Vegetarian Recipes

30+ Best Pasta Recipes

Spinach Noodles with Citrus-Nori Oil Recipe

Looking for great pasta recipes? These are the best pasta recipes on 101 Cookbooks.

Homemade Cavatelli

Simple, homemade cavatelli pasta is a super fun shape to make! Pictured here spiked with turmeric and black pepper, and topped with roasted winter vegetables and Parmesan.
Homemade Pasta

Everything I know about making homemade pasta. Four ingredients! If you have flour, two eggs, a splash of olive oil, and a bit of salt, you can do it right now.
Spaghetti with No-Cook Sauce

A tangle of spaghetti, olives, nuts, vegetables, and torn mozzarella in a no-cook, lemon-zested tomato sauce. A recipe for a hot night when tomato season is at its peak.
Curried Tomato Tortellini Soup

A crowd-pleasing tomato-based tortellini soup, dotted with plump, tender dumplings, spiked with a range of spices, and boosted with plenty of spinach.
Stuffed Shells

A stuffed shells recipe made with lemon zest and bright tomato sauce. Classic, with a hint of a twist. Everyone loves them.
Hazelnut & Chard Ravioli Salad

Ravioli salads are the best! Plump raviolis tossed with toasted hazelnuts, lemony chard, and caramelized onions are at the heart of this ravioli salad recipe. The colorful platter is finished off with a dusting of cheese, snipped chives, and lemon zest.
Spaghetti with No-Cook Sauce

A tangle of spaghetti, olives, nuts, vegetables, and torn mozzarella in a no-cook, lemon-zested tomato sauce. A recipe for a hot night when tomato season is at its peak.
Pasta with Smashed Zucchini Cream

If you have an endless supply of zucchini right now, this is your recipe. A simple, garlic-boosted pasta, it uses two pounds of zucchini, and is endlessly adaptable.
Pasta with Creamy Crushed Walnut Sauce

Toasted walnuts pounded with garlic into a creamy sauce make this pasta easy and exceptional. If you have dried pasta, a few cloves of garlic, walnuts, and black pepper you can make this. The other ingredients – lemon zest, a bit of grated cheese, a finishing cascade of breadcrumbs and herbs are encouraged, but not essential. One of my very favorite pasta recipes!
Pasta with Etruscan Sauce

From the Pasta Grannies series, this is a simple pasta with a special sauce made from a quick puree of sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, parsley, and garlic. It’s fast, strong, adaptable, and doesn’t disappoint.
Last Minute Red Lasagna

Everyone needs a go-to lasagna recipe. A great one. This is a true weeknight lasagna. No pre-cooking sauces, no pre-cooking noodles. You, literally, stir the first five ingredients together into a vibrant crushed tomato sauce, and start layering.
Beer-Roasted Cauliflower with Pasta

Poach a whole head of cauliflower in an olive-oil dappled, chile-spiked, beer-based broth, then wedge it & roast it until golden-crusted and butter tender.
Weeknight Ponzu Pasta

All things green in a quick, weeknight pasta option. It’s feel-good food that won’t weigh you down – ponzu dressing, green vegetables, and the pasta of your choice.
Instant Pot Mushroom Stroganoff with Vodka

Make this stroganoff your dinner tonight, seriously! Made with caraway-spiked vodka, and a hearty mushroom base, you get all of what you love about mushroom stroganoff, without the all the butter and cream.
Vegetable Noodle Soup

This vegetable noodle soup is as simple, direct, and delicious as it gets. If you’re vegetarian or vegan looking for an alternative to chicken noodle soup, try this!
Pasta with Baby Kale, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, and Pesto

Literally, just six ingredients in this awesome pasta bowl.
Spicy Tahini Noodles with Roasted Vegetables

This is my favorite kind of weeknight meal. Noodles tossed with a quick sauce, topped with an abundance of vegetables, and kissed with chile feistiness courtesy of the condiment shelf.
Quick Blistered Cherry Tomato Spaghetti

So good! If you’re looking for one of these pasta recipes to try, this is it. An updated take on weeknight spaghetti. It’s basically spaghetti combined with skillet blistered cherry tomatoes and broccoli. Tossed with mint, cashews, chiles, and Parmesan.
Weeknight Pasta Ideas with Less Than Ten Ingredients

