85 Perfect Weeknight Pasta Dinners
Your noodles and sauce deserve an upgrade.
Forgive us the pun, but the pastabilities for making pasta are pretty much endless. Looking for a romantic dinner? Pasta always impresses. Want something extra comforting? Pasta always delivers. Need an easy weeknight dinner? Yep, you guessed it, we’re turning to pasta, and you should too. It satisfies our every craving, whether that be for a classic Italian dish or something new to the table; can be jazzed up for a multi-step dinner or made all in one pot. So what are you waiting for? Check out our favorite pasta recipes for ideas—we know what you’ll be having for dinner tonight 😉.
We’re sure you’re familiar with the classics (and likely have them in your weeknight dinner rotation), but just in case, we’ve included lots of recipes for our favorites here. Some are super straightforward and standard, like our fettuccine Alfredo, our vegetarian baked ziti, or our pasta pomodoro, while some are a little more outside the (pasta) box, like our Southern baked mac & cheese (made with a cheesy, eggy custard), our broccoli rabe & Italian sausage lasagna, or our chipotle spaghetti. We’ve got all the super old-school Italian pasta greats too, like pasta alla gricia, pasta puttanesca, baked mostaccioli, and bucatini all’amatriciana. They’re our favorites to whip out for special occasions, because they’re super easy to make but sound crazy impressive.
Feeling bored of pasta (the horror!)? We got you too. Try some of our innovative pasta recipes or our creative takes on old standbys to jazz up your pasta nights. Check out our miso Bolognese, our chicken tikka Alfredo (trust us, it works), our Thai drunken carbonara noodles, or our one-pot creamy kimchi shells. Want to take things up a notch? Make your own pasta at home—homemade pasta dough is a labor of love that will take even the most boring of pasta dishes to the next level.
Want even more pasta inspiration? Check out our favorite penne pasta recipes, spaghetti recipes, and gnocchi recipes too.
Crispy Gnocchi & Mushrooms
Gnocchi will always hit the spot for a quick, delicious meal. Yes, it’s great on its own as a main, but it also makes for a winning, hearty sidekick to roasted chicken or rosemary pork chops too!
Get the Crispy Gnocchi & Mushrooms recipe.
Baked Feta Pasta
Obviously roasting a block of feta with bursting tomatoes is going to be amazing. But is it good enough to break TikTok like this one did? Our answer, begrudgingly, is yes. It's genius—super-easy, but fancy enough for date night. 😍
Get the Baked Feta Pasta recipe.
Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta
This pasta—with roasted butternut squash, crispy sage, creamy gorgonzola, and toasted walnuts—SCREAMS fall. Want to add protein? We think this would be amazing with pancetta or bacon too.
Creamy Tomato Pasta With Burrata
A classic tomato sauce is made even better with a bit of cream and a delicious topping of burrata. The cherry tomatoes add a bit of sweetness to the sauce and make it feel fresher. It tastes too good to be as easy as it is, and that’s just what we want for a weeknight pasta dinner.
Creamy Pumpkin Vodka Sauce & Penne
Pumpkin fanatics: This spin on classic vodka sauce really hits the spot. A nice pour of vodka emphasizes the sweet pumpkin and tomato flavors in this richly flavored cream sauce. But don’t worry, most of the alcohol cooks off (and it doesn’t really taste like vodka!), so it’s a family-friendly dish you can serve up all season long—or year round!
Chicken Parm Pasta
This chicken Parmesan-inspired dish has several key components—bacon, a flavorful panko topping, an easy doctored jarred sauce— and lucky for you, they all come together in just one pan!
Get the Chicken Parm Pasta recipe.
Creamy Penne With Sausage & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
If you’re looking for a pasta dinner that everyone in your family will love, look no further. This creamy penne with sausage and sun-dried tomatoes could not be more delicious or easy. It’s quick enough for any weeknight this November, but impressive enough to serve to guests.
