Healthy Pasta Main Dish Recipes

Find healthy, delicious main dish pasta recipes including lasagna, spaghetti, tortellini and homemade pasta sauce. Healthier recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

Chicken & Spinach Skillet Pasta with Lemon & Parmesan

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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.
By Devon O'Brien

Spaghetti & Spinach with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

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To achieve flavor quickly in this pasta recipe, we use the oil from sun-dried tomatoes to create the base of the cream sauce. Meanwhile, the residual heat of the pasta wilts the spinach in record time for a fast weeknight dinner.
By Carolyn Casner

Baked Spinach & Feta Pasta

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Feta softens in the oven before it's combined with spinach and pasta, with the pasta cooking right in the baking dish. Enjoy this one-pan dish on its own as a vegetarian main or serve with sautéed chicken breast for a boost of protein.
By Carolyn Casner

White Bean Soup with Pasta

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We use mirepoix—a combination of onion, celery and carrots—to flavor this soup. Keep a store-bought bag of the mixture in your freezer to ensure you always have some on hand without worrying about it going bad.
By Devon O'Brien

Cheesy Spinach-Zucchini Lasagna

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Thanks to jarred marinara sauce and oven-ready lasagna noodles, this labor-of-love kind of meal can be ready in about an hour.
By Adam Dolge

Easy Pea & Spinach Carbonara

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Fresh pasta cooks up faster than dried, making it a must-have for fast weeknight dinners like this luscious yet healthy meal. Eggs are the base of the creamy sauce. They don't get fully cooked, so use pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs if you prefer.
By Adam Hickman

Spinach & Artichoke Dip Pasta

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If you've ever wanted to make a meal out of warm spinach and artichoke dip, this creamy pasta is for you. And here's what's almost as good as the flavor of this comforting dish: the fact that this healthy dinner takes just 20 minutes to prepare.
By Carolyn Casner

White Bean & Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocchi

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Sun-dried tomatoes are the star of this recipe— providing texture and umami. Combined with the spinach, they make this dish a great source of vitamins C and K.
By Laura Kanya

American Goulash

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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.
By Carolyn Casner

One-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta

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This one-pot pasta with tangy tomato-basil sauce is a simple, fast and easy weeknight dinner. All of your ingredients go into one pot, and with a bit of stirring and about 25 minutes of cook time, you'll have a healthy dinner the whole family will enjoy.

Lemon Chicken Pasta

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In this easy lemon chicken pasta recipe, we love the combination of lemon zest and toasted breadcrumbs. This healthy dinner is made with rotisserie chicken, quick-cooking spiralized zucchini and baby zucchini, so you get a complete meal in just 10 minutes.
By Sara Haas, R.D.N., L.D.N.

Lemon-Garlic Pasta with Salmon

2
Wondering what to do with leftover salmon? This is a delicious and easy way to turn it into another weeknight-friendly, quick dinner. Don't forget to reserve some pasta water--its starch thickens the lemon-garlic pasta sauce and makes it silky-smooth.
By Breana Killeen
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Inspiration and Ideas

29 High-Protein Pasta Recipes
These high-protein pasta recipes are a delicious choice for tonight's dinner. We pack at least 15 grams of protein per serving in these recipes thanks to ingredients like chicken and shrimp. Recipes like Linguine with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and One-Pan Chicken Parmesan Pasta are healthy, filling and a great option for any weeknight.
31 Easy Pasta Dinners You'll Want to Make Forever
You can count on these pasta recipes to take all the stress out of making dinner.
31 Pasta Dinners That Are Perfect for Spring
Chickpea Pasta with Mushrooms & Kale
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One-Skillet Cheesy Ground Chicken Pasta
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Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup with Rotisserie Chicken
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Creamy One-Pot Orecchiette with Sausage & Peas
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This easy one-pot pasta recipe earns the title "creamy" thanks to the addition of sour cream and Parmesan, which combine to create a savory cheese sauce that clings to the orecchiette, peas and sausage. The best part about this recipe is that it only requires one vessel to cook everything—pasta included. By using the exact amount of water you need to cook the pasta, the starch that usually gets drained off with your pasta water stays in the pot, adding even more creaminess. If you like spicy but not too spicy, use a mix of sweet and hot Italian sausages.

All Healthy Pasta Main Dish Recipes

Ground Beef & Pasta Skillet

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Sneak extra vegetables into your child's day (and yours too!) with this easy one-skillet pasta recipe. Finely chop mushrooms to resemble the texture of ground beef and stir them into a classic meat sauce for an extra-healthy twist on a dinnertime favorite.
By Carolyn Casner

Cherry Tomato & Garlic Pasta

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This easy and healthy cherry tomato 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.
By Karen Rankin

Roasted Red Pepper, Spinach & Feta Penne Pasta

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In this quick 20-minute dinner recipe, tender penne pasta is combined with garlic, roasted red peppers and spinach and topped with crumbled feta cheese for a fast and easy Mediterranean-inspired meal. This recipe was graciously shared by EatingWell reader Dottie Carpenter, who states, "Recipes are no good if they're not shared!"
By Dottie Carpenter

Creamy Mushroom & Spinach Pasta

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Make this creamy mushroom and spinach pasta for an easy, healthy dinner. Be sure to save some of the pasta-cooking water as it helps the sauce emulsify.
By Liv Dansky

Mediterranean Chicken Skillet

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In this one-skillet Mediterranean chicken recipe, chicken thighs are infused with lemon, garlic and herbs and paired with orzo that's perfectly al dente. Charred tomatoes and onions add full flavor to complete this easy Mediterranean dinner.
By Liv Dansky

Skillet Ravioli Lasagna

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This easy inside-out ravioli lasagna is the ultimate weeknight comfort food--no layering or mixing bowls required. Feel free to swap in ground turkey for the beef. Look for fresh mozzarella balls (also called "pearls") in the specialty cheese section of your grocery store.
By Carolyn A. Hodges, R.D.

