Bobby Flay's Simple Tip For Elevating Almost Any Pasta Dish Instantly

Pasta is an incredibly versatile grain and, because of that, is the foundation of countless delicious meals that we all know and love. However, even the most timeless pasta recipes that we all know and love can be improved in one way or another to create a superior meal. In the eyes of beloved celebrity chef Bobby Flay, there is one fundamental ingredient that you can add to your pasta dishes to give them that extra boost, and that ingredient is none other than breadcrumbs.

The ingredient with seemingly endless capabilities is the perfect thing to add to your pasta, and Bobby Flay is not afraid to tell you just that. In fact, breadcrumbs can play an integral role in just about any pasta dish you make if you know what you're doing with them. While adding breadcrumbs to mac & cheese is a pretty popular move among many lovers of the staple meal, Flay believes that adding the crunchy ingredient to other pasta meals can lead you to truly discover the tasteful world you've been missing out on.

Bobby Flay explained his love of adding breadcrumbs to his pasta while making one of his signature dishes, the spicy lemon spaghetti with lobster, on foodnetwork.com. During this time, he revealed that breadcrumbs have actually led him to victory in several episodes of his TV show, "Beat Bobby Flay," on the Food Network.

"It's the way I win a lot on Beat Bobby Flay," he recalled, "These guys are so good. They are amazing chefs, but when I put the crunch in there, it's a little extra thing that the judges like." (via foodnetwork.com) Flay also noted that he loves putting breadcrumbs in his salads for a similar reason, oftentimes replacing croutons with the smaller, crumby alternative.

Even outside of this discussion on the Food Network, Flay's love of breadcrumbs is demonstrated through just how many recipes he touts that feature the pasta and breadcrumb combination. From his simple anchovy butter and chive pasta recipe to more complex recipes like Orecchiette with ricotta, asparagus, tomatoes, and garlic-lemon breadcrumbs, Flay's appreciation for what the pantry stalwart can do to improve pasta dishes is truly undeniable.