30-Minute Whole Wheat Pasta Recipes that Actually Taste Good

No sneaky ingredients here, just delicious comfort food. You can enjoy this super-cheesy mac and cheese in the same time it takes to cook the boxed version. Whole-wheat noodles add fiber, while sharp Cheddar adds richness. A hefty twist of black pepper balances the cheese's salty tang.

We love this quick skillet meal for busy evenings. The sausage and orzo simmer together in chicken broth, resulting in a creamy, risotto-like dish in under 30 minutes.

Convenient fully cooked chicken sausage is a great flavor starter for this easy pasta recipe with just three ingredients you can keep stocked in your freezer or pantry for fast dinners. Just add some sautéed onions and pasta and you have a super-simple meal that the entire family will love.

Noodles are a key part of Chinese New Year celebrations because they symbolize long life. We love this recipe for the tradition because it's super-customizable based on your tastes. Try swapping in chicken for the steak. Can't find Chinese broccoli? Use broccolini instead. Or swap out the mushrooms and broccoli altogether for snow peas and carrots.

Raw cashews are the base of this velvety smooth sauce. (A high-speed blender will yield you the creamiest results.) Nutritional yeast and tomato paste provide rich umami flavor to this easy vegan dinner.

A creamy pesto sauce turns this simple pasta salad into a delightful dinner. Adding broccoli to the pasta cooking water just before the pasta is done is a convenient way to briefly cook it so that it turns a vivid shade of green and softens slightly.

Pureed cauliflower makes a delicious and creamy low-calorie sauce for pasta. Tossed with crispy bacon and convenient frozen peas, this is a healthy egg-free version of spaghetti carbonara.

A little bit of Sunday meal prep goes a long way in this one-dish Mediterranean pasta recipe. The pasta is cooked ahead of time and stored in the fridge to use for meals all week, but any leftover cooked pasta you have on hand will do. Chicken sausage with feta is especially good in this recipe.

Sliced Brussels sprouts and mushrooms cook quickly and cling to the pasta in our fall version of pasta primavera. Look for presliced mushrooms to cut prep time. Serve with a tossed salad.

"Healthify" classic fettuccine Alfredo by adding protein-rich shrimp and using whole-wheat noodles instead of white for extra fiber. We love the full flavor of Asiago cheese in this quick and comforting dinner, but any hard Italian cheese, like Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano, will work well too.

Unbelievably rich and creamy, this easy vegan Alfredo is bound to become a favorite. Be sure to check the ingredient list on your unsweetened almond milk, as some contain vanilla flavoring even if they aren't labeled as such. For this recipe, you'll want almond milk without any vanilla.

Instead of cooking pasta in a huge pot of water, here we use just 3 1/2 cups for this one-pot pasta recipe. When the pasta is al dente, most of the water has evaporated and the bit that's left is thickened with the starch that cooks off the pasta. With just a few add-ins like lemon and Parmesan cheese you have a delicious silky sauce. Want to use up your veggie stash in the freezer? Swap in 8 ounces frozen spinach for fresh.

Use the one-pot pasta cooking method to make this tuna pasta recipe that calls for just 5 ingredients and is ready in just over half an hour. For extra crunch and a tuna noodle casserole feel, sprinkle this speedy pasta dish with toasted whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs.

In this healthy vegetarian pasta recipe, using the tastiest possible ingredients is key. That's why we opt for the richer flavor of whole-milk ricotta over part-skim. Pair with a big green salad and a bottle of chilled rosé for a summer meal on the deck.

A swirl of prepared pesto gives this healthy mac and cheese recipe instant delicious flavor. If broccoli rabe is too bitter, try using broccolini or regular broccoli instead.

Thinly sliced zucchini and summer squash bulk up this easy vegetarian pasta recipe. Saving a bit of the starchy pasta-cooking water to toss with grated cheese, herbs and bright lemon at the end is the secret to a fast, silky no-cook pasta sauce.

Fresh lemon juice, tangy sun-dried tomatoes and zippy pesto tie together the flavors in this quick and easy skillet meal. The 30-minute dinner is so versatile--you can use any quick-cooking protein or vegetable you have on hand and still have a delicious meal on busy weeknights.