Healthy Italian Pasta Recipes

Find healthy, delicious Italian pasta recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

Ground Beef & Pasta Skillet

Rating: 4.67 stars
9
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

Baked Cavatelli Casserole

Rating: 5 stars
1
This easy to make, comforting dish will keep you warm on a cold day.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Broccolini, Chicken Sausage & Orzo Skillet

Rating: 5 stars
2
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.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Baked Penne Florentine

Rating: 2.33 stars
2
This comforting and flavorful vegetarian dish is packed with protein.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Easy Pea & Spinach Carbonara

Rating: 3.67 stars
5
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

One-Pan Chicken Parmesan Pasta

Rating: 4.56 stars
17
This chicken Parmesan pasta uses the one-pot pasta method to cook your noodles, chicken and sauce all in one skillet for a fast and easy dinner with minimal cleanup. Finish the dish under the broiler to achieve a delicious melted cheese crust.
By Hilary Meyer

Easy Italian Wedding Soup

Rating: 4.25 stars
4
Forget the marble-size meatballs you find in many versions of this soup. In this easy recipe, they're full-size, full-flavored and plenty filling.
By Robin Bashinsky

Chicken & Vegetable Penne with Parsley-Walnut Pesto

Rating: 4 stars
2
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.
By Patsy Jamieson

One-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta

Rating: 4.5 stars
4
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.
By Carolyn Casner

Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms

Rating: 4.02 stars
20
Sliced Brussels sprouts and mushrooms cook quickly and cling to the pasta in our fall version of pasta primavera. Look for presliced mushrooms to cut prep time. Serve with a tossed salad.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Lemon-Garlic Chicken Penne with Pesto and Spinach

Fresh pesto brilliantly compliments the lemon and garlic flavors of this juicy chicken dinner.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Lemony Linguine with Spring Vegetables

Rating: 3.67 stars
3
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.
By Carolyn Malcoun
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Inspiration and Ideas

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Bolognese

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Bolognese
Beans stand in place of ground beef in this hearty vegetarian sauce that's ready when you are--thanks to the crock pot. The prep is quick and easy to do in the morning before heading off to work. When you get home, just cook up some whole-wheat pasta to serve it over and dinner is ready. If you have leftovers, freeze them for an easy meal another day.
Mediterranean Baked Penne

Mediterranean Baked Penne
Rating: Unrated
7
This Italian-inspired take on an American casserole is about as tasty as a one-dish meal can get.
Chicken, Peppers & Pasta Casserole

Chicken, Peppers & Pasta Casserole
Rating: Unrated
1
Gruyere, Asparagus & Pea Baked Pasta

Gruyere, Asparagus & Pea Baked Pasta
Rating: Unrated
3
Spinach & Dill Pasta Salad

Spinach & Dill Pasta Salad
Tortellini Primavera

Tortellini Primavera
Rating: Unrated
24

Chicken Pesto Pasta with Asparagus

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.

All Healthy Italian Pasta Recipes

Spaghetti with Quick Meat Sauce

Rating: 4.2 stars
9
Instead of opening a jar of sauce, try this easy spaghetti with meat sauce on a weeknight. Serve with steamed broccoli and garlic bread. The recipe makes enough for 8 servings. If you're serving only four for dinner, cook 8 ounces of spaghetti and freeze the leftover sauce.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Skillet Gnocchi with Shrimp & Asparagus

Rating: 4.48 stars
11
The gnocchi cooks right in the skillet, along with shrimp, shallots, asparagus and Parmesan cheese, in this gnocchi recipe. Look for shelf-stable gnocchi near other pasta. Serve with baby arugula salad with vinaigrette and a glass of pinot grigio.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Pesto Pasta Salad

Rating: 4 stars
1
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.
By Carolyn Casner

Skillet Gnocchi with Chard & White Beans

Rating: 4.18 stars
110
In this one-skillet supper, we toss dark leafy greens, diced tomatoes and white beans with gnocchi and top it all with gooey mozzarella. Serve with a mixed green salad with vinaigrette.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Broccoli Rabe & Turkey Sausage Lasagna

Rating: 4.67 stars
3
This healthy broccoli rabe and turkey sausage lasagna recipe has plenty of vegetables and goes light on sausage, so it's lower in fat and calories than traditional lasagna recipes. The recipe makes enough for two 8-by-8-inch casseroles (four servings each)--have one for dinner tonight and freeze the other for a night when you don't have time to make dinner. Or, feel free to make one larger lasagna (in a 9-by-13-inch pan) instead of two smaller ones; just increase the cooking time a bit for the larger pan size.
By Carolyn Malcoun

Bruschetta Chicken Pasta

Rating: 5 stars
1
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.
By Liz Mervosh

Italian Penne with Tuna

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!
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Chicken Caprese Pasta Salad Bowls

Rating: 5 stars
2
Pasta salad is a classic summer side dish, but adding protein (leftover grilled chicken is perfect here) and extra greens makes it a super-satisfying lunch. We use baby spinach, but arugula or baby kale works too. Top with a bright and tangy basil vinaigrette just before serving. The great news is that these easy meal-prep lunches take just 20 minutes to prepare--that's 4 days of lunches in less than 30 minutes.
By Carolyn A. Hodges, R.D.