A solid handful of weeknight pasta ideas to keep things quick-ish and creative.
Easy Tomato & Pasta Salad

Pasta salad extraordinaire – tomatoes & pasta in an A+ one-bowl meal. Whole-grain pasta, baby kale, basil, and the best tomatoes you can get your hands on, with a generous drizzle of strong harissa dressing.
Fregola Sarda, the Perfect Lunchy Brunch Dish

Fregola is a beautiful, tasty Sardinian pasta made from hard durum wheat flour – rolled, sun-dried, and toasted to a mix of shades of yellow, gold, and brown. It’s so good.
Simple Beet Fettuccine

Fresh pasta, you can do it! A beautiful, fun, and simple way to make homemade fettuccine noodles.
Last Minute Everything Bagel Noodle Bowl

A perfect one-pot meal. Noodles, tofu, and broccoli boiled in one pot, drained, tossed with splashes of olive oil and ponzu, plus a generous showering of everything bagel seasoning to finish it all off.
Roasted Vegetable Orzo

Roasted delicata squash and kale tossed w/ orzo pasta & salted yogurt dressing.
Creamy Four Ingredient Chili Mac (Instant Pot / Conventional)

Chili, beer, and elbow pasta. I know of no other dinner that takes less effort than the Instant Pot version of this. It’s literally for nights when take-out takes too long, and is too much effort. Seriously.
Spicy Tahini Noodles with Roasted Vegetables

This is my favorite kind of weeknight meal. Noodles tossed with a quick sauce, topped with an abundance of vegetables, and kissed with chile feistiness courtesy of the condiment shelf.
Brown Butter Tortelli

A simple pasta dish made from ricotta-stuffed tortelli tossed with brown butter balsamic sauce, arugula, pecorino cheese, and lemon zest.
An Excellent, One-pan, Protein-packed Power Pasta

One-pot meals are the savior of weeknight cooking, and this pasta is a go-to. It’s pasta and lentils simmered in crushed tomatoes, finished with lots of chopped kale, saffron, swirls of tahini and chopped almonds.
Harissa Spaghettini

A unique and flavor-packed pasta recipe. Whole wheat pasta noodles, olives, kale, pine nuts tossed in a pan for a tangle with a garlic-charged harissa and olive oil sauce.
Spinach Noodles with Citrus-Nori Oil

A twist on a favorite pasta recipe from Super Natural Simple. Light and bright with assertive jolts of lemon zest and cayenne, plus a bit of crunch from sesame seeds, this version was made with Spinach pasta, but can be made with a whole range of noodles. Grab the recipe on this page, just below!

I hope at least a few of these pasta recipes strike a chard with you!

Spinach Noodles with Citrus-Nori Oil

This is a twist on a favorite pasta recipe from Super Natural Simple. Light and bright with assertive jolts of lemon zest and cayenne, plus a bit of crunch from sesame seeds, this version was made with Spinach pasta, but can be made with a whole range of noodles. Bonus point for adding extra vegetables to the pasta water – broccoli, asparagus, green beans, and cauliflower all work well.

INGREDIENTS

1 (8-inch) sheet nori, toasted*
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
Zest of 2 lemons, oranges, limes (or combo)
4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bunch chives, minced
1 pound dried spinach noodles
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

Crush or cut the toasted nori into the smallest flecks you can manage. In a small bowl, combine most of the nori, the oil, salt, lemon zest, sesame seeds, cayenne, cumin, and most of the chives and set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to the package instructions. Drain well, reserving 1 cup of the noodle water. Return the noodles to the pot and place it over low heat. Stir in a little of the reserved noodle water, most of the nori oil, and the cheese and stir well. Add more noodle water, a splash at a time, to loosen up the noodles as needed.
Serve immediately topped with the remaining nori pieces, the chives, and the remaining nori oil.
*To toast nori, gently wave it over the flame of a gas burner or bake it on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until crisped. Cool, then crumble.

NOTES

Serves 4 to 6.

