These pasta recipes and inspiration present a way to make the best of one of the most popular and loved foods in the world. The versatility and variety of pasta invites chefs and cooks to go beyond traditional recipes. That’s not to say that the traditional recipes are any less amazing, but there always are ways to unleash your creativity and leave your mark on a recipe.
1. This One Pot Spaghetti
Spaghetti is one of the more famous pastas and an amazing food ingredient. The one-pot style and recipes make things easier for the cook, as there’s less to clean after you’re done cooking and eating. It’s just more convenient. Also, the spaghetti looks absolutely divine.
Ingredients for this recipe include ground beef with lean meat preferred, beef broth or chicken broth, diced but undrained tomatoes, spaghetti, a little bit of cream cheese, onions, marinara sauce, and a few other ingredients for flavoring and texture.
Though the one-pot style makes preparation easier, this isn’t a recipe you can put together quickly. It takes time and wonderful cooking to make this wonderful spaghetti.
2. Pasta And Sourdough
Here’s an idea that’s worth trying – pairing pasta with sour dough. It’s quite an interesting pairing. The sourdough provides a nice visual contrast, which helps with the serving.
But our main consideration here is taste, and this one pulls through on that point as well. It proves to be a good companion for the pasta and sauce, while also providing some texture.
A big star of the recipe are the crisped up thin wafers of sourdough. It’s not a very conventional ingredient, but it sure does light up the recipe like no other.
3. Spaghetti And Meatballs
Here’s the old favorite, and still a stunningly popular food. Spaghetti with meatballs has that amazing taste and texture that makes devoted followers out of those who love food. It does take some skill to get this right, but if you’ve made an amazing spaghetti and meatballs, you deserve a pat on the back.
The key ingredients for the meatballs are ground beef, sausage, and pork mixed with panade to keep the meat’s texture right. The spaghetti is simple enough and can be boiled according to package instructions. Once that’s done, all you have to do is pour the meatballs and sauce over the spaghetti.
4. Monster Pasta
The creativity this recipe shows is something to adore. The green “monster pasta” topped with some cheese looks fantastic. The green color, of course, comes with broccolini going over the rigatoni pasta. It’s a great way for kids to enjoy meals, and even fussy eaters could perhaps enjoy the vegetables that come with it.
The difficult task here is ensuring that the color from the broccolini passes over to the pasta. For this, blanched broccolini along with a few other spices and herbs for the recipe is blended into a puree. Then, this is carefully poured over the pasta that’s been boiled in the water used to boil and blanch the broccolini.
This way, the flavor as well as the color of the broccolini becomes part of the pasta!
All that said, I see this being an absolute hit on Halloween!
5. This Green Pasta
This lovely looking recipe is purposeful and delicious. It’s a vegan meal that’s rich in proteins and can be a good choice for those who don’t get animal (meat) protein in their diet. This creative recipe uses pasta with broccoli, kale, and spinach to fantastic results.
As always, there’s always room to play around with the recipe to make it suit your taste buds better. For example, adding a little bit of lemon zest and/or juice can bring a fresh, somewhat sweet and sour flavor to the recipe.
But again, this choice depends on your taste buds. Some people will find it amazing while others may not find citrus flavors agreeable in this recipe.
6. Orecchiette With Sausage And Broccoli
Orecchiette pasta with some sausage and broccoli is a wonderfully hearty and enjoyable meal. It takes some time to cook, as with many good recipes, but is enjoyable and nourishing as a meal.
The recipe is done in the classic, old-fashioned way. For many of us, that’s an excellent recommendation. After all, there has to be a good reason why the method has lasted all this time!
Here’s a quick summary for the recipe.. Put the pasta in salted water for cooking in a saucepan or a similar vessel. Meanwhile, use a skillet to cook the sausage with some olive oil, breaking the sausage as it cooks. Add the broccoli later, and cook until it’s bright green.
Finally, bring together the pasta and sausage-broccoli mix and the dish is ready.
7. Angel Hair Pasta With Chicken
This photogenic recipe is simple enough to require only a few ingredients. This keeps it within budget and also keeps the complexity in check. And that’s good because, this looks like one of the nice gourmet recipes you’d want to shell big bucks for!
Thanks to the simplicity of this recipe, it can work with only five ingredients. These are pesto chicken, capellini pasta, roma tomatoes, garlic cubes, and crushed red peppers.
Just to be clear, the simple ingredient list doesn’t mean that the recipe cuts corners. It’s fantastic and can be quite versatile depending on your preferences and cooking skills.
8. Ground Beef Pasta
This ground beef and pasta recipe is a fulfilling treat. It’s simple to make and is ready in less than 30 minutes, which makes it great for weeknights, or really, any occasion you’d desire. Simple ingredients and great taste elevate this recipe to new highs.
Ingredients for this recipe include pasta – this recipe prefers fusilli but you can pick a similar one of your choice, along with ground beef, garlic, onions, canned tomatoes, diced tomatoes, dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, and heavy cream.
9. The Assassin’s Spaghetti
I’m sold on the name and presentation of this recipe. It makes liberal use of red chilies and chili sauce to get that unique color and flavor. As you can guess, this spaghetti is quite spicy. The good part is, it can stay flavorful while keeping all that heat and spice.
