30 Vegetable Pasta Recipes to Make for Dinner

March 27, 2020
Photo: Kelsey Hansen; Prop Styling: Sarah-Elizabeth Cleveland; Food Styling: Deb Wise
Can't decide what to make for dinner tonight? Whether you're in the mood for something light and fresh (like this Pea Pappardelle Pasta or this Pasta with Green Peas and Almond Gremolata) or full-on comfort food (this Roasted Butternut Squash-and-Spinach Lasagna fits the bill), we've got you covered with our favorite vegetable pasta recipes.   
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Summer Veggie Pasta

Photo: Jason Varney; Styling: Claire Spollen
Summer Veggie Pasta Recipe

No-cook veggies make this easy dish a weeknight favorite. Peeling zucchini and squash into ribbons makes them fun to eat for kids.

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Cheesy Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Victoria Cox
Cheesy Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower Recipe
This Cheesy Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower is comfort food in a bowl. It's also a great way to use up that bag of cauliflower before it goes bad.

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Three-Bean Pasta Salad

Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Toni Brogan
Three-Bean Pasta Salad Recipe

We combined two potluck classics—pasta salad and three-bean salad—to make one tasty new side dish. Blanched celery is the unexpected star in this side dish; it has a tender-crisp texture and bright green color. Swap out the canned beans for your favorite cooked field peas.

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Creamy Four-Cheese Pasta With Spinach

Jennifer Causey
Creamy Four-Cheese Pasta With Spinach Recipe

Pasta night perfection. Four cheeses team up with gluten-free pasta to deliver a wholesome indulgence. 

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Warm Pasta Salad with Tomatoes and Eggplant

Victor Protasio
Warm Pasta Salad with Tomatoes and Eggplant Recipe
Congratulations—You just found your new go-to pasta salad! This veggie-packed beauty is nice and filling, thanks to meaty eggplant. If you can’t find burrata, simply tear 6 ounces of fresh mozzarella into bite-size pieces. Heading to a potluck?

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Endive Salad with Pasta and Radicchio

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen
Endive Salad with Pasta and Radicchio Recipe
Here's an easy way to make use of endive—that torpedo-like cousin of escarole and chicory. The parmesan and pasta both even out the bitter flavors of the leafy veggies here, giving a complex burst of flavor that isn't overwhelming. Serve it with your favorite kind of chicken thighs.
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Pasta with Green Peas and Almond Gremolata

Jennifer Causey
Pasta with Green Peas and Almond Gremolata Recipe

Chickpea pasta can be a nice change from whole wheat—it has a mild flavor and higher fiber content. The gremolata topping (a chopped herb condiment made with lemon zest and parsley) truly makes the dish. It’s crunchy, herby, fragrant, and citrusy. Serve the pasta immediately for the best texture and taste.

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Pasta with Shaved Asparagus and Pea Pesto

Jennifer Causey
Pasta with Shaved Asparagus and Pea Pesto Recipe
Thick asparagus stalks are best for this dish because they’re easier to shave. The trick to this recipe? We cook the pasta in as little water as possible so the resulting pasta water becomes viscous with starch. Adding a little of the water to the sauce makes it extra creamy and helps it cling to the noodles.

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Creamy Kale and Pasta Bake

Hector Manuel Sanchez
Creamy Kale and Pasta Bake Recipe

Even self-professed kale haters will fall in love with this cheesy baked pasta with crispy breadcrumbs. Round out the meal with a simple side of roasted carrots.

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Seared Radicchio and Red Cabbage Pasta with Pickled Raisins

Jennifer Causey
Seared Radicchio and Red Cabbage Pasta with Pickled Raisins Recipe
Gorgeous magenta hues make this dish a beauty—as does the flavor, a sophisticated blend of slightly bitter notes from radicchio, tart-sweet flavor from pickled raisins, and nuttiness from cheese and walnuts. We call for chickpea-based pasta, which we love for its mild flavor.

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Mostly Mushroom Pasta

Jennifer Causey
Mostly Mushroom Pasta Recipe
If you’re a mushroom-lover, this is the pasta dish for you. It’s chock-full of three kinds of fresh mushrooms (2 pounds of them) that contribute their own flavors and textures—meaty, hearty portobello; super savory, tender shiitake; and earthy, chewy cremini.

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Garden Greens Pasta

Jennifer Causey
Garden Greens Pasta Recipe
A little bit of pancetta pulls more than its weight in this recipe. Kale and spinach cook in the rendered drippings for rich, salty flavor throughout the dish, and the crisped pork bits make a delicious finishing touch for the pasta. Roasted almonds offer hearty crunch that complements the silky greens and tender pasta.
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Spring Vegetable Pasta Alfredo

Jennifer Causey
Spring Vegetable Pasta Alfredo Recipe
Our seasonal pasta toss is made luscious and rich with a lighter take on alfredo sauce. Instead of using heavy cream, we employ flour-thickened 2% milk enriched with cream cheese. We also switch from traditional Parmesan to more robust pecorino Romano, which allows us to use less cheese while still achieving the same flavor impact.

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Pasta with Charred Broccoli, Feta, and Lemon

Jennifer Causey
Pasta with Charred Broccoli, Feta, and Lemon Recipe

Author Colu Henry loves taking vegetables to the edge by roasting until they are deeply browned and caramelized, giving them great texture and amping up their flavor. The feta cheese emulsifies in the pasta water, creating a velvety sauce for the pasta.

