Year!
Well, I grew up in very southern NY, just north of Bronx and if you can’t find pastina in NJ I say the world is in trouble! I just swore under my breath in Italian! ????
Ok so the other very similar pasta is called Acini de Pepe.
I’m sure it would work fine if you can’t find Pastina.
My Walmart has DeCecco brand Acini di Pepe. They make it very small. Smaller than other brands Acini di Pepe. It works great for this recipe. Hope that helps!!
Hi Vickylynne and thanks for this shopping tip – thank goodness for Walmart! Happy New Year!
Such a sweet post. Now I have to go get myself some pastina, if there is any left on the shelves ;)
Hopefully if you can’t find any, a guardian angel will come to the rescue! xoxo!
This is gonna be so yummy FOR SURE!
Cheese with anything always taste great. :D
Amazing recipe. Made this many times now! I make 2 servings bc one just isn’t enough! Done it with the star shaped and ring shaped Pastina and they are both great. I also add garlic powder and more spiced depending on what I want and if I want to make it richer I add a splash of half and half or milk. Thank you for the recipe! Pure comfort food.
Hi Neesa! I love your variations on this recipe and yes! Comfort food to the max. :)
Made it with vegetable broth instead of water. I don’t know if my mom put eggs in it when I was growing up, but it was a perfect way to get some extra nutrients in while my girl and I are feeling unwell. She loved it. Thank you!
I hope that you and your girl feel better soon…sending all good thoughts your way!