Best Weeknight Pasta Recipes

WEEKNIGHT CHICKEN FLORENTINE PASTA

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Cook fettuccine at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, season both sides of the chicken breasts with herbs, salt, and pepper. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken breasts until golden, 3 minutes per side. Remove chicken from skillet, set aside, and keep warm.
• Add the onion, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic to the skillet, scraping up the browned bits with a spatula. Pour in wine to deglaze and allow to reduce by half. Stir in Parmesan cheese and cream until sauce starts to thicken. If sauce seems too thick, add milk (or more cream) and stir to combine.
• Place spinach in the bottom of a colander. Carefully drain pasta into colander and 'wilt' spinach with the hot pasta water. Add pasta and spinach to the sauce in the skillet, and mix to combine. Add cooked chicken back to skillet. Cook until flavors are well combined and chicken is heated through, about 1 more minute.
• To serve, place pasta mixture in a bowl, top with a cooked chicken breast, and serve with more Parmesan cheese if desired.

WEEKNIGHT PASTA WITH BROCCOLI AND GROUND TURKEY

Steps:

• Bring 4 quarts of water to a rapid boil in a stockpot.
• In the meantime, heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey and cook, stirring frequently, until crumbled and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in onion, Italian seasoning, and pepper and cook until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, add pasta to the boiling water; return to a boil and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Add broccoli and continue cooking until pasta is tender yet firm to the bite and broccoli is just fork-tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Drain pasta and broccoli and return to the pot. Stir in the turkey mixture and pasta sauce; mix thoroughly.

WEEKNIGHT BBQ CHICKEN AND PASTA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the BBQ sauce, water, cherry tomatoes, and chicken until they come to a simmer.
• Tear open the Barilla Ready Pasta pouch and add pasta to the skillet.
• Heat for approximately one minute or until the pasta is warmed through.
• Remove the skillet from the heat, garnish with cheese, and serve.

WEEKNIGHT CHICKEN AND PASTA

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions., Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, saute onion and red pepper in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the chicken, sour cream, milk and seasonings; heat through. Drain pasta; stir into skillet. Sprinkle with cheese and chives.

WEEKNIGHT PASTA SQUIGGLES

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook and crumble sausage over medium-high heat until no longer pink, 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, coarsely chop tomatoes, reserving juices., Add tomatoes and reserved juices to sausage; stir in pasta, broth and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook, uncovered, until pasta is al dente, 15-18 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top with cheese.

WEEKNIGHT PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Return pasta to the pot; cover and keep warm.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; place pork in skillet and sprinkle with cider vinegar. Cook and stir pork until barely pink at the center, about 3 minutes. Stir zucchini, onion, and garlic into pork; cook and stir until vegetables are soft, about 7 minutes. Pour pasta sauce and reserved pasta water into pork mixture; cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.
• Place pasta in a warmed serving dish; stir cheese into sauce mixture and pour over pasta. Toss pasta with sauce and serve.

WEEKNIGHT PASTA WITH CLAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
• While pasta cooks, drain the clams and reserve 3/4C of the clam liquid.
• Melt butter over medium heat in skillet.
• Add garlic to butter and sautee 1-2 minutes- do not brown.
• Add cream and clam liquid.
• Bring to a boil, stirring often.
• Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
• Add the clams and parsely till clams are heated.
• Turn off heat and add Monterey Jack cheese and pasta and toss well.
• Serve hot and season with parmesan and fresh ground pepper if desired.

WEEKNIGHT PASTA SUPPER

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. , Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook turkey until no longer pink; drain. Remove meat; set aside and keep warm. , In the same skillet, cook mushrooms and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the tomatoes, wine, olives, seasonings and turkey. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes., Drain pasta. Stir into turkey mixture. Stir in spinach; cook 1-2 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted. Sprinkle with cheese.

WEEKNIGHT PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt; drain.
• Add remaining ingredients; mix lightly.
• Refrigerate 1 hour.

WEEKNIGHT PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook pasta as directed on package; drain.
• Add remaining ingredients; mix lightly. Cover.
• Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

WEEKNIGHT SHRIMP AND ARUGULA ROTINI WITH READY PASTA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat then add the shrimp and cook on both sides until opaque, about five minutes.
• Add the arugula and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook for one minute.
• Tear corner of Ready Pasta pouch to vent. Heat in the microwave for one minute, then combine with the shrimp and top with cheese. Serve and enjoy.

EASY WEEKNIGHT PASTA TOSS

Steps:

• Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt.
• Meanwhile, cook and stir chicken in hot oil in large skillet on medium heat 5 min. or until chicken is done. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm. Add dressing and vegetables to skillet; cook 4 to 5 min. or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.
• Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Place pasta in large bowl. Add chicken and vegetable mixture; mix lightly. Gradually stir in reserved pasta water, if needed, until pasta mixture is of desired consistency. Top with cheese.

EASY WEEKNIGHT BACON BROCCOLI PASTA.

Steps:

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the directions.While the water is boiling, heat a large skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat and add the bacon. Cook until it is browned, crispy and all the fat is rendered, then removed the bacon with a slotted spoon and set it on a paper towel to drain and excess grease.Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the pan and turn the heat up to medium. Stir in the garlic and the broccoli florets and cook, tossing occasionally, for about 5 minutes until the broccoli is bright green and slightly soft. Add a lot of fresh cracked pepper and if you'd like, a tiny pinch of salt. I find that I usually don't need the salt because the bacon grease is salty!At this time, you can toss in the cooked pasta. Toss well to combine every and keep it over low heat. If it seems too dry, you can drizzle in the remaining bacon grease or you can just drizzle some olive oil on top and toss well. Add in the parmesan shavings and crushed red pepper. Toss well. Serve it!

SPECIAL WEEKNIGHT PASTA SKILLET

Steps:

• Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt. Meanwhile, brown meat in large saucepan on medium heat. Remove from saucepan; drain.
• Add peppers, garlic and oregano to saucepan; cook and stir 3 min. or until peppers are crisp-tender. Add meat and pasta sauce; bring to boil. Remove from heat.
• Drain pasta. Add to sauce with Singles; stir. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 min. or until mozzarella is melted.