Chicken & Spinach Skillet Pasta with Lemon & Parmesan
This one-pan chicken pasta combines lean chicken breast and sautéed spinach for a one-bowl meal that's 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.
Spicy Noodles with Pork, Scallions & Bok Choy
These spicy noodles are inspired by a Chinese dish called Ants Climbing a Tree, named for the way the small pieces of ground pork (the "ants") cling to the noodles (the "tree"). The twist in these healthy noodles comes from adding vegetables like scallions and bok choy.
Zucchini Noodles with Pesto & Chicken
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.
Chickpea Pasta with Mushrooms & Kale
Loading up your pasta with vegetables like the kale and mushrooms here is not only delicious, it also makes the meal more satisfying.
Vegetarian Spaghetti Squash Lasagna
This low-carb riff on classic lasagna layers mushrooms and tomato sauce with spaghetti squash noodles instead of lasagna pasta. Make the layers right in the shell of the spaghetti squash and top with mozzarella cheese for a melty top and fun presentation. Serve with a green salad and a glass of Chianti for an easy, healthy dinner.
Zucchini Lasagna Rolls with Smoked Mozzarella
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.
Egg Drop Soup with Instant Noodles, Spinach & Scallions
Whisking a beaten egg into simmering broth is a quick and easy way to add creaminess and protein to noodle soup mix. Add freshness with a handful of baby spinach at the end. This recipe can easily be doubled to serve 2 and use the whole package of noodles. To cut back on sodium, look for noodle varieties with less than 600 mg sodium per serving or use less of the seasoning packet.
Spaghetti Squash Lasagna with Broccolini
In this low-carb spaghetti squash lasagna recipe, garlicky broccolini, spaghetti squash and cheese are combined for a healthy take on a favorite casserole. This bakes right in the squash shells for a fun presentation. Serve with a big Caesar salad and some warm and crusty whole-grain bread.
Linguine with Lemon Alfredo Shrimp
This bright and lemony shrimp pasta dish was inspired by traditional Alfredo but comes in at only a fraction of the fat and calories. Reduced-fat cream cheese adds body to the sauce, while Parmesan cheese adds its signature robust flavor. This recipe calls for brown rice pasta, which is gluten-free, but if gluten is not a concern for you feel free to serve this sauce over regular linguine or fettucine—or any pasta you like!
Quinoa Lasagna
This healthy quinoa lasagna recipe has a layer of quinoa (rather than noodles) along with vegetables, cheese and herbs. Though it tastes like comfort food, don't worry, this quinoa lasagna recipe is not too heavy--you'll still have room for dessert. To save time, use your favorite jarred tomato sauce in this vegetarian lasagna. (Adapted from “Quinoa Revolution” by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming; Pintail Books, 2012.)
Basil-Parmesan Zucchini Roll-Ups Casserole
Thin slices of zucchini wrap around a creamy filling of ricotta and Parmesan cheese and are nestled in a creamy pesto sauce in this light and summery vegetarian casserole.
Chickpea Pasta with Lemony-Parsley Pesto
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.