While Pastina is technically the type of pasta used for this easy and fast comfort food, it has also become the name. This quick and easy pastina recipe uses butter, cheese and broth for a quick, simple and comforting meal. Perfect for little kids and adults!
What You Need
These simple ingredients to make this italian pastina are likely already in your home; if not, they’re easily found at your local grocery store. A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth- You can use just water, but chicken stock gives this dish a little more flavor, body and nutritional value. some folk have even used bone broth. I like low-sodium so I can control the saltiness better. The hard cheese will likely also have salt, so taste test it before adding. You can use store-bought or homemade.
- Pastina pasta– Or similiar quick cooking small pasta shape. Pastina is fun because it’s a tiny star-shaped pasta. We used Ronzoni pastina– I like the taste and tender texture the best. Barilla pastina is also great, but harder to find.
- Unsalted Butter– If using salted, omit the additional salt.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese- Or another hard cheese like pecorino romano. Use a freshly grated cheese and try for the smallest grate, it will melt easier.
- Salt & Pepper– Taste test before seasoning. Coarse kosher salt is my pick because it dissolves fast and it the least salty. Black pepper is the most traditional. You’ll only need a little bit.
Get to Cooking!
Making this creamy italian pastina is easy! So easy the kids can help you make this ultimate italian comfort food.
- Boil. In a medium saucepan or large pot, bring the broth to a gentle boil.
- Make Pasta. Stir in the pastina and simmer for an additional 2 minutes before removing from the heat. Stir after adding to prevent clumps. It will continue to cook after you remove it from the heat. It’s enough liquid to flood the small-shaped pasta, but also make a creamy texture sauce.
- Add Cheese and Butter. Immediately add the butter and cheese to the cooked pastina, stirring until combined. Add the salt and pepper, if desired. I highly suggest taste testing before doing so.
- Enjoy. Serve while hot. If it sits for long, it will start to get sticky, just add a splash of broth, milk or water or even olive oil to loosen it up again.
5S Philosophy 👩🏻
- Salt – I use unsalted butter and low sodium chicken broth to be able to control the salt content of this pastina. Then to bring out the other flavors, I like to use coarse kosher salt.
- Seasonings – Salt and pepper are the only seasonings I like to add, but feel free to add things like fresh garlic cloves, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh herbs or dried herbs, fresh onion, shallot, bay leaves or italian seasoning.
- Sauces – You can certainly add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top of your pastina soup to finish things off.
- Swaps – This dish has no veggies, but you can absolutely throw in some cooked carrots, celery, peas, sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, peas or chives. You can swap the chicken broth for homemade chicken stock or even vegetable stock.
- Senses – Creamy Italian pastina is pure comfort in a bowl—tiny pasta pearls bathed in a velvety, buttery broth that melts on your tongue. The warm aroma of parmesan wraps around you like a warm hug, while each spoonful delivers a silky, savory richness that soothes from the inside out. It’s the ultimate comfort food.
Storage and Leftovers
How to Store Leftover Pastina
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing this dish.
How to Reheat Pastina
The tiny stars will likely clump together while chilled. To revive it, add 1-2 tablespoons of broth, milk or cream while reheating and stir well. This is also a dish that carries well to school in a Thermos. You can reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pastina is also commonly seen in soup recipes because of the small, quick cooking noodles. They are fun little stars, although so small, sometimes it is hard to see the shape! Many think it is the smallest shape of pasta, but couscous actually is tinier.
This recipe can be used with any similar tiny pasta shape like acini de pepe (acini di pepe), couscous, israeli couscous (slightly larger), ditalini or orzo. Cooking times will vary based on shape, but not more than 2-3 minutes.
Yes, in most recipes you can replace pastina with orzo. It has a similar cooking time and texture while being a different shape.
While not actually providing much nutrients, the steam from the hot soup can help with congestion, and the broth can soothe the throat.
More Pasta Recipes
We love an pasta dish around here, like our creamy linguine that has been rated a top pasta recipe by many!
Creamy Pastina Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups pastina pasta
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup parmesan cheese , freshly grated
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring the 3 cups low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth to a low boil.
- Stir in the 1 1/2 cups pastina pasta and simmer for an additional 2 minutes before removing from the heat. Stir after adding to prevent clumps.
- Immediately add the 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and 1 cup parmesan cheese, stirring until combined. Add the 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, if desired.
- Serve while hot.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Video
Nutrition
This was very good—it made a ton of pasta! Way too much for 3 of us. I pulled about half of the cooked pasta out before adding the butter & cheese. Strained the pasta—-way too much liquid. Well use the extra pasta for soup this week.
We really enjoyed this, I used stallinie star shaped pasta because that’s what we had, soooo good
Great recipe! Super easy to make and great if you are sick or if it’s cold outside. Highly recommend.
Thanks for coming back to let us know!
Easiest pastina recipe. This was a favorite of mine as a kid and it tastes the exact same! So fast, easy and cheap. My toddler can’t get enough of it either
Now this is my kind of comfort food- simple and easy to make too! 🙂 I can’t wait to try this recipe soon.
This is a simple and delicious recipe, perfect for when you’re craving cheesy pasta. Thank you!
Wonderfully comforting! Thanks for the tip on how to reheating and avoid clumping.
This creamy, hearty and fabulous pastina is comfort food at its finest.
I’ve been wanting to make pastina for awhile and finally did! It was super easier to make than I thought. Love it!