35 Best Pasta Recipes to Make Now

I may as well title this post What Should I Cook for Dinner Tonight, because guess what? The answer is this list of 35 of the best pasta recipes to make now.

October arrived with a skiff of frost in my waning garden and the donning of my favorite knee sweeping sweaters. Fall is here. I’ve turned in my straw hat for my knit beanie, and while others are waiting in line for their pumpkin spiced lattés, you’ll find me dreaming of all the ways to fix my favorite comfort food: all the best pasta recipes.

October is national pasta month, so what better way to celebrate than make all the best pasta?

Whether it’s authentic and real Italian pasta like my Spaghetti Pomodoro, or the best American-ized mac and cheese to ever pass your lips, this list of 35 homemade pasta recipes are what you should be cooking this month.

1. My Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti And Meat Sauce

Cathy commented: “I tried this recipe for your mom’s spaghetti sauce, and it was perfect ! I’m Italian and was taught many years ago how to make a good sauce. But over the busy years, it started not tasting so good, and it seemed okay to just buy a nice jar already prepared. But after reading your recipe which was very close to my mom’s, and being inspired to try again, now I’m hooked and loving it. Thank you for turning my “cooking” back on !!! This is a great recipe!”

2. One-Pot Penne Pasta With Turkey And Spinach

Vanessa commented: “Hubby has congestive heart failure. This recipe is not only heart healthy but with few adjustments (no salt) he said it tasted like a delicious meal that he hasn’t had for over a year now! Huge compliment! Please keep them coming! Absolutely Deeeeelicious!”

3. Pasta With Turkey Sausage And Peas

Charlie commented: “Great!!! I utilized an entire 19 oz. bundle of turkey. Additionally, I utilized a pound of child bella mushrooms. This was simple, beautiful, and the best part is that it tasted wonderful!”

Meatballs And Tomato Sauce

Ana commented: “Made this recipe today and I think these are the best meatball’s that I have ever made. I already shared this recipe with my mom. My husband is also a big fan of the sauce. Thanks for the recipe!”

4. Pasta Pomodoro Sauce

Carol commented: “Just read this recipe and will be trying it for Wednesday Supper. Sounds delicious.”

5. Spaghetti Alla Carbonara Recipe

Nicole commented: “This is the ultimate spaghetti carbonara! I love pasta, this recipe is going to be perfection. It is a dish that is required at dinner table at least once a week in my house. I can’t wait to try it, thanks for sharing :).”

6. The Cheesiest Spinach And Cheese Lasagna

Rachel commented: “I just made this for a girls night in. I had been looking for a go-to vegetarian-friendly lasagna recipe and this one delivered. I love that it uses jarred sauce since my homemade version never tastes as good. I softened the noodles in hot water before placing in the pan to avoid any problems with them not getting fully cooked. I made the day before. I highly recommend, especially because it’s not difficult to make.”

7. Cheesy Chicken And Broccoli Whole Wheat Pasta

M commented: “I’m gonna try this today. I’m a college student on campus for the summer, so this should be a fun meal for dinner this week!”

8. Meyer Lemon Fettuccine

Bridget commented: “This pasta is calling my NAME!!! I really can’t think of anything I’d like better at this very moment…not even a cupcake.”

9. Shrimp Scampi Pasta

Megan commented: “I just wanted to comment since I’ve made this recipe like 5 times and I love it so much! I use thin spaghetti instead of angel hair and I add the zest of the lemon in with the juice. I usually undercook the pasta and finish it in the sauce. Everyone loves this awesome recipe!”

10. Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni

Marcy commented: “I was looking for something that the whole family would like, including out two picky boys aged 8 & 12, and this recipe hit the mark! I already had all these ingredients on hand so it was pretty easy to throw together. It was really yummy! We our definitely going to add this our rotation! Yummy!”

11. Blackened Seafood Pasta

Adela commented: “Omg, this is absolutely wonderful. I wanted to make it for dinner but couldn’t wait. If you love spicy, this is perfect. If you want your significant other to fall in love all over again, definitely serve this. Delicious!!!!!!!”

12. The Best Homemade Mac And Cheese

Kay commented: “Just wanted to tell you I made this for a large group having Christmas dinner that I went to today. I used chipotle Gouda and the Havarti. People RAVED about it. I had no less than 10 people searching me out to see if I was the one who made it and to tell me how good it was. And I didn’t even get one bite! Making it again for a NYE party. Thanks for the great recipe.”

13. Carbonara Pasta With Charred Brussels Sprouts

Matt commented: “This is an awesome recipe! Have cooked it 3 times in the past 2 weeks. It’s the height of brussels sprout season over here in Australia right now so it wont be the last we cook it this season. Thank you!”

14. Sausage And Marsala Pappardelle Pasta

Beth commented: “Ahhhmazing!! I’ve made this twice now and we can’t get enough. My husband “thinks” he doesn’t like cream in anything so whenever I’m using it in a recipe I try to hide it. Well, per usual, he came snooping around and spotted the cream on the counter. He groaned “you’re not putting cream in it are you?” I just smiled and told him not to worry. He took one bite and was hooked. This is soooo good! Thank you!”

15. Gnocchi With Pomodoro Sauce

Ana commented: “The dish turned out so well! This was the first time I have ever made a tomato-based sauce from scratch. Infusing the olive oil with the herbs from the outset was pretty cool. Thank you for the recipe! It’s definitely a keeper.”

