13 Easy Pasta Recipes: One Pot Dinners, Baked Pasta and Salads

These easy pasta recipes are the bowls of comfort I lean on when I want dinner sorted without thinking too hard. All thirteen come from my own kitchen, so every link below leads to a recipe I have tested, photographed and twirled onto a fork far more often than I would admit.

In short, this roundup gathers 13 easy pasta dinners: five one pot and skillet dishes, six baked pastas and casseroles, and two cold pasta salads. They range from 15 minutes for Instant Pot mac and cheese to 1 hour 30 minutes for the vegan lasagna, and most serve 6.

I have grouped them by how they cook. First come the one pot and skillet dishes that are ready in under an hour, then the baked pastas that feed a crowd or wait in the freezer, and finally two cold salads for lunchboxes and barbecues. After that you will find a time chart, my pasta basics, a freezer guide and the questions readers ask me most.

One Pot and Skillet Easy Pasta Recipes

These five easy pasta recipes are my weeknight heroes. Each one cooks in a single pot or pan, so there is no colander to juggle and very little washing up.

1. Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Instant Pot mac and cheese is the fastest dinner on this list at about 15 minutes, and the one my children request most. The macaroni cooks in salted water and butter for just four minutes, then milk and cheddar get stirred through off the heat. Honestly, the pot looks watery at first, but keep stirring and it turns into a silky, clingy sauce with no roux at all.

Get the Instant Pot Mac and Cheese recipe →

2. Instant Pot Spaghetti

Instant Pot spaghetti is spaghetti and meat sauce cooked together in one pot in about 25 minutes. You brown a little beef, lay the dry strands criss-cross on top, then pour over a jar of sauce and water. Because the spaghetti cooks right in the sauce, it soaks up far more flavour than it ever does from a pan of boiling water.

Get the Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe →

3. Creamy Pasta Primavera

Creamy pasta primavera is how I get a whole rainbow of vegetables into my family without a single complaint. Broccoli, peppers, courgette and peas stay tender crisp in a light parmesan cream, and fresh cherry tomatoes go in right at the end. It tastes like spring on a plate, even on a grey October evening.

Get the Creamy Pasta Primavera recipe →

4. Skillet Lasagna

Skillet lasagna is lasagna for people who do not have two hours, made in one pan in 40 minutes. Broken sheets simmer straight in the beef ragu, so there is nothing to boil or layer, then ricotta and mozzarella melt over the top. In fact, the edges go slightly crisp against the hot pan, which I think is the best bit.

Get the Skillet Lasagna recipe →

5. Cheesy Creamy Ravioli With Spinach

Cheesy creamy ravioli with spinach is my cheat for a dinner that looks far fancier than the effort. Shop bought cheese ravioli gets folded through garlicky spinach and a rich mascarpone and parmesan sauce, then baked until golden and bubbling. So there is no pasta making, and nobody ever guesses the ravioli came from a packet.

Get the Cheesy Creamy Ravioli With Spinach recipe →

Baked Pasta and Casseroles

Next come the oven bakes, the easy pasta recipes I turn to for a crowd. They take a little longer, but most of that time is the oven doing the work, and several of them can be assembled the day before.

6. Baked Ziti

Baked ziti takes five ingredients and 45 minutes, with endless cheese pulls. Ziti gets tossed with marinara and creamy ricotta, then buried under mozzarella and parmesan and baked until golden. It is my go to when friends come over, because it looks generous and basically makes itself while we chat.

Get the Baked Ziti recipe →

7. Baked Mac and Cheese

Baked mac and cheese is the Sunday version of mac and cheese. A proper cheese sauce made with cheddar, mozzarella and Monterey Jack coats a full pound of macaroni, then buttered breadcrumbs go on top and turn shatteringly crisp in the oven. Still, the real secret is draining the macaroni slightly early, since it keeps softening as it bakes.

Get the Baked Mac and Cheese recipe →

8. Chicken With Pasta Casserole

Chicken with pasta casserole is the best home for leftover roast chicken I know. Shredded chicken and short pasta go into a creamy sauce with sour cream, garlic and a pinch of chilli flakes, then under a thick layer of cheese. Meanwhile, the top bakes bubbly and golden in under half an hour.

