25 Quick Pasta Recipes
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These convenient, delicious, quick pasta recipes require essential ingredients and are ready in 15 minutes. They make the perfect family meals when you need dinner on the table in no time.
Published on Jun 2020 /Updated on Nov 2024

To all the pasta lovers out there, here are a few perfect quick pasta recipes for your midweek meals: terrific bowls of pasta that you can rustle up using your pantry staples, veggies, or cheese leftovers.
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From the most popular cream cheese pasta and ricotta pasta to my family favorites like spaghetti with garlic and olive oil or full with juicy cherry tomatoes.
They’re super easy yet delicious and packed with flavor. They’re mostly vegetarian, budget-friendly, and perfect to please the whole family.
These fantastic pasta dishes require simple ingredients like olive oil, fresh or canned tomatoes, cheese, potatoes, olives, mushrooms, herbs, and garlic—always garlic!
These easy and quick pasta recipes are lifesavers when you decide that pasta is for dinner, and they get it all: flavor, convenience, and simplicity.
A delicious bowl of flavorsome pasta, anyone?
Super Quick Pasta Recipes
Cream Cheese Pasta
Creamy, indulgent, and delicious, this cream cheese pasta has received hundreds of rave reviews, and for good reason! It's versatile, easy, quick, and perfect for the whole family.
Spinach Pesto Pasta
This quick spinach pesto pasta is fresh, flavorful, and delicious. It's fantastic for getting your daily leafy greens without even realizing it!
Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Spinach
You'll love this wonderfully creamy and fast pasta recipe! It uses only a handful of ingredients, has hundreds of rave reviews, and tastes absolutely amazing.
Lemon pasta salad
This lemon pasta is tossed with homemade lemon dressing, fresh herbs, and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan and toasted pine nuts. It's ridiculously simple and economical, and it's a crowd-pleaser ready in 15 minutes flat.
Creamy Pesto Pasta
This simple yet flavorful pasta dish is so yummy that everyone will lick their plates clean! You can use fresh or jarred basil pesto; the recipe comes together in a breeze.
Spaghetti with Garlic and Olive Oil
Discover how to make this classic Italian spaghetti Aglio e Olio. It requires few inexpensive ingredients and is ready in just 10 minutes. Delicious and flavorful, it’s perfect for sharing with friends or a quick dinner after a long day.
Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
This delicious sun-dried tomato pasta features creamy ricotta, flavorful sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh basil, making it an excellent and quick meal in under 15 minutes!
Pasta Puttanesca
You only need a few pantry staples to whip up this scrumptious pasta puttanesca. This simple Italian pasta recipe packs big flavors, perfect for jazzing up your midweek dinner.
Creamy Penne Pasta Recipe
Few things can rival the feeling of satisfying a craving for a bowl of creamy pasta. This easy, quick recipe is perfect for busy weeknights when you want a comforting and delicious meal on the table in no time.
Penne Arrabbiata, easy & quick!
Here is another favorite of mine, a bowl of penne arrabbiata that comes together quickly using just pantry staples. It's easy, full of flavor, and so satisfying!
Pasta with artichokes
Made with convenient canned artichokes, a touch of cream, and savory parmesan, this quick artichoke pasta makes a fabulous treat perfect for a busy weeknight or when you’ve got company.
Gorgonzola pasta
The amazing gorgonzola sauce requires only two ingredients and is a breeze to make. Toss your pasta in, finish with crispy walnuts for a fantastic texture and flavor contrast, and you'll have a fabulous pasta dish ready in 15 minutes.
Garlic Mushroom Pasta (no cream)
If you love mushrooms, you'll love this quick and flavorful spaghetti. The smell of garlic, the flavored gravy released from the mushrooms, and the parmesan cheese—a fantastic pasta dish that is on the table in 15 minutes—are what's not to love.
Lemon Garlic Pasta
Turn butter, garlic, parmesan, lemons, and starchy cooking water into a lemon garlic butter sauce that beautifully coats your pasta. It’s fresh, silky, delicious, and sure to please your taste buds.
Tomato Basil Pasta
Not to brag, but this is the tomato basil pasta we all need! Burst ripe cherry tomato juice, extra virgin olive oil, and garlic make the most delicious, economical, quick pasta sauce, perfect for an impromptu pasta night.
White Wine Pasta (15 mins!)
In just 15 minutes and a few simple ingredients like a glass of white wine, you can whip up a delicious white wine pasta that's fresh, flavorful, and perfect for adding your favorite extras.
Carrot Pasta
Does pasta with carrots sound like an unlikely combination? Trust me, it’s amazingly delicious. The pasta is tossed with garlicky carrots, parsley, parmesan cheese, and crispy breadcrumbs and finished with lemon juice to bring everything together.