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Vegetarian Recipes

Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Here’s a quickie recipe for those nights when you just need something fast and delicious. This Lemon Ricotta Pasta is super fast, light, and fresh, which makes it perfect for an easy weeknight dinner during the summer. The bright lemon flavor perfectly compliments the light and creamy ricotta, and the little pops of sweetness from the peas make every bite a little more interesting. Simple, fresh, and easy.

Originally posted 3-4-2011, updated 6-8-2022.

Do I Have to Use Fresh Lemon?

This is one of those recipes where you really do want to use a fresh lemon instead of bottled juice. The zest from the lemon adds a ton of bright, summery lemon flavor to the pasta without making the sauce too sour. We add just a little of the juice to balance the creaminess of the ricotta, but the zest is where you’re getting all that gorgeous sunny lemon flavor!

Not All Ricotta is Created Equal

I find there is quite a bit of variation in the quality of ricotta from brand to brand. Some are smooth, mild, and sweet like fresh milk, while others are bland and grainy. My preferred brand is Galbani, but they didn’t have any at the store when I went, so I got the generic Kroger brand. It was definitely a bit grainy, but the pasta was still quite delicious despite that!

Also, make sure to get whole milk ricotta. Low-fat ricotta just doesn’t hit the same in this recipe.

What Else Can I Add?

This simple pasta is a great jumping-off point for making a more elaborate pasta, if that’s what you’re in the mood for. Try adding some sliced chicken breast, fresh basil, or fresh spinach. Garlic butter shrimp would also go great with this pasta!

What to Serve with Lemon Ricotta Pasta

This pasta is so light and fresh that I suggest keeping any side dishes really simple, light, and fresh as well. I would go with a super simple side salad, or maybe some roasted asparagus and tomatoes.

Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Lemon Ricotta Pasta is light, fresh, and quick to prepare, making it the perfect pasta for weeknight dinners in the summer.

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine American

Total Cost $4.27 recipe / $1.07 serving

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings

Calories 400kcal

Author Beth – Budget Bytes

Ingredients

1 lemon $0.89
8 oz. pasta* $0.67
1 cup frozen peas $0.50
1 clove garlic, minced $0.08
1 Tbsp butter $0.11
1 cup whole milk ricotta $1.60
1/4 cup grated Parmesan $0.36
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste) $0.02
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (or to taste) $0.02
1 pinch crushed red pepper (or to taste) $0.02

Instructions

Zest and juice the lemon. You’ll need about ½ tsp zest and 1 Tbsp lemon juice.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions (boil for 7-10 minutes, or until tender). Before draining, reserve about 1 cup of the starchy water from the pot.
Place the frozen peas in the colander before draining the pasta so the pasta will thaw the peas as it drains.
Add the butter and minced garlic to a large skillet and sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic is fragrant.
Add the drained pasta and peas, and about ½ cup of the starchy pasta cooking water to the skillet with the butter and garlic. Stir to combine, then turn off the heat.
Add the ricotta, Parmesan, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon lemon zest to the skillet. Stir until everything is well combined, the residual heat from the skillet and pasta have warmed the ricotta, and the ricotta has formed a creamy sauce. Add more of the warm reserved pasta water if needed.
Season the pasta with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Notes

*Use any short shape pasta.

Nutrition

How to Make Lemon Ricotta Pasta – Step By Step Photos

Zest and juice one lemon. You’ll need about ½ tsp of zest and 1 Tbsp juice.

Cook 8oz. pasta according to the package directions (boil for 7-10 minutes, or until tender). Reserve about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.

Add 1 cup of frozen peas to a colander, then pour the boiled pasta over top to thaw the peas as you drain the pasta.

Add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 clove garlic to a large skillet. Sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic becomes very fragrant.

Add the still-hot pasta and peas to the skillet along with about ½ cup of the hot reserved pasta water. Stir to combine, then turn off the heat.

Add 1 cup whole milk ricotta, ¼ cup grated Parmesan, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and ½ tsp lemon zest to the pasta. Stir until the ingredients are combined, the residual heat from the pasta and skillet have warmed the ricotta, and the ricotta has turned into a creamy sauce.