Go Straight to Carb Heaven With These Pasta Recipes (2024)

Go Straight to Carb Heaven With These Pasta Recipes (1)

Pasta. How many love letters could we write to pasta? Well...a ton, because there are so many different kinds of pasta—and so many ways to serve them. What will you choose: something gloriously saucy, something slick and garlicky, something rich and cheesy? The options are endless, and that's by design: We can basically keep eating pasta night after night and never get bored! Ree Drummond calls it her favorite food, period.

"If I were stranded on a desert island and could choose only one category of food to eat the rest of my life, I’d pick pasta hands down," she says.

Browse through these best pasta recipes and you're bound to find a great new option for your next pasta night. Looking for a new fall favorite? Pumpkin Bacon Carbonara is so irresistible, you'll want to plan a whole dinner party around it. Trying to feed a crowd, and not sure if everyone will like the same dish? Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells will solve the problem. (In fact, you might want to make two batches so you'll have enough for everyone to have seconds!) And if you're trying to eat fewer meat-based sauces and dishes, Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce has a nice, bold flavor and will make any vegetarian happy.

Check out these easy pasta meals below. They're perfect for any occasion (family meals, Italian dinners, or even breakfast—we don't judge!).

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1

Roasted Zucchini & Eggplant Puttanesca Pasta

Go Straight to Carb Heaven With These Pasta Recipes (2)

If you haven't tried making pasta with anchovies, this is the perfect recipe to start with—we promise!

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2

Pasta with Zucchini Pesto

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This pesto is made with a refreshing mix of zucchini and fresh herbs, and the whole dish is ready in 30 minutes!

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3

Pasta Carbonara

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We could write love letters to pasta carbonara all day long, but that time would be better spent just making this creamy, bacon-based crowd-pleaser.

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4

Spicy Lasagna Hotdish

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Predictable pasta? Not in your kitchen. This dish offers an unexpected kick from red pepper flakes, cayenne powder, and mafalda pasta—not the usual lasagna sheets!

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5

Seafood Pasta Baked in Parchment Paper

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Diving into this garlicky, juicy pasta in a bowl? That's fine. But ripping open a parchment paper pouch is a whole new ballgame.

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6

Cheesy Chicken Parmesan Pasta Bake

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Chicken parm in any form is sooo good, but just wait until your family tries this cheesy, hearty recipe.

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7

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

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This is the ultimate fall pasta dish: It's rich, creamy and flavored with a little sage.

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8

One-Pot Broccoli Alfredo Pasta

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The reward for your kids eating broccoli? A generous helping of pasta, cheese, and butter to go along with it.

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9

Pasta with Mushrooms, Chicken, and Sun-dried Tomatoes

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This is one of those dream dinners: It's flavorful, comforting and ready in 30 minutes.

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10

Spaghetti Pie

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Is your crew tired of spaghetti prepared the usual way? Knock their socks off with a dinner pie that you can tailor to your taste.

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11

Mushroom & Asparagus One-Pot Pasta

Go Straight to Carb Heaven With These Pasta Recipes (20)

Try our earthy one-pot veggie pasta: It couldn't be easier to prepare—or clean up.

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12

Chicken Kale Pasta

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This dish isn't just healthy—it's also a gorgeous burst of color on your dinner table.

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13

Quick and Easy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

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The roasted red pepper sauce on this pasta is a whole new kind of red sauce.

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14

Chicken Mozzarella Pasta

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This pasta recipe will never get old. Noodles smothered in fresh mozzarella and marinara sauce...are you boiling water yet?

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15

Spinach Artichoke Pasta

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If you're a spinach artichoke dip fiend (and who isn't?), then trying this heavenly recipe is a must.

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16

Surf & Turf Cajun Pasta

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Why not turn surf and turf into an excuse for a to-die-for pasta dish? The Cajun seasoning seals the deal here.

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17

Chicken Florentine Pasta

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If you need a satisfying idea for any meal, this here's a winner—simple, delicious, and done in 30 minutes.

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18

Seafood Pasta

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Want to go straight to scallop and shrimp heaven? (Of course you do.) Don't be surprised when your family keeps requesting this dish.

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19

Pasta Puttanesca

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Tangy, savory, spicy...this dish is everything.

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20

Cajun Chicken Pasta

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Chicken and pasta are always a reliable combo, but this puts a whole new twist on the duo.

