Healthy Penne Recipes

Here's the meaty, saucy pasta that we all crave. If you have any slow-cooker bolognese leftovers, freeze them and reheat on a cold night when you're in need of a hot, comforting dish. Serve with a simple, crisp salad and crusty bread. For the prettiest appearance, sprinkle with whole fresh basil leaves instead of chopped oregano.

Pastitsio is a classic Greek baked pasta dish made with ground beef and bechamel. Our version has all the flavors and the comforting feel of the classic, but is made in one skillet (less cleanup!) and is healthier for you, using whole-grain pasta, lean meat and low-fat dairy.

Get dinner on the table even faster by using precubed butternut squash in this creamy pasta recipe. Found in the produce section of large grocery stores, the cut butternut is a little bigger than you need here, so you will have to do some chopping--but the peeling and gutting has been done for you. That means this easy healthy dinner takes just 35 minutes to prep. Score!

This entire healthy pasta recipe cooks in one skillet, so there's only one pot to clean! Try it with any greens you have in the fridge, such as chard or spinach.

This healthy chicken pesto pasta is easy to make thanks to convenience ingredients like rotisserie chicken and store-bought pesto. The addition of fresh asparagus--which is cooked in the same pot as the pasta--brightens up the look and the flavors of this family-friendly and easy one-pot dinner. Fresh basil, if you have it on hand, is a nice finishing touch.

This easy and healthy pasta recipe takes just 20 minutes to prep so it's a perfect weeknight dinner. Cooking garlic cloves whole and then mashing them into the sauce not only saves time, it creates a mellow garlic flavor that melds seamlessly into the silky burst cherry tomatoes.

Getting in your daily servings of vegetables is easy when you feature this veggie-loaded pasta recipe. It's full of broccoli, asparagus, and tomatoes and a creamy ricotta-tomato sauce--you'll be amazed that it takes just 25 minutes to prepare.

Homemade pesto may seem daunting, but in this quick pasta recipe you can make a simple sauce in minutes while the pasta water comes to a boil. You can substitute frozen green beans and cauliflower for fresh; in Step 4, cook the frozen vegetables according to package directions before tossing with the pasta and pesto.

This one-pan pasta that combines lean chicken breast and sautéed spinach for a one-bowl meal is garlicky, lemony and best served with a little Parm on top. I call it "Mom's Skillet Pasta" and she called it "Devon's Favorite Pasta." Either way it's a quick and easy weeknight dinner we created together and scribbled on a little recipe card more than a decade ago, and it remains in my weekly dinner rotation to this day. It's a simple dinner the whole family will love.

This delicious one-skillet pasta meal-for-two is ready in just 35 minutes! Turkey--seasoned with a spicy Italian-seasoning blend--is served with tomoto sauce and wilted spinach over multi-grain pasta.

Just a sprinkling of walnuts lends crunch and flavor to this vegetarian pasta dish, without adding a lot of fat or calories.

Tender chunks of eggplant take the place of ground beef or sausage in this vegetarian pasta sauce recipe, which is made in your slow cooker.

In the mood for Italian? Try this low-fat sausage-and-eggplant one-dish meal recipe.

Need a quick pasta dish that's flavorful and colorful? This penne pasta dinner-for-two combines leeks, baby spinach, tuna and sun-dried tomatoes--and it's ready in just 20 minutes!

This pasta dish is a perfect choice for weeknight cooking. In just 35 minutes, you'll be serving up penne pasta and broccoli rabe with fresh tomatoes and bacon. It's a meal your whole family will enjoy.

Crispy, seared scallops combine with whole-grain pasta and greens to make this flavorful complete meal.

Smother pasta with this slow cooker vegetable and turkey sauce for an easy and satisfying meal.

Fresh pesto brilliantly compliments the lemon and garlic flavors of this juicy chicken dinner.

This comforting and flavorful vegetarian dish is packed with protein.

This easy slow cooker ground beef and pasta recipe makes a great meal any night of the week.