Calling all foodies who love chowing down on spaghetti, but hate cleaning multiple pots and pans after the meal is finished! Today, we’ve got a life-changing, one pan spaghetti technique that’s so effective, you’ll wonder why you ever used a big pot in the first place.

Now, we’ll admit that even we used to find ourselves balking at the idea of cooking pasta in a sauté pan. It somehow didn’t feel quite ‘right’—and there’s a lot of Internet trolls who agree—but if you do it the right way, we promise those noodles will be just as firm, tender, and delicious as ever.

All you’ll need to get started on this new culinary journey is a large sauté pan, some olive oil, and your pasta of choice. For this hack, you can literally use any type of noodle—fusilli, angel hair, spaghetti, even gluten-free brown rice quinoa macaroni!

First things first—ensure that your pan is greased properly before it meets the heat. The host in today’s clip fails to mention this step, but we think it’s an important one.

Splash on a generous amount of olive oil to the pan’s surface while it heats up, especially if you are using a traditional metal pan. This simple step will guarantee that you won’t be spending your Italian food night scraping burned pasta off the bottom of your pan!

Once your ‘machine’ is well-oiled, drop your desired amount of pasta into the pan along with some cold water.

Pro tip: The amount of water needed, of course, depends on the size of the sauté pan used, so watch Chowhound’s clip at the bottom of the post for a water-level visual that you can coordinate with your own cooking tools.

Boil the water normally, with the lid on, making sure to stir frequently as the water heats up. From there, test your noodles, or follow the instructions on the box. For this hack, we prefer to undercook them a bit—you’ll see why below…

Cook your noodles to perfection

Just because you’ve opted to take the easy route doesn’t mean that you have to forget about the quality of those noodles.

We’ve done further research, and some home cooks say that, while this particular technique is most definitely handy, it can be a tricky one to execute. The general consensus is that using a shallow pan may end up burning your noodles if you’re not careful.

The best way to avoid this is to follow our all-time favorite noodle hack by undercooking the pasta by at least 2 minutes. Once you introduce the pasta to the sauce, it will finish softening at a simmer, allowing for perfect, al dente pasta. Makes sense, right?

Now, before you break out that sauté pan, take the time to learn from a master. For a full tutorial on how to best complete this one-pan technique, be sure to watch the video below. Cooking pasta—and cleaning up after you’re done—has never been so easy!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this noodle-making trick. Have you ever tried this cooking method before? If so, do you have any advice for newbies? What’s your favorite type of pasta dish?