Pasta recipes

Fettuccine Alfredo lightened up with skim milk and cream cheese, finished with garlic-bloomed butter and a thick blanket of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Silky, garlicky, and surprisingly rich.

Five-cheese baked macaroni with cheddar, Monterey Jack, Gruyere, Parmesan, and goat cheese, plus prosciutto and fresh herbs. Make-ahead grown-up mac and cheese.

Vegan fettuccine with a creamy butternut squash sauce made from blended steamed squash, soy milk, and sauteed vegetables with rosemary, savory, basil, and garlic. Dairy-free and rich.

Mom's baked macaroni and cheese with cheddar, eggs, milk, butter, and bread crumb topping. A custard-style mac and cheese that bakes up creamy with a golden crust.

Tomato-based seafood soup with fresh herbs, pasta shells, and mixed seafood finished with dry sherry. Elegant 60-minute bisque.

A chilled shrimp and vermicelli salad loaded with peas, green onions, dill pickles, hard-boiled eggs, and bell pepper in a tangy sour cream and mustard dressing. A hearty make-ahead salad that feeds a crowd.

Penne pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, capers, fresh thyme, tarragon, and green peas in a broth-based sauce. Low-fat, full of flavor, and loaded with six cloves of garlic.

Turkey breasts, bell pepper, chickpeas and tomato sauce make this delicious yet nutritious meal.

Fettuccine with Gorgonzola sauce tossed with sauteed asparagus, leeks, artichoke hearts, red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and garlic. A vegetable-loaded pasta with bold blue cheese flavor.

Linguine with crab and mushrooms in a light white wine sauce with chicken broth, turmeric, tomato paste, and fresh tarragon. A quick seafood pasta for two that's ready in 40 minutes.

A classic béchamel sauce enriched with Parmesan and a hint of nutmeg becomes this lightened Alfredo where low-fat milk and minimal butter create creamy pasta indulgence you can actually feel good about.

Rigatoni with thick mushroom sauce shreds portobello mushrooms straight into the pan, then reduces with garlic, broth, and red pepper for a meaty vegetarian pasta. Pan to plate in 30 minutes.

Cappellini with a vibrant pureed herb-spinach sauce, nutmeg, and Parmesan. A light, veggie-packed pasta dinner on the table in 25 minutes. Diabetic-friendly too.

Julia's manicotti, shells stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano, baked in a slow-simmered wine-laced tomato sauce. A family-style Italian-American bake with deeply seasoned red sauce.

Vegetarian penne pasta with fresh Roma tomato sauce, broccoli, zucchini, sugar snap peas, carrots, and Parmesan. A colorful one-pot weeknight dinner.

Fettuccine with shrimp, fresh tomatoes, basil, black olives, garlic, and Romano cheese. A quick Italian pasta toss where the sauce cooks in just 3 minutes.