Quick & Easy Pasta Recipes

Fresh cheese tortellini and classic Greek salad ingredients like tomatoes, cucumbers and red onion come together for a fast side dish that's perfect for potlucks, picnics and other casual gatherings.

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.

Recite your ABC's while you enjoy this kid-friendly soup that you can feel good about serving--it's packed with healthy vegetables. If you can't find alphabet noodles, any small pasta (like orzo) will work.

A delicious balance of sweet, sour and salty flavors complements rice noodles and chicken in this quick and easy pad thai. We trimmed calories and boosted flavor by cutting back on the sugar you'll find in many restaurant versions. As with any stir-fry, be sure to have all your ingredients prepped before you begin--the steps move quickly once the cooking starts.

Zucchini noodles and shelf-stable stir-fry noodles combine for a hearty portion in this healthy stir-fry recipe. Chinese fermented black beans (they're actually soybeans) lend a salty and savory backbone to this quick veggie-filled entree. They're pungent, so a little goes a long way. Find them at Asian grocery stores, well-stocked supermarkets and online.

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.

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.

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.

Store-bought tortellini and frozen peas keep things quick in this healthy 30-minute meal. Jazzed-up bottled salad dressing helps you go even faster. Look for one with 200 mg or less of sodium and 3 g or less of sugar per serving.

Feel free to double this recipe to suit your needs. To add more flavor, swap reduced-sodium broth in for the water.

American goulash, also known as old-fashioned goulash, is the perfect economical family meal. The pasta cooks right in the sauce, so this satisfying dish can cook in just one pot.

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.

Resist the urge to make this stir-fry chicken recipe in a skillet instead of a wok, which will hold all your ingredients better. Buy a carbon-steel wok at an Asian market (or online) for around $30 and you'll have it forever. Make one stir-fry and you'll wonder how you survived without it.

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.

Turn leftover pressure-cooked roast beef into another easy dinner with this classic beef and noodles recipe. Plus, this hearty noodle dish is packed with veggies for a mouthwatering comfort food meal you can feel good about.

"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.

Fresh basil and green peas give this healthy mac and cheese recipe a pretty green hue. We like the buttery, nutty flavor of fontina, but provolone, Gruyère or Gouda could be used as a substitute.

Precut butternut squash in your grocery store's produce section makes this healthy mac and cheese recipe come together in a flash. For extra flavor, try smoked Gouda cheese.

If you like cabbage or broccoli stems, you'll love the flavor kohlrabi gives to this healthy mac and cheese recipe. To make this vegetarian, skip the salami and top with toasted nuts or herbs.

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.