Healthy Penne Recipes

This chicken Parmesan pasta uses the one-pot pasta method to cook your noodles, chicken and sauce all in one skillet for a fast and easy dinner with minimal cleanup. Finish the dish under the broiler to achieve a delicious melted cheese crust.

We love using chickpea pasta in this quick and easy dinner recipe, but other bean pastas or whole-wheat noodles are just as good with this fresh and zesty pesto sauce.

For a fast weeknight pasta dinner, why not cook your sauce and pasta all at once? By using the exact amount of water you need to cook the pasta--no colanders here--the starch that cooks off into your pasta water, which you usually drain away, stays in the pot, giving you delectably creamy results.

Lemon zest ties all the flavors together in this light and creamy pasta. Make it a meal: Serve with a salad of sliced fresh mozzarella and cherry tomatoes tossed with a little fresh basil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Penne tossed with spring vegetables, such as carrots, morel mushrooms, asparagus, peas and fava beans, along with loads of fresh herbs is a perfect example of Mario Batali's rustic approach to great-tasting Italian food. When both fava beans and morel mushrooms are in season, by all means use them in this recipe. But if you can't find either of those, substitute what looks best. Basic cremini mushrooms will work and frozen lima beans are a good option. Recipe adapted from Molto Gusto by Mario Batali and Mark Ladner (Ecco/HarperCollins Publishers, 2010).

Our velvety tomato sauce is spiked with cubes of salty capicola and a few shots of vodka. Make it a Meal: Caesar salad and a glass of Pinot Noir will shine with this dish.

This Italian-inspired take on an American casserole is about as tasty as a one-dish meal can get.

This classic Roman pasta dish gets a jolt from crushed red pepper and garlic-infused oil.

For this pasta, assertive broccoli is balanced by the bold and salty taste of anchovies. Golden raisins add sweet notes to this unusual--but tasty--combination.

Fresh artichokes, some white wine, a touch of garlic and pasta make a straightforward, delicious combination.

The heat level of this spicy tomato sauce can be adjusted to your taste. This quick pasta dish comes together in 30 minutes.

Artichokes, ricotta cheese and lemon juice and zest form the sauce for this quick pasta dish.

In this braised cauliflower and squash penne pasta recipe, we cook the pasta and vegetables in broth rather than water to make this warming vegetarian pasta extra flavorful. The starch from the pasta and vegetables combines with the broth as it simmers and creates a silky sauce. And you can make the whole dish in just one pot, so cleanup is a breeze.

In this braised cauliflower and squash penne pasta recipe, we cook the pasta and vegetables in broth rather than water to make this warming vegetarian pasta extra flavorful. The starch from the pasta and vegetables combines with the broth as it simmers and creates a silky sauce. And you can make the whole dish in just one pot, so cleanup is a breeze.

Who doesn't love pasta with a quick meat sauce? This crowd-pleasing healthy spaghetti Bolognese recipe is a boon for busy cooks--it's ready and on the table in just 40 minutes.

Here we toss grilled tuna with pasta, artichoke hearts, green olives and tomatoes. Grilling the tuna gives this ultra-fresh pasta dish a subtle smokiness. But if you're pressed for time, try canned tuna in place of the grilled fish.

Turn humble pasta and beans gourmet by adding roasted vegetables, fresh mint and tangy, salty aged goat cheese. When making a pasta dish with beans, you can use some of the bean-cooking liquid to give the sauce silky body and help it cling to the pasta. If you're using canned beans, use some of the pasta-cooking liquid or just water.

This ooey-gooey pasta dish is a crowd-pleaser for adults and kids alike--think rich and creamy macaroni-and-cheese tossed with cauliflower and chicken. Serve with a spinach salad.

Penne and asparagus are bathed in a rich sauce with a slight bite of mustard, lemon and Parmesan. This dish is lovely in early spring, when asparagus is at its peak and nights are still cool enough to inspire a craving for something rich and warm.

Radicchio is a brawlingly bitter green that becomes impossibly meek and mild when simmered. Paired with some cheese and the meat from a rotisserie chicken, it cooks up quickly into a memorable pasta dish.