How Giada De Laurentiis Takes Pasta Night To The Next Level Using A Muffin Tin

Giada De Laurentiis has taught us that you shouldn't limit yourself when it comes to pasta — it can be eaten at any time of day and combined with unexpected ingredients. The Italian-American celebrity chef has shown us how to make chocolate pasta, a favorite childhood snack of hers, and has a recipe for scrambled eggs with pasta featuring orzo, smoked mozzarella, and pancetta that sounds delectable. If you want to bring pasta to breakfast time, you can find the aforementioned on her website, Giadzy. So, it comes as no surprise that the New York Times best-selling author also created a recipe for easy, customizable pasta cupcakes. 

Showing how she makes them on TikTok, De Laurentiis shared that the cheesy pasta bites were a staple she would often throw together when her daughter Jade was young. Essentially, you're just building a bunch of tiny pasta casseroles into the cups of a muffin pan. All you need is some cooked pasta to mix with ingredients like cheese, meat, veggies, and breadcrumbs. A bit of olive oil, she says, helps hold everything together in addition to the cheese, and will deliver a golden brown finish when baked. 

In her TikTok tutorial, Giada De Laurentiis uses nodi marini pasta, which has a unique spiral shape, along with broccoli and ground turkey, though the recipe on her website also incorporates cherry tomatoes and asparagus. Of course, the veggies should be chopped into small, bite-sized pieces to fit into the muffin tin. For the cheese, she used a combination of grated white cheddar and Parmesan, but you can reach for any cheese you like.

The same goes for the ground meat — use beef or pork sausage — whatever you prefer. Other veggies that would likely taste great here include spinach, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms. One important thing to note is that before you pile your mixture into the cups, you'll want to drizzle some olive oil into each to ensure that everything doesn't stick to the pan. She also sprinkles some breadcrumbs at the bottom for added texture. You might consider making a spicy marinara dipping sauce for these, too.