Healthy Pasta Recipes by Shape

This easy pasta salad with smoked salmon and peas and a creamy buttermilk-herb dressing takes just 20 minutes to make. Frozen peas are cooked right in the same pot as the pasta, and the dressing is whipped up in the serving bowl, saving you time and dishes! It's the perfect fresh and healthy dinner to add to your weeknight rotation and would also be lovely for a luncheon or brunch. But given how easy it is, it could also be an elegant take-to-work lunch.

Yogurt makes a fine substitute for cream in the sauce for this easy pasta recipe. Just warm the yogurt (do not boil) and add some pasta-cooking water to thin it out. Lemon and fresh basil brighten up the whole-wheat pasta and complement the shrimp in this quick dinner recipe.

This crowd-pleasing and easy dinner recipe takes just 20 minutes to make, start to finish, so it's perfect for weeknights! When tomatoes are at their in-season best, just a quick chop and a few ingredients are all you need to make a spaghetti sauce in minutes. Store-bought chicken meatballs keep the low-effort theme going all the way to the table.

We love the combination of lemon zest and toasted breadcrumbs in this quick and easy pasta recipe for one. This healthy dinner is made with rotisserie chicken and quick-cooking spiralized zucchini and baby zucchini, so you get a complete meal in just 10 minutes.

You might not think to use hummus as a pasta sauce, but the creamy dip makes the perfect backdrop to the bold flavors of this healthy Mediterranean-inspired pasta salad.

A light and creamy green-salsa dressing highlights this easy pasta salad with Southwestern flavors.

When you want pasta in no time, couscous is your best friend! The tiny pasta balls cook up in minutes, and absorb all the water so you don't have to fuss with draining. Tossed with sautéed vegetables plus leftover chicken, it's a fast and tasty meal in a bowl that's perfect as an easy dinner recipe.

This scrumptious and healthy salad combines elements of Caesar salad, pasta salad and chicken salad for an easy weeknight dinner that comes together in less than 30 minutes (and most of the prep can be done ahead). Use your blender to whip together the tangy buttermilk-based dressing, which would also be great on a salmon or chickpea salad.

This easy pasta with creamy homemade Alfredo sauce, chicken and shrimp is your classic fettuccine Alfredo done one better--and it takes less than 30 minutes to make! Add a simple green salad and you have a family-friendly weeknight dinner that you'd be happy to serve to company.

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 healthy chicken pasta recipe is jazzed up with traditional bruschetta toppers, including cherry tomatoes, garlic and basil. Multicolored cherry tomatoes look pretty, but you can use all one color of tomato too. Either way, you've got an easy weeknight dinner that's ready in 25 minutes. We've called for spaghettini (thin spaghetti) in this recipe, but feel free to use your favorite shape of pasta.

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.

Slices of pork tenderloin marinated in lime juice are the perfect accompaniment to an easy kale and gnocchi side. Add some steamed or roasted carrots to round out the meal.

Spaghetti with red sauce is often eaten as a main dish, but don't overlook it as a side. The homemade tomato sauce in this recipe takes advantage of your late summer tomato harvest and is well worth the small effort it takes to make it.

This 25-minute pasta side dish goes well with chicken or fish and can be served either warm or at room temperature. Kale and basil create a fresh-tasting pesto that is packed with protein and taste, thanks to the addition of chickpeas. We like shaved Parmesan sprinkled on the top, but feel free to add toasted pine nuts or walnuts for some crunch.

The distinctive flavor of basil adds character to a low-fat cream sauce that coats the noodles in this easy pasta recipe. Adding a little prosciutto adds just the right amount of saltiness.

Mac and cheese no longer has to be off the menu if you don't do dairy. A blend of hearty cauliflower, butternut squash, cashews and nutritional yeast gives this vegan macaroni and cheese the gooey, cheesy texture and flavor of traditional mac, without a bit of dairy!

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.

Annoyed by cooking lasagna noodles, only to end up fighting with them while they stick together and tear before you can layer them properly in the pan? Try this no-boil method and you'll never boil lasagna noodles again. Don't drain the canned tomatoes--the extra moisture helps cook the noodles to perfection.

Packaged light cheese ravioli cuts the cooking time for this pasta recipe, and helps trim fat and calories, too. Tender bell peppers, carrot strips, and tomato add fresh flavor and color to this simple 20-minute pasta dish.