Taylor Swift’s Favorite Pasta Recipe Is a Weeknight Winner

If there’s one hero all home cooks look up to, it’d have to be Ina Garten. The Barefoot Contessa has a way of teaching (and tackling) impressive dishes while making the process look effortless. Her recipes are just about as good as the basics can get, and some are so beautifully simple, you can memorize them.

From Jennifer Garner to Stanley Tucci, almost everybody considers Ina their “Cooking Fairy,” so it’s no surprise music mega-star Taylor Swift has also relied on Garten’s guidance and great recipes throughout her years of cooking. Hey, talent recognizes talent.

When Swift wants to swap entertaining on stage for entertaining at home, there’s one recipe she always leans on. In a 2019 interview with Elle, Swift shared the life lessons she learned throughout her 30 (now 34) years and recognized an Ina Garten pasta as one of the recipes she’ll “be making at dinner parties for life.”

Taylor Swift’s Favorite Ina Garten Recipe

Taylor Swift said she’s “always cooked a LOT,” but one of the recipes that will never leave her side is Ina Garten’s Real Meatballs and Spaghetti.

A dish of spaghetti and meatballs is always a crowd favorite, but Ina’s take on the Italian classic is absolutely “sensational,” said one reviewer. The tomato sauce tastes like it’s been simmering all day, but comes together in just under two hours. And the meatballs? Tender, juicy, and rich as can be—they might be the best meatballs you’ll ever make. It’s no wonder Swift trusts this simple, yet sophisticated recipe to satisfy a hungry house of guests (perhaps even a crowd of hungry Super Bowl-winning football players).

As fantastic as the recipe is, Swift mentioned two tricks that make the cooking process even easier for the hostess. We’ll call it: Real Meatballs and Spaghetti (Taylor’s Version).

How She Hacks It

One of the key ingredients in making tender, flavorful meatballs isn’t often the first one you’d think about—breadcrumbs. Not only do breadcrumbs act as a binder, but they also absorb all the rich meat juices and tangy tomato sauce to deliver a savory, melt-in-your-mouth bite.

Garten’s recipe calls for fresh white bread crumbs in the raw meat mixture, which requires slicing fresh bread and pulsing it down into breadcrumbs in a food processor. But, to simplify the preparation and assembly, Swift shared that she uses packaged breadcrumbs.

After the meatballs simmer away in the sauce, they end up just as moist as if you had started with soft, fresh bread, but the shortcut takes a big step (and a big kitchen tool) out of the process. In fact, several of our best meatball recipes call for all store-bought breadcrumbs from the start, so we fully approve of this swap.

Garten’s meatball recipe also calls for three types of meat (ground pork, beef, and veal). While this signature blend will make the meatballs extra rich and hearty, Swift sticks to just ground beef to cut down the ingredient list. But don’t worry, after you add in the warm spices, eggs, and shredded Parmesan cheese, the meatballs certainly won’t be lacking in flavor.

So, whenever you want to handle a dinner party with the grace and ease of Ina Garten (and, of course, Taylor Swift) add this superstar-approved spaghetti and meatballs to the menu.