Cauliflower Gnocchi Caprese

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This super-easy dish is perfect for summer. Store-bought frozen cauliflower gnocchi are crisped up in a pan, then tossed with mozzarella cheese, plenty of basil and balsamic vinegar for a hearty and healthy spin on the classic caprese salad.
By Carolyn Casner

Linguine with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

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This easy pasta recipe is an excuse to buy wild mushrooms, available at many grocery stores these days. Or if you prefer white buttons, those will work well too. The creamy linguine is ready in 40 minutes, so it's quick enough for an easy weeknight recipe but it feels fancy enough for entertaining.
By Carolyn Malcoun

Shrimp Scampi

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Shrimp scampi is a favorite dish at many Italian restaurants but our version takes just 20 minutes to prepare, so it's perfect for a weeknight dinner at home. Large shrimp are cooked with garlic and then served over linguine pasta with a buttery-wine sauce--it's so good your family may think you ordered takeout!
By Diabetic Living Magazine

One-Pot Chicken & Broccoli Pasta

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This creamy chicken and broccoli pasta makes for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. We opt for small shells in this recipe, but any other small pasta, like orecchiette, would work, too.
By Julia Levy

One-Pot Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Pasta

1
This creamy chicken and mushroom pasta recipe makes for an easy weeknight dinner. Using store-bought rotisserie chicken saves time when cooking, and leftover chicken would work just as well.
By Liv Dansky

One-Pot Spinach, Chicken Sausage & Feta Pasta

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A little bit of Sunday meal prep goes a long way in this one-dish Greek-inspired 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.
By Katie Webster

3-Ingredient Goat Cheese Pasta with Broccoli

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Swap out regular pasta for pasta made with chickpeas and you'll more than triple the fiber and double the protein in this simple, satisfying dish. Be sure to save some of the pasta water to make a sauce. Feel free to use frozen broccoli in a pinch (you can blanch the broccoli in the same water you use to cook the pasta).
By Carolyn Hodges, M.S., RDN

Pesto Ravioli with Spinach & Tomatoes

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Looking for a new way to turn a bag of frozen cheese ravioli into a satisfying and healthy dinner? This easy pasta recipe calls for just five ingredients but is loaded with fresh flavors. By using grape tomatoes, prewashed spinach and prepared pesto, we eliminate all prep work, making this 15-minute Caprese-inspired ravioli the ideal weeknight meal.
By Carolyn A. Hodges, R.D.

Baked Cavatelli Casserole

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This easy to make, comforting dish will keep you warm on a cold day.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Creamy Chicken, Mushroom & Ricotta Pasta

This creamy chicken and mushroom pasta uses ricotta cheese and pasta-cooking water to create a luscious, cheesy sauce.
By Devon O'Brien

Sloppy Joe Casserole

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Like sloppy Joes? Then you'll love this sloppy Joe casserole recipe. This kid-friendly dinner has the classic sloppy Joe flavors kids love, while parents will like all the veggies that are packed in to make it a healthy meal.
By Robin Bashinsky

15-Minute Salmon & Creamy Orzo with Spinach & Mushrooms

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In this quick salmon dinner, salmon fillets are paired with creamy orzo, wilted spinach and earthy mushrooms. Cooking the salmon at a high temperature helps speed up the cooking in this healthy dinner recipe. Look for pre-sliced mushrooms to speed it up even more.
By Carolyn Casner

Mediterranean Chicken with Orzo Salad

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Baked chicken breasts cook in the oven while you mix together a Mediterranean salad--packed with veggies, whole-wheat orzo and an easy homemade Greek vinaigrette--for a weekend-worthy dinner on the table in under an hour. The leftovers from this healthy 400-calorie meal make a delicious packable lunch for the next day.
By Carolyn Casner

Classic Sesame Noodles with Chicken

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Classic sesame noodles become a healthy meal with lean chicken and tons of veggies in this quick recipe for Asian noodles. Be sure to rinse the spaghetti until it's cold, then give it a good shake in the colander until it's well drained. Are you a spiralizing pro? Swap 5 cups of raw zucchini, carrot or other veggie “noodles” for the cooked pasta.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Zucchini Noodles with Pesto & Chicken

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This healthy summer dinner subs zoodles for pasta to help use up your zucchini bounty--as well as slash calories and carbs. Once the spiralized zucchini has time to soak up the herby pesto sauce, this chicken and pesto pasta makes particularly good leftovers.
By Carolyn Casner

Zucchini Lasagna Rolls with Smoked Mozzarella

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This healthy riff on lasagna rolls uses strips of zucchini instead of lasagna noodles for a vegetable-packed dinner that's fun for the whole family. This is a great recipe for kids to help make--let them get their hands dirty rolling the zucchini ribbons with the cheesy filling. Use a vegetable peeler or mandoline to quickly slice the zucchini into uniform thin strips--this will ensure easy rolling and even cooking.
By Joy Howard

Mushroom Orzo with Lemon & Parmesan

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This mushroom orzo with lemon and Parmesan is a creamy dish rich with flavor thanks to mushrooms and a velvety smooth sauce. Enjoy this cozy pasta dish with a glass of wine.

Mediterranean Ravioli with Artichokes & Olives

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Store-bought spinach ravioli and a handful of basic pantry items are all you need to get a healthy dinner on the table in 15 minutes. Ingredients like oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, briny Kalamata olives and toasty pine nuts help to build big flavor fast. If you can't find frozen artichokes, swap in a 15-ounce can (just be sure to drain and rinse them well).
By Carolyn A. Hodges, R.D.
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