Tomato & Artichoke Gnocchi

Rating: 4.54 stars
20
Artichoke hearts, olives and a splash of red-wine vinegar give this ultra-quick, healthy vegetarian gnocchi recipe pizzazz. For an additional hit of Mediterranean flavor, try topping with feta cheese.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Seared Salmon with Pesto Fettuccine

Rating: 5 stars
1
The brightness of basil pesto is a nice match for the buttery flavor of salmon in this quick and healthy dinner recipe. Refrigerated pesto, found near fresh sauces and salsas at most stores, is prettier and has a better taste than jarred.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Ravioli & Vegetable Soup

Rating: 4.81 stars
47
Fresh or frozen ravioli cook in minutes and turn this light vegetable soup into a main course. Look for whole-wheat or whole-grain ravioli in the refrigerated or frozen section of the supermarket. Tortellini can be used instead of ravioli as well. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Rating: 4.2 stars
5
All the delicious flavors of your favorite chicken Cordon Bleu--salty ham, melty cheese, tangy mustard--with no tricky assembly required. This healthy comfort food recipe would be perfect for a potluck.
By Hilary Meyer

Spinach & Sausage Gnocchi

Rating: 4.5 stars
5
Some like it hot--but if you don't, sweet Italian turkey sausage is also delicious in this healthy gnocchi recipe. Serve with a mixed green salad with sherry vinaigrette.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Easy Lasagna

This classic beef lasagna recipe is easy to make and will be ready to eat in just over an hour.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Slow-Cooker Vegetable Lasagna

Rating: 4 stars
3
This vegetarian lasagna couldn't be easier, thanks to jarred pasta sauce and no-boil lasagna noodles. Prep it in the morning and let your crock pot do the work.
By Laura Walsh

Spaghetti Frittata

Rating: 3.89 stars
6
Here's a creative way to use leftover cooked spaghetti: try mixing it with eggs for a filling Italian omelet. If you don't want to buy separate bunches of fresh herbs, look for an Italian blend package that may contain some of each or use one-third the amount of dried.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Macaroni Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

Give classic pasta salad a fresher, more flavorful spin. This fast pasta dish calls for avocado to replace some of the mayonnaise, which makes it extra creamy. Whole-wheat elbow macaroni and fresh vegetables lighten up this healthy pasta salad that you'll be making all summer long.
By Carolyn Casner

Pasta with Creamy Mushroom-Pea Sauce

Rating: 4.67 stars
3
Peas combine deliciously with wild mushrooms, such as chanterelles, but they are hard to come by this early in the season. You can still get the depth of flavor from more available creminis.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Spring Vegetable Lasagna

Rating: 5 stars
2
No-boil noodles help get this crowd-pleasing vegetarian lasagna in the oven fast. Using a mandoline isn't essential, but will make quick work of producing thin, uniform slices of roots that cook super-evenly and look stunning. Serve with a mixed green salad with red-wine vinaigrette and crusty bread.
By Steven Satterfield

Hearty Minestrone

Rating: 3.88 stars
4
This version of the Italian classic soup Minestrone is packed with leeks, potatoes, beans, zucchini, spinach and orzo, making it perfect for a hearty lunch or supper on a cold winter's night. To make a vegetarian version use vegetable rather than chicken broth. Top each bowl with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for a zesty burst of flavor.
By Kathleen Desmond Stang

Chicken & Asparagus Skillet Pasta with Pesto

Rating: Unrated
1
Fresh lemon juice, tangy sun-dried tomatoes and zippy pesto tie together the flavors in this quick and easy skillet meal. The 30-minute dinner is so versatile--you can use any quick-cooking protein or vegetable you have on hand and still have a delicious meal on busy weeknights.
By Carolyn Casner

Chicken Piccata with Pasta & Mushrooms

Rating: 4.35 stars
33
Our chicken piccata, served over whole-wheat pasta, has a rich lemon-caper sauce that's made with extra-virgin olive oil and just a touch of butter for flavor. If you like, you can use a mild fish like tilapia or even shrimp instead of chicken breast.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Pesto Shrimp Pasta

Rating: 5 stars
1
Using a packaged pesto sauce mix saves time in this 20-minute orzo pasta salad recipe.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Italian-Style Turkey & Penne Skillet

Rating: 4.5 stars
1
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 tomato sauce and wilted spinach over multi-grain pasta.
By Diabetic Living Magazine
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