Get the Creamy Penne With Sausage & Sun-Dried Tomatoes recipe.
Penne Alla Vodka
This is the best creamy and bright vodka sauce any of us in the test kitchen have ever had. The secret? Tomato paste. Tomato paste has a more concentrated flavor, and texture-wise, it makes for a smoother, almost velvety sauce your date will love.
Get the Penne Alla Vodka recipe.
Spaghetti and Meatballs
If you're looking for a super simple, comforting, no-frills bowl of spaghetti and meatballs to impress your date, you've come to the right place. And if you're feeling adventurous, it's also a great jumping-off point to make your own version of this classic dish!
Get the Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe.
Creamy Mushroom Pasta
If a bowl of creamy, earthy, umami-rich pasta sounds good to you, give this flexible recipe a go. It tastes great with any variety of mushrooms, and is easily adapted with alternate alliums, herbs, nuts, pasta shapes, and hard cheeses. We love the earthy flavor toasted pecans, but if nuts aren't your bag, toasted fresh bread crumbs or panko are great crunchy alternatives.
Get the Creamy Mushroom Pasta recipe.
Classic Lasagna
We took a couple shortcuts for this recipe by using store-bought marinara and boxed pasta sheets. Trust us, it saves a ton of time without sacrificing any flavor.
Get the Classic Lasagna recipe.
Roasted Red Pepper Shrimp Linguine
Though you totally could roast your own peppers for this dish, we actually preferred the jarred version while testing this recipe. The store-bought variety tends to be more tender, which makes for a smoother, more velvety sauce. Creamy, smoky, and spicy, this comforting shrimp pasta is low effort, high reward.
One-Pot Chicken Alfredo
Oh, chicken Alfredo: It's the classic pseudo-Italian pasta we just can't seem to get enough of. Of course there are tons of jarred pasta sauces you can buy, but making Alfredo sauce from scratch is actually SO easy.
Get the One-Pot Chicken Alfredo recipe.
Orzo Pasta
Serve as a side or all on its own on a bed of salad greens, this creamy orzo pasta is a more herbalicious version of cacio e pepe. The best part of this recipe: It all takes place in just one pot, which means more flavor and fewer dishes to wash.
Get the Orzo Pasta recipe.
Buttered Noodles
Buttered noodles are the perfectly simple and comfort food dish from our childhoods that we never grew out of. For those nights when you need something fast and have no time or energy to cook, keep it a relaxed affair: A bowl of these noodles will feed you in under 30 minutes from start to finish.
Get the Buttered Noodles recipe.
Pasta Moussaka
This labor of love marries classic Greek eggplant moussaka with baked ziti, turning it into an eye-catching beauty of a pasta dinner that's easy enough for weeknights, but special enough for guests too.
Get the Pasta Moussaka recipe.
Garlicky Feta Eggplant Pasta
This simple summer-y pasta has it all: tender, garlicky morsels of eggplant, a cheesy panko topping, and lots of fresh basil. Just add your favorite pasta and you've got dinner!
Get the Garlicky Feta Eggplant Pasta recipe.
Tagliatelle with Bacon and Mushrooms
Sure, everyone loves pasta. But pasta + bacon + mushrooms? That's just out of control. Creamy and comforting, we’re (over)confident this tagliatelle will become your fast friend.
One-Pot Broccoli-Cheddar Pasta
This dish is no-fuss comfort food at its finest. Everyone loves broccoli when it's tossed with cheddar and Parm!
Pastitsio
Derived from the Italian word pasticcio, which means “mix” or “hodgepodge,” pastitsio is a classic Greek casserole best described as a cross between lasagna and moussaka. Rich and hearty, creamy and comforting, it’s well worth the extra effort it takes to put together.
Get the Pastitsio recipe.
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
Mackenzie Filson is a food writer and contributing digital food producer at Delish. Her favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate-pine. If wine was an astrological sign she'd be a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. She's never met a bag of Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos she didn't eat in one sitting.