10. A Chicken Arrabbiata Pasta
The Arrabbiata pasta floats in a delicious tomato sauce with some seasoned chicken breast giving it company. It’s a wonderful combo that feels wholesome and is packed with great taste, texture, and nutrition. Season it right, and it’s an absolute delight.
The recipe involves some effort and a long list of ingredients. Some of the principal elements are diced skinless chicken breast, peeled and diced tomatoes, red chilies, garlic, and of course, your choice of pasta. Casarecce pasta is preferred for the recipe, but of course, you can take your pick!
11. Pulled Pork Pasta
This creative recipe has a lot to offer. It’s got wonderful flavors, great taste, and the texture ties it all nicely together. As the name implies, the recipe includes pulled pork, some cheese, and pasta. Herbs, spices, and other ingredients add to the overall flavor and feel of this recipe.
Bringing all these ingredients together and cooking and baking it to perfection takes some serious skill, so this is not a recipe for beginners.
12. Spaghetti Carbonara
The classic Spaghetti Carbonara with a presentation like that looks amazing. It helps that this recipe is simple enough, easy to prepare, and is both filling and nourishing. Also, if you’ve got even a hint of presentation skills, the plate can look gorgeous.
The recipe calls for sliced guanciale, with the skin removed. Other ingredients include Pecorino Romano cheese, egg yolks, spaghetti, salt, and pepper. The ingredients and styling make this quite the gourmet dish, with deep flavors and an excellent mouthfeel.
13. Spaghetti with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
This vegan recipe makes the best of its ingredients to be a filling and lovely meal. The small cherry tomatoes provide a nice contrast in texture as well as visually. The presence of garlic and spinach adds more flavor and texture to the recipe, as do the slices of sourdough.
The key ingredients are spaghetti, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and sea salt. A little bit of baby spinach and fresh basil add some freshness and flavor to the recipe. For this recipe, you cook the pasta according to package instructions, then pan roast the tomatoes and add them separately to the pot.
14. Chickpea Pasta
This easy chickpea pasta recipe is a delight. The ingredients are nourishing and it’s relatively easy to cook, making this a great meal for weeknights, or whenever you’d like a quick, but decently healthy meal. Garbanzo beans and your choice of pasta are the stars here, but it’s truly the other ingredients, seasoning, spices, and herbs that make this an amazing meal.
While this pasta is a good weeknight dinner, it’s not one you can make on short notice. I would recommend keeping the garbanzo beans soaked at least overnight (or the day, if you intend these for dinner). Usually, that makes the texture better and the beans softer and more flavorful.
15. Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta
The cajun shrimp pasta highlights the combination of shrimp and cajun seasoning as a delicious combination. The recipe is versatile enough to work with any type of pasta, but I think the choice of bowtie pasta is the smart one. The shape and style go very well with other ingredients and give the prepared food a better overall impression and appearance.
It takes just about 30 minutes to prepare this dish and much of that is spent on the pasta. The shrimp is quick to cook, so while it takes a few minutes, it isn’t a time-consuming process.
16. Shrimp Linguine
Shrimp pasta is another classic food that’s loved for its flavors, taste, and taking relatively less time to prepare! The tomato sauce is an essential part of this pasta, bringing together the various herbs, spices, and ingredients to create this food.
Shrimp pasta is another classic food that’s loved for its flavors, taste, and taking relatively less time to prepare! The tomato sauce is an essential part of this pasta, bringing together the various herbs, spices, and ingredients to create this food.
17. Semolina Chitarra Carbonara
Chitarra pasta made from semolina is something of a unique touch, and it shows itself amply in this recipe. The different approach works quite well, and the carbonara is delicious and with great texture. The addition of bacon and duck egg makes this meal delicious and rich in nutrition.
Looking at the image specifically, I like the presentation. The carefully placed spaghetti with the bright egg yolk in the middle leaves an impression. And it makes sense, since the recipe uses excellent high-quality ingredients and has a gourmet vibe to it.
18. Beef Stroganoff With Pasta
This recipe uses the famous beef stroganoff and puts it on a base of pasta to enhance the taste and texture. The recipe uses thinly sliced beef and once the stroganoff is ready, you can pair it with the pasta of your choice.
The estimated preparation time is 30 minutes, though it can easily take significantly longer. Preparing the thinly sliced beef stroganoff is a task that demands time. In many cases, the recipe can have about 20-30 minutes of on-hand time, while similar time is spent on prep and other tasks.
19. Smoked Salmon Pasta With Creamy Sauce
This classy-looking pasta is remarkably easy to put together and can be ready in just 10 minutes, provided you have smoked salmon at hand. The recipe for this meal is rich with ingredients like cashew butter, balsamic vinegar, cloves, tapioca starch, and more.
The highlights here, of course, are the smoked salmon, avocado, and the delicious pasta. Putting the sauce together can be accomplished quickly, making this meal a quick and delicious choice.
Don’t want to go with salmon? You can replace it with the meat or protein of your choice, thus making the recipe fit your needs.