Tomato Pasta Salad
This is another tomato pasta recipe that requires minimal ingredients and little effort. Juicy, sweet tomatoes combined with garlic, olive oil, and tons of fresh basil make one of the greatest pasta salads ever.
Fried Spaghetti and Scrambled Eggs
There are absolutely zero fancy things going on here, apart from the essential ingredients you have in your pantry right now! It's quick, easy, flavorful, and packed with protein.
Spinach Spaghetti with Garlic Crumbs
In this delicious and quick recipe, the spaghetti is tossed with sautéed spinach and crispy breadcrumbs flavored with garlic, lemon, and parmesan cheese. It's ready in a breeze and packed with flavor!
Garlic Butter Pasta
What about simple spaghetti smothered in a decadent butter garlic sauce? It's so simple yet full of flavor, the kind of meal that you can jazz up with your favorite add-ins if you wish.
Pasta with Zucchini
If zucchini is in season, this recipe is for you! The zucchini slices are sauteed with olive oil and garlic until slightly golden, tender, and sweet. Next, add the pasta and cheese and toss with some starchy pasta water. Done!
Ricotta Spaghetti
Enjoy this creamy spaghetti for the ultimate weekday family dinner. The sauce uses minimal ingredients, requires no cooking, and is easy to customize with your favorite protein or veggies. Yum.
Pasta with Olives
This flavorful pasta with olives is one of my family favorites, and It's excellent for making a quick and delicious pasta dish with just a handful of essential ingredients.
Lemon Spaghetti
Fresh, velvety, and full of lemon flavor, this spaghetti recipe uses minimal ingredients and is ready in no time. It's also flexible, versatile, and perfectly pairs with your favorite veggies or protein.
WHAT’S THE BEST PASTA?
When you choose pasta, look at the label. Choose durum wheat semolina pasta, possibly made with brass or bronze dies. Premium-quality pasta is a bit more expensive than basic pasta, but it’s resilient, has a more robust texture, and beautifully holds sauces. Yes, brands matter, and even if you cook on a budget or are short on time, you deserve a delicious bowl of pasta packed with flavor!
More pasta recipes you’ll love
Here are other delicious pasta recipes, super easy and ready in less than 30 minutes:
- Pasta with chickpeas
- Broccoli pasta with breadcrumbs
- Italian potato pasta (pasta e patate)
- Leek pasta
- Black bean pasta
If you make one of these quick pasta recipes, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram.
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25 Quick Pasta Recipes
Ingredients
Spaghetti
- 8 oz (220 grams) Spaghetti (or any other long pasta cut)
Spinach with garlic crumbs
- 1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons garlic cloves, divided
- 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
- 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- ½ lb (220 grams) baby spinach
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or more to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt, and cook the spaghetti until al dente (follow the package instructions). Reserve ½ cups of hot pasta water before draining the pasta.
- Toast the breadcrumbs: Heat ½ tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 garlic clove, breadcrumb, and chili flakes and cook, stirring often, until golden—about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the parmesan, transfer to a small bowl, and set aside.
- Cook the spinach: Place the skillet back on the stove, add the rest of the olive oil and 1 minced garlic clove, and cook over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon of pasta cooking water and the spinach, a handful at a time, stirring until wilted. Turn the heat off, taste, and season accordingly.
- Assemble and serve: Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, drain, and add the spaghetti to the skillet. Add lemon juice and breadcrumb mixture, tossing until well combined. Taste to make sure you're happy with the overall flavor (you might prefer more salt or lemon juice), then serve immediately with more grated parmesan cheese, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for its fruity flavor, or chili flakes for some heat. Enjoy!


loved the CREAM CHEESE PASTA
That’s great, thanks for sharing, Star. : )
All these pasta recipes are really mouth smacking. The cheese one is one of my favorite and would like to give it a try. Keep sharing such yummy recipes with the readers.
Woow!! Not even sure where to begin here. There is so much inspiration here.
I will have to start with the sun dried tomato pesto pasta. Never made that before and looks amazing and easy too!! Thanks so much
What a lovely feedback, James!
Enjoy x
Thanks for sharing this amazing and easy recipe.
You’re so welcome! : )
Gosh, I loved so much the lemon ricotta pasta! Thanks for these yummy recipes xxx
Thanks so much for your lovely feedback, Sara! 💛
Easy and delicious ! 😍
So glad you like these easy recipes! xx
this all looks so good!! the ricotta cheese one made my mouth water. will be writing these down to show my girlfriend thank you!
You’re very welcome! 😉