25 Quick & Easy Three-Step Pasta Dishes
Pasta lovers, these delicious dishes are calling your name! These easy pasta recipes have no more than three simple steps, so you’ll have dinner on the table with minimal effort. Whether you’re craving a veggie-packed dish like our Creamy Caramelized Cauliflower Pasta or a cheesy option like Melting Cherry Tomato & Mozzarella Pasta, there are plenty of options to enjoy.
Baked Brie, Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Pasta
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Marianne Williams, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
Creamy, melted Brie creates a velvety sauce that fills in the ridges of fusilli pasta, while Parmesan cheese adds nutty, savory depth. Sun-dried tomatoes bring a tangy sweetness that balances the richness. A little crushed red pepper adds heat and wilted spinach provides earthy notes and nutrients.
Creamy Caramelized Cauliflower Pasta
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Pricilla Montiel, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer
With simple ingredients and quick prep, this creamy cauliflower pasta is a satisfying dish that feels fancy. Add a squeeze of lemon or a pinch of chile flakes to elevate this easy, comforting classic even more!
Melting Cherry Tomato & Mozzarella Pasta
Ali Redmond
This simple yet delicious pasta dish combines cherry tomatoes with mozzarella, highlighting their natural sweetness and mozzarella’s creamy, gooey texture. Mozzarella pearls are the perfect size for mixing into the finished dish.
15-Minute Spicy Ramen
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
This spicy ramen will be on your table faster than the time it takes to get food delivered. We ditch the spice packet that comes with the soup mix in favor of our own savory broth that strikes the perfect balance between salty and sweet while keeping sodium in check.
Slow-Cooker Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Pasta Bake
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell
This simple vegetarian pasta bake is rich in protein and comes together effortlessly in the slow cooker, for a convenient one-pot meal. The combination of sun-dried tomatoes, sun-dried tomato pesto and plenty of veggies delivers a mix of sweet and savory flavors with every bite.
Mushroom-Miso Pasta
Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Joseph Wanek
This miso pasta features mushrooms, another umami-forward ingredient that takes this quick vegetarian recipe to the next level. We use white miso, which is light and slightly sweet.
5-Ingredient Peanutty Soba Noodles
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Melissa Gray, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
Nutty soba noodles team up with peanut butter in this easy vegetarian pasta dish. Chile-garlic sauce adds nice heat, while lime juice and zest brighten the flavor.
Burrata Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes & Spinach
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
This luscious weeknight pasta dish features burrata cheese—a soft cow’s-milk cheese that looks similar to fresh mozzarella but features a creamy center that melts beautifully.
Sesame Peanut Noodles with Chicken & Zucchini
In this creamy peanut noodle dish, we swap half the pasta for zucchini noodles to reduce the carbs and calories, and bump up the vegetables.
Linguine with Ricotta Meatballs
Ricotta cheese makes the meatballs light and tender and not too dense and fresh pasta takes only 2 to 3 minutes to cook in this delicious dinner recipe that’s full of flavor.
One-Pot Pasta With Spinach & Tomatoes
Cooking the pasta right in the sauce saves time and cleanup while infusing the noodles with more flavor. We’ve happily embraced whole-wheat spaghetti; it works especially well in this one-pot application.
Shirataki Noodles with Chicken, Feta & Tomato
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall
We pair shirataki noodles with feta and tomatoes in this quick and vibrant dinner recipe. The tomatoes release their juices to create a glossy sauce that clings to the noodles and carries with it the flavors of garlic, oregano and basil. Crumbled feta and Kalamata olives add a briny punch.
One-Pot Cheesy Pasta Bake
This easy skillet pasta bake is a surefire family hit. Pasta and meat sauce topped with mozzarella cheese will make everyone at the table happy, and the all-in-one-pot technique will cut down on clean-up.
Pasta Aglio e Olio (With Garlic and Oil)
A riff on the traditional Italian garlic and oil pasta dish, roasted walnut oil adds an unexpected gentle, nutty flavor. We think bucatini pasta is the best choice for this dish; however, you also could use whole-wheat spaghetti or angel hair pasta to amp up the dish’s nuttiness.
25-Minute Peanut Noodles
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Ana Kelly, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen
These super-quick peanut noodles are sure to find their way into your weeknight rotation. If you have a little more time on your hands, stir in wilted spinach or sautéed veggies for a colorful and nutritious pop.
Lemony Spaghetti with Parmesan & Thyme
Brie Passano
This simple lemony spaghetti with Parmesan and thyme is delicious on its own or jazzed up with leftover cooked chicken or veggies.
Spicy Sardine Linguine
Rather than drain away the flavorful oil packed with the sardines, we stir it into the pasta along with the fish. The umami flavor pairs well with spicy peppers for a balanced heat.
Creamy One-Pot Orecchiette with Sausage & Peas
This easy one-pot pasta recipe earns the title “creamy” thanks to the addition of sour cream and Parmesan, which combine to create a savory cheese sauce that clings to the orecchiette, peas and sausage.
Mushroom Orzo with Lemon & Parmesan
This mushroom orzo with lemon and Parmesan is a creamy dish rich with flavor thanks to mushrooms and a velvety smooth sauce. Enjoy this cozy pasta dish with a glass of wine.
Chickpea Pasta with Mushrooms & Kale
Loading up your pasta with vegetables like the kale and mushrooms here is not only delicious, it also makes the meal more satisfying.
Garlic-Anchovy Pasta with Broccolini
Here, we sprinkle the final pasta dish with crumbled goat cheese for nice tangy bites throughout. But if you prefer a creamy sauce, stir the cheese into the pasta in Step 3 along with the reserved cooking water.
Creamy Avocado Pasta
This creamy avocado pasta gets its vibrant color from spinach and avocado, which combine to create a flavorful sauce. Serve the pasta with grilled shrimp or salmon for a boost of protein. Or keep this avocado pasta vegan and top with a portobello mushroom.
3-Ingredient One-Pot Lemon Pasta with Rotisserie Chicken
This satisfying one-pot pasta cooks with just the right amount of water so you’re left with perfectly cooked noodles and enough starchy liquid to act as a sauce. Stir in lemon juice and zest at the end for a bright finish.
Spaghetti & Spinach with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
To achieve flavor quickly in this pasta dish, we use the oil from sun-dried tomatoes to create the base of the cream sauce. Meanwhile, the residual heat of the pasta wilts the spinach in record time for a fast weeknight dinner.
Creamy Mushroom & Spinach Pasta
Make this creamy mushroom and spinach pasta for an easy, healthy dinner. Be sure to save some of the pasta-cooking water as it helps the sauce emulsify.
