Pasta recipes

Holiday pasta bake layers penne with eggplant tomato sauce, creamy ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. A make-ahead crowd-feeder that bakes into a bubbling, cheesy, eggplant-rich casserole. Serves eight from one dish.

Pasta Chimayo tosses penne in a smoky ancho chile cream sauce with tequila-flambéed shrimp. A New Mexican-meets-Italian fusion dish that brings serious restaurant flair to weeknight dinner.

Szechuan spiced shrimp pasta tosses penne with garlic-chili-paste shrimp and a buttery sauteed spinach-tomato sauce. East-meets-Italian fusion, ready in 25 minutes once the prep is done.

Penne alla vodka tosses tubular pasta with a quick sauce of butter, vodka, hot pepper, puréed plum tomatoes, cream, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. A 20-minute Italian-American classic.

Stir-fried chicken and tender-crisp broccoli tossed with penne in a creamy Dijon mustard sauce. A lighter weeknight pasta ready in 45 minutes with no heavy cream needed.

Penne pasta with a blended tuna-walnut pesto sauce, lemon zest, fresh basil, and parsley. A quick no-cook sauce made in the food processor and tossed with hot pasta in 30 minutes.

Pasta Mexicali is a cold penne salad loaded with black beans, cannellini, corn, red pepper, and cilantro in a cumin-cayenne vinaigrette. Vegetarian, protein-packed potluck stunner.

Grilled pasta salad with broiled zucchini and Spanish onion, roasted red peppers, penne, and red wine vinegar. Served warm or at room temperature in just 20 minutes.

Penne tossed in a light béchamel cream sauce with flaked canned salmon, sweet peas, parsley, and parmesan. Pantry-friendly 30-minute weeknight dinner.

Fresh tomato pasta toss simmers blanched and peeled tomatoes with garlic, basil, parsley, and oregano, finished with a splash of cream over penne. A high-summer pasta sauce when tomatoes are at their peak.

Grilled shrimp tossed with penne, fresh Roma tomatoes, diced mozzarella, basil, and Italian parsley in a simple olive oil dressing. This no-cook pasta sauce comes together while the penne boils.

Tri-color pasta with a simple tomato sauce simmered with garlic and onion, tossed with fresh basil, olive oil, and Parmesan. Italian comfort food from pantry staples.

Pasta with pumpkin and Italian sausage in a creamy sage-spiked sauce. A rich, autumn-leaning weeknight dinner that treats canned pumpkin like the flavor workhorse it is.

Easy roasted vegetable pasta sauce with oven-roasted red peppers, onions, and garlic folded into jarred spaghetti sauce with sauteed mushrooms and fresh basil. A semi-homemade upgrade.

A lighter chicken pesto pasta with a yogurt-based spinach pesto, fresh basil, pine nuts, and Parmesan tossed with penne. Half the fat of traditional pesto, all the flavor.

Penne pasta with chicken sausage, zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, and sage in a light chicken broth sauce topped with Parmesan. A quick one-pan weeknight dinner.