Healthy Recipes Mealtimes Dinner 18 20-Minute Pasta Dinners for Winter By Sadie Schulte Sadie Schulte Sadie Schulte is EatingWell's editorial apprentice. She attends Iowa State University, where she is a senior studying advertising and fashion communications. During her time at college, she has worked as a reporter at the campus newspaper, the Iowa State Daily, where she writes about culture and lifestyle. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on February 15, 2024 Close Photo: Jamie Vespa These quick and easy pasta dinners go from stovetop to table in just 20 minutes. Plus, these comforting dishes highlight seasonal ingredients like earthy mushrooms, hearty kale and vibrant spinach. Recipes like our Spinach & Artichoke Dip Pasta with Chicken and our Tofu, Mushroom & Bok Choy Soba Noodle Bowls not only bring the taste of the season to your plate but also provide the perfect solution for busy nights. 01 of 17 Spaghetti with Creamy Lemon-Spinach Sauce: The Tastiest Way to Eat More Vegetables Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle Give your veggie servings a boost with this easy spaghetti with spinach sauce recipe. Loosely inspired by the flavors of classic pesto, this vibrant pasta packs in plenty of spinach and basil with a garnish of nutty walnuts and savory Parmesan cheese. Serve with a drizzle of good olive oil and a green salad on the side. View Recipe 02 of 17 15-Minute Spicy Ramen Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster This spicy ramen will be on your table faster than the time it takes to get food delivered. We ditch the spice packet that comes with the soup mix in favor of our own savory broth that strikes the perfect balance between salty and sweet while keeping sodium in check. Crushed red pepper brings on the heat. Swap out the chicken broth for vegetable broth to make this quick spicy ramen vegetarian. If you have a little extra time, top it with cooked chicken, pork or tofu and a soft-boiled egg for a boost of protein. View Recipe 03 of 17 Creamy Green Pea Pesto Pasta PHOTOGRAPHER: JEN CAUSEY, FOOD STYLIST: MELISSA GRAY, PROP STYLIST: SHELL ROYSTER Mint and peas are a natural pairing in this creamy pasta dish. It works well as a vegetarian main dish or can be divided into smaller portions as a side dish. If you have pine nuts on hand, sprinkle them over the top for a little crunch. If you like your pesto to be totally smooth, process it a little longer, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Parmesan cheese grated fresh with a microplane grater will give you the best results. View Recipe 04 of 17 One-Pot Chicken & Broccoli Pasta Jennifer Causey This creamy chicken and broccoli pasta makes for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. We opt for small shells in this recipe, but any other small pasta, like orecchiette, would work, too. View Recipe 05 of 17 Spinach & Artichoke Dip Pasta with Chicken Jamie Vespa If you love warm spinach and artichoke dip, then you'll love that we turned this classic dip into a creamy pasta dish with chicken. And here's what's almost as good as the flavor of this comforting dish: the fact that this healthy dinner takes just 20 minutes to prepare. View Recipe 06 of 17 5-Ingredient Peanutty Soba Noodles PHOTOGRAPHER: JEN CAUSEY, FOOD STYLIST: MELISSA GRAY, PROP STYLIST: SHELL ROYSTER Nutty soba noodles team up with peanut butter in this easy vegetarian pasta dish. Chile-garlic sauce adds nice heat, while lime juice and zest brighten the flavor. Enjoy this quick dish warm, or serve it chilled for an easy lunch. We like the firm texture and flavor of soba noodles, but regular whole-wheat pasta will work well too. For a boost of protein, serve with shredded chicken or shrimp or tofu. View Recipe 07 of 17 Spaghetti & Spinach with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce Photography / Kelsey Hansen, Styling / Greg Luna To achieve flavor quickly in this sun-dried tomato pasta recipe, we use the oil from sun-dried tomatoes to create the base of the cream sauce. Meanwhile, the residual heat of the pasta wilts the spinach in record time for a fast weeknight dinner. View Recipe 08 of 17 Tofu, Mushroom & Bok Choy Soba Noodle Bowls Greg DuPree Soba noodles are made with whole-grain buckwheat, upping the fiber count in these brothy bowls and adding nutty flavor. Thick and chewy udon noodles make a good alternative. View Recipe 09 of 17 Roasted Red Pepper, Spinach & Feta Penne Pasta In this quick 20-minute dinner recipe, tender penne pasta is combined with garlic, roasted red peppers and spinach and topped with crumbled feta cheese for a fast and easy Mediterranean-inspired meal. This recipe was graciously shared by EatingWell reader Dottie Carpenter, who states, "Recipes are no good if they're not shared!" View Recipe 10 of 17 Green Goddess Ricotta Pasta Photographer: Sara Baurley, Food Stylist: Julia Levy, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle We take the flavors of green goddess dressing—lemon, anchovy and herbs—and use them as the base for a colorful, bright pasta sauce. We like a mix of basil, chives, parsley and tarragon, but you can mix herbs depending on what you have on hand. Adding ricotta to the sauce creates a luscious, velvety texture, while the acidity from the lemon juice balances out the creaminess. We use shells, which hold the pools of sauce well, but you could easily swap in another noodle if you prefer. To amp up the veggies even more, try adding asparagus or peas to the dish. View Recipe 11 of 17 20-Minute Pasta al Limone Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Gabriel Greco This tart and lucious pasta al limone recipe is ready in 20 minutes. The origins of this recipe lie in Sorrento, Italy, famous for its large lemons with medium-thick, bumpy rind packed with aromatic oil and pulp with a balanced sugar content that verges on sweet. They are the lemons that brought the world limoncello and this zesty pasta dish. Luckily, even if you don’t have Sorrento lemons, you can still make it. For the best results, look for lemons that are large and ripe but firm, with a rough rind. These thicker-skinned lemons usually produce more zest. View Recipe 12 of 17 Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta This creamy Cajun shrimp pasta dish packs plenty of veggies to lighten up the creamy sauce. The Cajun spice gives this dish a little kick, and the sour cream adds a nice tang to the cream sauce that coats the shrimp. View Recipe 13 of 17 3-Ingredient Tortellini with Sausage & Kale Photo by: Carolyn Hodges, M.S., RDN Precooked chicken sausage is a handy shortcut ingredient because it heats up quickly and adds lots of flavor without a lot of fuss. A roasted garlic variety pairs perfectly with cheese tortellini and sautéed leafy greens. View Recipe 14 of 17 Creamy Arugula Pesto Pasta with Peas & Tomatoes Charlotte & Johnny Autry Here, we jazz up store-bought pesto with peppery arugula and tangy goat cheese to make a creamy pasta sauce. View Recipe 15 of 17 Fettuccine with Shiitake Mushrooms & Basil EatingWell reader Sidra Goldman of Washington, D.C., contributed this fresh-tasting whole-wheat pasta recipe. Lemon zest accents the basil beautifully. View Recipe 16 of 17 Scallop Scampi with Pasta Victor Protasio This scallop scampi with pasta is a delicious twist on the classic shrimp dish. Swap in whole-wheat angel hair pasta for a boost of fiber. View Recipe 17 of 17 Chicken Carbonara Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Joseph Wanek This chicken carbonara has the classic all-yolk sauce, which yields a rich and creamy texture. For some carbonara recipes the residual heat and starch from the pasta are enough to thicken the yolks, but we prefer the double-boiler method to gently cook the egg yolks to a custard-like texture without the risk of overcooking them to a scramble. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit