Quick Weeknight Pasta Dinners
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This is a collection of easy weeknight pasta dinners that are perfect for busy families. All of these pasta dinner recipes have quick preparation and take 35 minutes or less to make.
Are struggling with finding time to cook due to busy schedule of you or your family? Dinners don’t have to be complicated or take hours to cook. With these quick weeknight pasta dinners, you don’t have to be standing hours in front of the stove cooking.
These are all easy dinners for busy families.
What I love about noodles and all sorts of pasta is the fact that you can turn them into super quick pasta dinners which is always a plus when you are stuck for time.
If you are looking for easy weeknight pasta dinners that feed a large family, try Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake. Ready on your table in 35 minutes, this easy dinner feeds a family of six. Plus, it reheats well so why not make a large batch for fridge (or freezer) and take them out when you don’t have time to cook?
If you have instant pot electric pressure cooker then why not try Instant Pot Pasta with Spinach and Mushrooms? 25 minutes from start to finish! Give it a go and you’ll soon put this on your list of easy weeknight pasta dinners.
Creamy Mushroom & Sun-Dried Tomato Spaghetti is one of my favorite weeknight dinner recipes with mushrooms. If you think your kids would not like it, just omit sun-dried tomatoes but let me tell you, they bring this easy pasta dinner to a whole new level. Ready on your table in 30 minutes!
One Pot Sausage Pasta is a flavorful dinner that only takes 30 minutes to make. Rigatoni is cooked with bacon and sausages in delicious red pesto sauce. All in one pot! This is one of the best weeknight pasta recipes and everyone loves it.
Have you tried Spicy Shrimp Spaghetti? 20 minutes is all it takes to enjoy this easy pasta dinner.
Cheesy Tortellini Pasta with Bacon and Broccoli is surely an easy and quick way to provide some food for you and your family on a busy weeknight. 5 ingredients is all you need to make this meal!
Instant Pot Creamy Tortellini Soup is without a doubt on my list of the best weeknight pasta recipes. It’s warm, filling and it can be eaten as a main (as we mostly do). Ready in little over half an hour.
Spicy Spaghetti Aglio Olio & Pepperoncino is a quick recipe using only simple ingredients: garlic, olive oil, Parmesan and chili pepper. Now this might not be one of the kid friendly dinners (due to the chili pepper used but if you are cooking for yourself only or making a different meal for kids, then I highly recommend this simple dish.). Tip: The more the cheese and olive oil the tastier the dish!
Bonus recipe:
10-Minute Baked Bean Pasta Sauce is a filling tomato-based sauce for any kind of noodles.
Tips – How to save time cooking pasta
- The times may vary for you. This will depend on the brand or shape of pasta you use (I’ve seen spaghetti on the market that only took 3 minutes to cook) so you can reduce the cooking time by buying noodles that are quick to cook.
- Always use a lid to cover a pot of water. It takes less time for the water to reach its boiling point.
- Some recipes are completely fine using leftover pasta (like bakes/casseroles) so why not make a large batch one day and use the leftovers for pasta bake the following day.