16. Crab Spaghetti With Lemon Gremolata

Court commented: “Made this a few times since I found the recipe over the past year and it’s amazing every time! We use the gremolata on our salad now too, it’s very tasty! Gonna try it tonight with some lobster tails I got on sale at WF, I’m sure it’ll be delicious again but can’t wait for dungeness crab season to fully arrive for the holidays!”

17. Harvest Squash And Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Rachel commented: “I made this for dinner with friends. I was concerned that it was going to taste flat and one dimensional. I was wrong. I made it the night before so it was ready to go into the oven when I got home. I swapped out the zucchini for 8 oz of fresh spinach. I also left out the nutmeg as I find it overpowering. I would say the mozz is necessary. Definitely not light but great as a fall dinner.”

18. One-Pot Mexican Shrimp With Orzo And Zucchini

Jennifer commented: “Made this tonight and it’s delicious! Filing in the permanent recipe binder. I barely deviated from the original recipe…only variations were that I didn’t measure the shallots and cilantro so there may have been a bit more in my version. The cinnamon seemed strange at first but it becomes a “mystery ingredient” at the end; you can tell there’s something interesting there but you can’t quite figure out what it is.”

19. Linguine With Broccolini And Walnut Pesto

Kelly-Jo commented: “Made this last night for myself and fussy hubby, we both loved it! Thanks for the recipe, will be making it again for sure.”

20. Creamy Chicken Pesto Penne With Broccoli

Ana commented: “Love this combination of two classic sauce staples. Everything turned out well and I like your idea of mixing in the flour via shaking versus trying to chase down the flour clumps in the pan. Thanks for the recipe! It’s another keeper.”

21. Buffalo Chicken Fettuccine

Jennie commented: “I made this gloriously cheesy alfredo the other night and fell in love with its flavor. It’s slightly spicy, extra creamy, and easy to make. Thanks for such a great recipe, Heidi!”

22. Baked Sausage And Cheese Rigatoni

Ruth commented: “I love this recipe and have made it many times for my family. It has been my go to recipe for taking meals to families that just brought home a newborn. Add a nice a salad and garlic bread…perfect!”

23. Penne Pasta With Cauliflower And Pancetta

Laura commented: “Cauliflower and Parm cheese is like batman and robin, like PB & Jelly, like Snoopy and Charlie, like Tom Brady and his ego. I mean, it’s the best. I’m loving your roasted brownish cauliflower, that is the way to go!!! I’m like excited to make this and it’s been a looooog time since I’ve been hyped about making dinner. You rock!!!”

24. Lobster Mac And Cheese

Amanda commented: “I made this tonight and it was divine. I traveled to Boston last month and had some lobster mac and cheese that was really tasty, and I’ve been craving it ever since. This was even better! They don’t sell fontina here (at least in the part of New Zealand where I live) so I used gouda and it turned out great. The kids ate it and my husband had thirds. Success! Thanks for the great recipe.”

25. Vegetable Lasagna With Butternut Squash And Shiitake Mushrooms

Angie commented: “The butternut squash lasagna recipe is amazing! My husband loved it.”

26. Easy Lemon Orzo Faux Risotto

Mitzie commented: “Wonderful recipe. Add 2 cups diced cooked chicken and you have a one pot meal.”

27. Creamy Roasted Red Pepper And Chicken Sausage Pasta

Robin commented: “This creamy roasted red pepper and chicken sausage pasta is the food of champions! Dying to eat this! Thanks for posting it Heidi!”

28. Lighter Penne Alla Vodka Recipe

Erin commented: “LOVE penne alla vodka, but the heavy factor felt like such a commitment. What a wonderful way to lighten it up!”

29. Turkey Bolognese Lasagna Toss

Robin commented: “Great recipe. I added some turkey sausage for extra heft. Didn’t even simmer it for that long, maybe 20-30 mins. Delicious Sunday Supper!! Thanks Heidi!”

30. Linguine And Zucchini Noodles With Shrimp

Danielle commented: “Made this tonight for dinner, it was a big hit. It had everything my pasta and shrimp loving family craves. Made it as written, and got to use my spirolizer for the first time ever. What a neat gadget!”

31. One-Pot Skinny Pasta Primavera

Zoe commented: “Wow! I’ve never cooked a Primavera like this before. It was amazing and is now a firm favourite amongst my friends, so thank you.”

32. Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups

Sharon commented: “Delicious and so easy! I’m making it for the second time tonight. That makes my family quite happy!”

33. Shrimp Pasta With Roasted Red Peppers And Artichokes

Dana commented: “Absolutely delicious! I’m not much of a measurer when it comes to recipes so I’m sure my ratios may have been a bit different, but this was simply amazing.” 

34. Easy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo (Instant Pot Or Stove Top)

Karen commented: “I made it work and hubby liked it. That’s saying a lot, lol. Will make again. By the way…only 4th meal in IP, so pretty good, I’d say.”

35. Linguine Con Vongole (Linguine With Clam Sauce)

Karen commented: “I made this Clam linguini for a crowd and it was a hit. So easy and yet so satisfying. I did use a can of baby clams and fewer fresh clams and added fresh basil. We will do this dish again.”

More Dinner Recipe Ideas to Make Now

• 50 Favorite Mediterranean Diet Recipes
• 28 Days of Lighter Pasta Recipes
• 28 Healthy Slow Cooker Soups & Stews
• 31 Days of Comfort Food Favorites
• 30 Pasta Salad Recipes to Make All Summer Long

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