These easy pasta recipes are the comfort food meals that I crave this time of year. Today I am sharing my favorite no-stress wholesome pasta recipes to help us make it through the winter and to help make dinnertime a little easier.
Pasta is the food that I would happily eat every single day. It’s inexpensive, it’s easy, there are a million ways to serve it. Make it meaty or cheesy or cover it in tomato sauce. Serve it as a side dish or a main course. Get creative, or stick to something classic. There are no wrong answers.
A few of these recipes are made in just one pot, saving you clean up time. Most can be made in under 45 minutes or less. I’ve included old family favorites, quick and easy dinners, and vegetarian options. And yes, I included a handful of macaroni and cheese recipes, like the crazy delicious Bacon Cheeseburger Macaroni and Cheese pictured above.
Some recipes specifically call for fresh pasta. I tend to use fresh pasta when I want to cook the pasta right in the sauce. Don’t substitute dried pasta for fresh pasta, it will throw the proportions and the cooking time off.
One of the best things about these easy pasta recipes is that they reheat well, and it is easy to make a big batch. To make a larger batch of a skillet recipe, just use a dutch oven instead of a skillet.
You can pack up leftovers for lunch or just eat them for dinner throughout the week. Having ready to eat food in the fridge is always a good thing.
23 Easy Pasta Recipes
Need some dinner inspiration? You have come to the right place. Here are 23 easy pasta recipes. Some are all made in one pot, some have meat, others are vegetarian. They are all delicious meals that you can make without spending too much time in the kitchen.
My mom made this for dinner on a regular basis when I was growing up, and I crave it now that I am an adult. It's so easy to make that I understand why she made it all the time!
You can cook gnocchi right in a sauce! It works really well with the fresh mini gnocchi that you can find in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods. I used my easy homemade roasted tomato sauce for this meal, it's my go-to sauce recipe.
Have you tried making lasagna by spreading the lasagna sheets with ricotta, topping them with zucchini, and rolling them up? It's so fun to make lasagna this way. If you want, you can use bolognese sauce to prepare this meal too.
This 30 minute recipe is a complete meal. It has tender chunks of chicken, tomatos, mushrooms, spinach, and onion in a creamy tomato sauce. You'll be making this on repeat.
Upgrade your tomato soup by adding cheese tortellini. I make the soup from scratch, but you can use store-bought tomato soup instead.
A 20 minute pasta recipe is made with smokey bacon, tomatoes, garlic, and red pepper flakes. It tastes just like the Amatriciana at an Italian restaurant.
This recipe is loaded with fall flavors, but you can make it any time of the year. It has chunks of butternut squash in a creamy goat cheese sauce seasoned with sage.
The secret to this recipe is that you cook the pasta in store bought tomato bisque which thickens into a sauce as the pasta cooks.
It doesn't get much easier than this recipe for fresh pasta with a light mascarpone and Parmesan sauce.
This recipe manages to be meaty and creamy at the same time. It's made with ground beef with a tomato mascarpone sauce. It's heaveny, you need to try this.
Did you know that you can cook pasta in white wine? It's so good, and it is the secret to making this one skillet pasta.
Top Chef Winner Joe Flamm taught me how to make this very easy pasta recipe. He also taught me a trick to cooking with sundried tomatoes that I explain in this post.
Transform leftover chicken into delicious homemade dinner. Chicken and Broccoli Pasta with a Goat Cheese Sauce is an easy dinner recipe that comes together in just 15 minutes.
How about pasta in a creamy pumpkin sauce seasoned with shallots and nutmeg?
Yes, you can get dinner to the table in just 10 minutes. Lots of mushrooms make this a hearty meal.
Thinly sliced chicken and fresh pasta get combined with fresh pasta, asparagus, and a light lemon creme fraiche sauce.
Roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes, and goat cheese are a magical combination.
This recipe was inspired by one of my favorite meals at a now-closed Chicago restaurant.
This one pot pasta with chicken is a complete meal that comes together in one pot in just 35 minutes. It's an easy weeknight meal.
You have reached the macaroni and cheese section of this list. To start things off, a very classic stovetop macaroni and cheese with a breadcrumb topping. It tastes like it was baked, even though it wasn't.
This ultra-rich macaroni and cheese is very easy to prepare, although definitely not diet friendly.
Making buffalo chicken mac and cheese is one of my favorite ways to dress up leftover chicken, or to serve crock pot buffalo chicken.
This is so so addictively good. It tastes like a bacon cheeseburger and macaroni and cheese at the same time. Your family will love it.
Do you have a favorite way to serve pasta? Tell us about it in the comments! The bacon cheeseburger macaroni and cheese and the beef pasta skillet are my favorites.