This Clever Pasta Hack Will Help You Save On Energy

If you're on a mission to lower your gas bill, making more no-cook recipes is a great place to start. However, courtesy of @brightly.eco on TikTok, we know now that's not the only option. In a recent video, they demonstrated how it's possible to cook perfect pasta while using less energy.

The trick is to use a method called "passive cooking." Simply bring a pot of water to a boil, then add your dry pasta. Give it a good stir to prevent it from sticking. Boil the pasta for two minutes, turn off the heat, and add the cover. Let it sit for the cooking time indicated on the box, then drain as usual.

According to @brightly.eco, this hands-off method will yield perfectly cooked pasta. This is also an excellent technique if your pasta always ends up under cooked or overcooked, or if it's a hot day and you want to limit how long the stovetop is on.

brightly.eco/TikTok

To get the most out of this hack, it's also worth choosing pasta that takes less time to cook. This is especially helpful if you're preparing multiple dishes at once.

These days, many people use their phone's alarm to keep track of cooking times. But why not have some fun with it? Barilla Italia has created Spotify playlists for different shapes of pasta. Each list of tunes lasts as long as the cooking time for each type of pasta. So fun.)

Finally, try your hand at homemade pasta by making this 2-ingredient recipe. It calls for nothing more than flour and tomato paste, and honestly, it's brilliant. (Writer's note: We tried this recipe and can confirm it's delicious.) The recipe also doesn't a pasta machine, which is ideal if you're not quite ready to invest in one.