Get the Chicken With Pasta Casserole recipe →

9. Beef and Macaroni Casserole

Beef and macaroni casserole is grown up beefaroni, and a proper family feeder that serves 8. Macaroni, lean mince and green pepper get folded into a rich tomato sauce with lots of cheddar, then baked until the top bubbles. Better yet, it makes enough for two meals, and the leftovers taste even better the next day.

Get the Beef and Macaroni Casserole recipe →

10. Freezer Lasagna

Freezer lasagna is assembled raw and baked from frozen, so you build it once and eat it whenever you need it. The sheets, sauce and cheeses are layered raw, wrapped tightly and frozen, then the dish goes straight into the oven from frozen. Because it is only cooked once, it tastes as if you made it that afternoon.

Get the Freezer Lasagna recipe →

11. Vegan Lasagna

This vegan lasagna is proof that a meat free lasagne can be every bit as hearty. Smoked tofu or tempeh and mushrooms make a deeply savoury ragu, while blended cashews, lemon and nutritional yeast become a creamy layer that does the job of ricotta. Instant sheets keep it simple, so it is far less work than it sounds.

Get the Vegan Lasagna recipe →

The ziti, the baked mac and the beef casserole all fit a 9×13 glass baking dish, so I can have one in the oven and another assembled in the fridge for tomorrow.

Easy Pasta Recipes for Salads and Lunchboxes

Finally, two cold ones. They are made ahead by design, so they are perfect for picnics, potlucks and the week’s packed lunches.

12. Chicken Pasta Salad

This chicken pasta salad is creamy, crunchy and properly filling. Chicken, crispy bacon, sweet peas and parmesan get tossed in a tangy lemon mayo dressing, and half an hour in the fridge lets everything come together. I always keep a spoonful of dressing back, because the salad drinks it up as it chills.

Get the Chicken Pasta Salad recipe →

13. Greek Pasta Salad

Greek pasta salad is bright, sharp and made for sunny days. Rotini, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives and feta are tossed in a punchy red wine vinaigrette. Then, a few hours in the fridge makes it even better, which is exactly why I make it the night before a barbecue.

Get the Greek Pasta Salad recipe →

Easy Pasta Recipes by Time

Here is the whole list sorted by the clock, so you can choose by how hungry everyone is.

How I Cook Pasta Properly Every Time

A few habits make all easy pasta recipes better, whichever one you choose. First, salt the water generously, because it is the only chance to season the pasta itself. Next, start tasting a minute or two before the packet time, and drain it while it still has a slight bite. Then, scoop out a mug of the starchy cooking water before you drain, since a splash loosens and glosses any sauce.

There is a health bonus to that bite, too. Harvard’s Nutrition Source explains how carbohydrates affect blood sugar, including why whole grain pasta has a gentler effect than white. So I often swap in whole wheat penne for the casseroles, where nobody notices.

Plenty of water is the other secret, so I cook a full pound in a big stockpot, where the pasta can move freely and the water comes back to the boil quickly.

Which Pasta Dishes Freeze Well?

Freezer lasagna, baked mac and cheese, baked ziti and skillet lasagna freeze well for 2 to 3 months, while cream sauces and pasta salads do not. Cooked pasta softens in the freezer, so the trick is choosing dishes built for it. Ohio State University Extension notes in its guide to freezing cooked foods that cooked pasta loses texture, and combination dishes are best eaten within three months. That matches my experience exactly.

• Freeze beautifully: freezer lasagna and baked mac and cheese, frozen before baking, plus baked ziti and skillet lasagna portions.
• Freeze in a pinch: Instant Pot mac and cheese, in single portions for about a month.
• Do not freeze: pasta primavera, Instant Pot spaghetti and both salads, because cream splits and dressings turn watery.

Tips for Stress Free Pasta Nights

• Keep a pasta pantry. Most easy pasta recipes start with the same staples. A jar of marinara, boxes of macaroni, penne and spaghetti, a block of parmesan and a bag of frozen peas cover half of this list.
• Grate your own cheese. Pre grated cheese is coated in starch, so sauces turn grainy rather than smooth.
• Add cheese off the heat. Direct heat splits a cheese or cream sauce, so take the pan off first.
• Cool salad pasta completely. Warm pasta melts feta and thins mayo, so spread it on a tray to cool fast.

Frequently Asked Questions