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Go Straight to Carb Heaven With These Pasta Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What can I put on pasta without sauce? ›

Cheese is an excellent way to add flavor to your pasta without having to rely on sauce. Try mixing your angel hair pasta with goat cheese, and toss in sun-dried tomatoes to make an amazing meal with just a few ingredients. Garlic butter is a terrific way to season all types of noodles.

What can I add to my pasta to make it better? ›

18–22. Herbs and spices
  1. Basil. Basil is a flavorful herb and a mainstay in many Italian dishes, including pasta. ...
  2. Oregano. Oregano is a culinary herb known for its peppery and pungent taste. ...
  3. Rosemary. ...
  4. Red pepper flakes. ...
  5. Garlic powder.
Apr 11, 2022

How do you make plain pasta more interesting? ›

Depending on how bare your cupboard is, I have done a few things.
  1. Boil with a garlic clove and salt. The garlic adds a bit of flavor and then I remove it, mash it and re-add it to the pasta.
  2. Olive oil or butter and herbs. ...
  3. Butter, eggs, and cheese. ...
  4. Fried eggs and cheese. ...
  5. Tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, garlic, herbs.
Oct 26, 2023

Can I just add sauce to pasta? ›

First, in authentic Italian cuisine, the sauce is always tossed with the pasta before it ever hits the plate. Just before the sauce is done cooking, the hot pasta is added to the saucepan. Generally speaking, we recommend cooking the pasta in the sauce together for about 1-2 minutes.

Can I put pasta directly into sauce? ›

Cooking pasta in the sauce instead of in boiling water will increase the amount of time it takes to cook through. It's a good technique to use if you want to delay serving your pasta for a few minutes. Make sure to keep the sauce thinned out with pasta water as the pasta finishes cooking if you use this method.

How to jazz up pasta? ›

Fresh or dried herbs will also add flavor to pasta dishes.

"I use a lot of parsley, either fresh or even dried," Montillo said. "Oregano, garlic powder, onion flakes, black pepper all work well in a variety of sauces."

What can I add to plain cooked pasta? ›

Simplest might be some butter or extra virgin olive with salt and pepper. To step it up a bit, fry a bit of minced garlic in your fat, first. Going up the scale a little, if you consider grated cheese simple enough, with butter, parmesan, and some of the hot water you cooked the pasta in, you can make pasta Alfredo.

What tastes good on plain pasta? ›

Butter or oil? With plain pasta there's no messing around, only butter! Enveloping and abundant, butter is a real comfort. As a proper Italian of southern origins, I love extra-virgin olive oil, but it doesn't go here.

How do you elevate simple pasta? ›

Top 6 Ingredients to Elevate Your Pasta Dish
  1. 1: Extra Cheese. Parmesan, mozzarella, goat's cheese, or fetta are all excellent choices to add a rich, creamy flavour to your pasta. ...
  2. 2: Mushrooms. ...
  3. 3: Spinach or Rocket. ...
  4. 4: Bacon or Proscuitto. ...
  5. 5: Walnuts or Pine Nuts. ...
  6. 6: Fresh Herbs.

What are the big four pasta dishes? ›

There are four classic Roman pasta dishes: cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana, and alla gricia. Each one is a variation on the other — alla gricia is cacio e pepe plus guanciale, carbonara is gricia plus egg, and so on. These four dishes are famous in all of Italian cooking, not just in Rome.

What are the 4 main pasta dishes? ›

Gricia, Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe, and Amatriciana are all simple pastas that share the same big flavors of Pecorino-Romano, black pepper, and—in three of the dishes—cured pork. Published Oct. 18, 2018.

What can I put on pasta instead of tomato sauce? ›

Some options include:
  • **Pesto Sauce:** A flavorful blend of basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil.
  • **Alfredo Sauce:** A creamy sauce made with butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese.
  • **Olive Oil and Garlic Sauce:** Sauté garlic in olive oil for a simple, aromatic alternative.
Jan 26, 2023

What is a substitute for sauce? ›

Substitute Tomato Paste For Tomato Sauce

If you have a can of tomato paste in your pantry, you are in luck—this is the best substitution for tomato sauce. All you need is the tomato paste and water. Mix together 1 part tomato paste and 1 part water until well blended.

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