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Quick and Easy Pasta Dinners

Who loves pasta for dinner? All of these easy pasta dinners include vegetables and can be made with your favorite pasta.

With summer upon us, we’ve moved away from casseroles and are looking for quick meals that come together easily on the stovetop or can be prepped ahead in the slow cooker. Some are even one-pot (those are my favorites)!

My kids would eat pasta every night–but I like a little more variety than that. Having lots of easy pasta dinners like these to choose from make it work for all of us.

bowl of pasta and vegetables - quick and easy pasta dinners

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If you’re looking for an easy and affordable weeknight dinner, pasta is always a good option. There are endless possibilities when it comes to pasta dishes, so you can always mix things up to keep things interesting.

Plus, most pasta recipes can be made with ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. To help give you some ideas, we’re sharing plenty of easy pasta dinners that you can make in around 30 minutes.

What kind of pasta do you use?

Most of these recipes can be used with whatever pasta you prefer. We tend to use wheat pasta because of the fiber. Sometimes I’ll use protein pasta for extra nutrition. Substituting these types of pasta for regular white pasta shouldn’t affect cooking time.

You’ll want to be careful using gluten-free pasta, however. Whether it’s made from rice flour, beans, etc. it cooks much faster than traditional pasta. Look at the notes on a specific recipe to see if there is a recommendation for how to make the dish gluten-free.

spaghetti and meatballs on white plate with red and white napkin



Creamy Sausage and Spinach Tortellini from Everyday Reading

Just seven ingredients (and two are garlic & olive oil!) make this colorful and flavorful dish that cooks up quickly in one pot with a creamy tomato sauce.

One Pot Pasta Primavera from Oh My Veggies

Combine broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms and peas with your favorite pasta and an easy cream sauce with this fresh primavera.

Turkey Parmesan Pasta from MoneywiseMoms

This stovetop version of baked ziti lets you skip the oven and long cooking time and enjoy a cheesy, meaty meal in a half hour. Everything cooks in one pot, so clean up is easy, too!

One Pot Chicken Enchilada Pasta from Spoonful of Flavor

Make your Taco Tuesday a twist by cooking pasta in enchilada sauce and adding cooked chicken, black beans and corn. Add whatever toppings you like once it’s ready to go.

One Pot Pasta from Damn Delicious

It sounds odd to put sausage, onions, basil and tomatoes into a pot with water to boil and then just ignore it, but it really works. The water gets absorbed into the pasta, and this one-pot meal is ready to serve.

Chicken Broccoli Lo Mein from Mom Advice

This quick-and-easy version of lo mein makes feeding the family so easy. My kids love this recipe.

Rainbow Peanut Noodles from Gimme Some Oven

Whenever I can have Pad Thai, I grab the chance. My son has a peanut allergy, so this recipe won’t happen in my house, but this lightened-up version includes more vegetables and protein than the tradition. Give it a try!

Slow Cooker Pork Ragu and Fettuccine from MoneywiseMoms

We enjoy this meal year-round. It’s a dump-in-the-slow-cooker-and-go recipe. I just boil the water for noodles, and while they’re cooking, I shred up the pork right in the pot. It’s easy and so delicious, my family requests it at least once a month!

Chicken Fajita Pasta from Kevin and Amanda

This flavorful dish is made all in one pot (love that!) and uses homemade taco seasoning along with lots of fresh bell peppers.

One Pot Spinach & Artichoke Mac and Cheese from House of Yumm

We eat a lot of mac & cheese, so I love finding novel recipes like this one that includes another of our favorite flavor combos (spinach and artichoke dip fans!). It’s another easy one-pot meal.

One Pot Chicken Lo Mein from The Wholesome Dish

Yes, I know I’ve shared this recipe before, but it’s because it’s THAT GOOD. It’s in our regular meal plan rotation, and everyone loves it. It only takes a few minutes to chop everything up, it all goes in one skillet, then I cover and walk away. I love easy recipes like this!

Pasta and vegetables in square dish - easy pasta dinners

Looking for more easy weeknight meals?

Check out 5 Beginner Crockpot Meals and Egg Dinner Recipes that Save you Money. We also have 25+ Budget Casserole Recipes for Dinner.

Ashley Mullen

Monday 8th of June 2015

Thanks for linking up this week. I am pinning it to the Creative K board on Pinterest.

Gina

Monday 8th of June 2015

Thanks, Ashley!