Katie Couric’s ‘Effortless’ Pasta Is a Total Crowd-Pleaser

Katie Couric is a woman after our own hearts. If there’s one thing the journalist will never do, it’s mess around in the kitchen. Couric has shared countless recipes over the years, like her tomato sandwich, her no-fuss chicken dish, and her bacon and peanut butter sandwich, that all have something in common. They’re made with few ingredients and take next to no time to prepare. 

In keeping with her love for simple recipes, Couric’s go-to pasta dish checks all the boxes. It only requires six ingredients, you don’t have to babysit a sauce on the stove because you don’t even cook it, and it’s a total crowd-pleaser.

Katie Couric’s “Effortless” Pasta Dish

Couric’s “effortless” pasta recipe, which she shared on her site, Katie Couric Media, is one we know well. In fact, it’s one that both Stanley Tucci and Ina Garten have proclaimed their love for in the past, too.

Couric’s delicious pasta dish is a classic, topped with a no-cook, marinated tomato sauce. Her easy recipe combines fresh tomatoes with garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a dash of sugar that you let macerate for a few hours for the flavors to meld. Once the tomatoes have marinated, you add them to your cooked pasta with a hint of pasta water, which will heat the tomatoes ever-so-slightly and create a saucy texture.

How To Make Katie Couric’s Go-To Pasta

Couric doesn’t share a full recipe breakdown on her site, but, the dish is easy enough to eyeball. 

You’ll start by adding a “few cups” of small, fresh, chopped tomatoes—Couric opts for Sun Golds or wild tomatoes when they’re in season, but grape or cherry tomatoes work well, too—to a bowl. Then mix in a couple cloves of garlic, about 1/4 cup of olive oil, salt, pepper, and a “sprinkle” of sugar.

Set the tomatoes aside to marinate for a few hours—which Couric calls the toughest part of the whole recipe while you wait for them to be ready. 

Once marinated, cook your favorite pasta according to package instructions and reserve one cup of pasta water. Couric likes linguini, but any shape will work. Strain the pasta and add to the tomatoes with Parmesan cheese, fresh basil, and toasted pine nuts (if desired).

Incrementally add in the pasta water until the tomatoes reach a saucy consistency and no longer absorb the water.

It doesn’t get much easier for a delicious and comforting yet light and fresh dinner, so we won’t blame you if you make Couric’s simple tomato pasta once a week.