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Caesar Pasta Salad

Photo: Andrew McCaul; Styling: Lynn Miller
Caesar Pasta Salad Recipe

Make a creamy Caesar salad dressing and add to cooked fusilli pasta, along with tomatoes and Parmesan cheese, for a flavorful side dish pasta salad.

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One-Pot Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes

Jennifer Causey
One-Pot Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes Recipe

This pasta dinner is a game changer: You use just enough liquid to cook the pasta--no colander needed. Recipe adapted from our sister publication Southern Living. Cost for 4: $8.43

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Pasta with Chickpea Sauce

Caitlin Bensel
Pasta with Chickpea Sauce Recipe
Onions, carrots, and garlic cook in olive oil until buttery soft, then get blended with chickpeas and water to form a deeply savory puree that coats pasta beautifully. It’s a satisfying dish that just happens to be vegan. Try to let the blender run for a minute or two; the smoother the sauce, the better the dish.

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Pasta with Eggplant, Burrata, and Mint

Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Cat Steele
Pasta with Eggplant, Burrata, and Mint Recipe
All you need is a glass of chilled white wine and a bowl of this pasta to transport yourself to Italy on a weeknight. This dish might look simple but it’s surprisingly decadent, thanks to luscious burrata cheese, which is fresh mozzarella filled with cream.
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Pasta with Beans, Blistered Tomatoes, and Breadcrumbs

Photographer: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lauren Smith Ford; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos
Pasta with Beans, Blistered Tomatoes, and Breadcrumbs Recipe
Great olive oil is key to making this simple pasta. We recommend California Olive Ranch brand olive oil, which is reasonably priced and found at most grocery stores. The tomatoes are charred on a sheet pan in the oven; shake the pan halfway through the cooking process to loosen any tomatoes that might be stuck to the pan as they cook and caramelize

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Yellow Squash Pasta with Caramelized Lemon

Yellow Squash Pasta with Caramelized Lemon Recipe

Look for lemons with thinner skins (smoother, shinier skins are often thinner); you'll get a nice citrus hit with each bite, but charring the slices softens the flavor so it's not overpowering. Serve right after tossing everything together, as the squash will start to wilt.

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Pea Pappardelle Pasta

Pea Pappardelle Pasta Recipe

Sugar snaps, green peas, and pea shoots enrich this dish with sweet flavor and a bounty of pleasing textures. Look for pea shoots at your local farmers market or Asian market, or substitute watercress.

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Pasta Primavera with Mushrooms, Carrots, and Asparagus

Pasta Primavera with Mushrooms, Carrots, and Asparagus Recipe

Dinner just got easier and more delicious with this quick, flavorful pasta primavera. Whole-wheat noodles add complexity to the overall flavor of the dish, while tender vegetables add texture and color. Top with fresh basil and proscuitto before serving for a resaurant-worthy presentation that takes just 20 minutes. 

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Eggplant Lasagna

Photo: Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Adam Hickman
Eggplant Lasagna Recipe
Our eggplant lasagna is a delicious, crowd-pleasing dinner that results from swapping traditional lasagna noodles for slabs of fresh eggplant. Besides being a great gluten-free and low-carb alternative to classic lasagna, this comforting casserole is the perfect way to put a load of summer eggplant to good use.

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Roasted Butternut Squash-and-Spinach Lasagna

Time Inc. Video Studios
Roasted Butternut Squash-and-Spinach Lasagna Recipe

It's the perfect fall dinner. 

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Spaghetti with Vegetarian “Meat” Sauce 

Sara Tane
Spaghetti with Vegetarian “Meat” Sauce  Recipe
There’s nothing more comforting than a warm bowl of meaty, cheesy pasta. This version is just as meaty as its beef-based counterpart, but uses vegetarian ground “beef” in place of the animal protein. We mixed in fresh spinach for added veggie goodness, and portobello mushrooms for a next-level umami flavor and meaty texture.

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Instant Pot Vegan Baked Ziti

Meredith Food Studios 
Instant Pot Vegan Baked Ziti Recipe
This easy “baked” ziti meal will appeal to vegans and meat eaters alike. The flavors are all well combined, and the dish is comforting and hearty. The mushrooms and eggplant add meatiness and texture, while the pasta starch creates a creaminess that recreates what you’d find in a pasta with cheese.

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Creamy White Bean Fettuccine Alfredo

Photo: Caroline Arcangeli; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Anna Theoktisto
Creamy White Bean Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe
Pureed with flavorful aromatics, white beans shine as a dairy-free hero, delivering creamy, rich body to our vegan Alfredo sauce. Whether you follow a vegan diet, you’ve cut out dairy, or you’re simply looking for a delicious (low-fat) new pasta dish to add into your rotation, you’re going to love this flavorful white bean Alfredo.
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Roasted Vegetable Baked Ziti

Photo: Kelsey Hansen; Prop Styling: Sarah-Elizabeth Cleveland; Food Styling: Deb Wise
Roasted Vegetable Baked Ziti Recipe
This hearty pasta bake is the ideal dish of cheesy comfort food for cooler weather. We love the depth of caramelized flavor roasted veggies bring to this dish; plus, and you can swap in your favorite vegetables to make your own perfect pan of baked ziti.
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