Cooking

55 Healthy Pasta Recipes Full of Vegetables, Protein, and Flavor

A little pasta won't kill you. It might even make you stronger.
Kale pesto pasta
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio

Pasta is a truly beautiful thing that no one should be denied. And, contrary to popular belief, pasta and good health are not mutually exclusive. These 55 recipes prove it. We're talking about protein-rich, veg-heavy, pastas and noodles that actually taste good. (How much butter and cheese you top them with is totally your call.)

  • Pantry Pasta With Vegan Cream Sauce recipe
    Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    1/55

    Pantry Pasta With Vegan Cream Sauce

    Many vegan cream sauces rely on blended nuts or steamed cauliflower, but this sauce is made of beans and pasta water alone—no soaking or blending necessary. It’s important that the beans are adequately hydrated: Once you start mashing, make sure there’s plenty of pasta cooking liquid in the pot and don’t let it evaporate.

    View Recipe
  • This image may contain Food Dish Meal Plant Pasta Noodle Platter Spaghetti Cutlery Fork and Lunch
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Sue Li
    2/55

    Peanutty Noodles with Tempeh Crumbles

    Tempeh skeptics, this recipe will make a convert of you.

    View Recipe
  • Image may contain Food and Plant
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio
    5/55

    Kale Pesto With Whole Wheat Pasta

    This kale pesto inspired us to keep spreading the word that there is still no better or more delicious way to eat your greens.

    View Recipe
  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Seasoning Sesame and Pasta
    Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich 
    6/55

    Cauliflower Bolognese

    No, this isn’t some kind of joke, and you don’t have to be a vegetarian to love what’s going on here.

    View Recipe
  • This image may contain Spaghetti Food Pasta Meal and Dish
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    7/55

    Summer Bolognese

    Think of this weeknight-friendly pasta recipe as a lighter take on the classic Italian ragù that features cherry tomatoes, a red chile for some heat, and tons of fresh basil.

    View Recipe
  • A brightly colored noodle salad with sliced purple cabbage red radishes watercress cucumbers yellow beans and carrots.
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    8/55

    Salad Ramen

    This is our idea of what a cold noodle salad dish should be.

    View Recipe
  • Spaghetti with NoCook Puttanesca
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk
    11/55

    Spaghetti With No-Cook Puttanesca

    A bright, summertime pasta sauce packed with in-season tomatoes and briny olives.

    View Recipe
  • Fusilli With Battuto di Erbe pasta recipe
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime
    12/55

    Fusilli With Battuto di Erbe

    Battuto is 1) A chopped herb sauce that tastes like spring 2) Fun to say. Make it!

    View Recipe
  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Plant Produce Vegetable and Bowl
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Heather Greene
    13/55

    Brothy Meatballs with Peas, Fennel, and Tiny Pasta

    This dish is a perfect choice for those blustery but bright early spring days: It's comforting from the simple-but-flavorful broth and bright from the crunchy fresh topping.

    View Recipe
  • Two bowls of pasta with asparagus basil Parmesan and lemon.
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime
    14/55

    Lemony Asparagus Pasta

    With lots of olive oil and parm, this asparagus pasta recipe comes from L.A.’s Evan Funke.

    View Recipe
  • Image may contain Dish Food Meal Bowl Tortellini Pasta Stew Curry and Soup Bowl
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton
    15/55

    Brothy Pasta With Chickpeas

    The healthyish comfort food recipe you won't be able to get enough of.

    View Recipe
  • This image may contain Food Dish Meal Plant Platter Lunch Salad and Vegetable
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Chris Morocco, prop styling by Emily Eisen
    16/55

    Weeknight Steak and Rice Noodle Salad

    This salad recipe hits all the flavors we crave in a weeknight dinner: a hit of spice from the chiles, heartiness from the beef, crispy crunch from fresh veg, and even a bit of sweetness from the honey. We highly endorse cooking off extra rice noodles to keep on hand for low-maintenance stir-fries and soups for later in the week.

    View Recipe
  • Image may contain Dish Food Meal Bowl and Home Decor
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Andy Baraghani
    17/55

    Cold Udon with Grapefruit Ponzu

    Cold noodles are the ideal canvas for jammy roasted tomatoes in this light summer dish.

    View Recipe
  • Image may contain Dish Food Meal Noodle and Pasta
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio
    18/55

    Bright and Spicy Shrimp Noodle Salad

    A punchy fish sauce vinaigrette works as a marinade and as a dressing for glass noodles and handfuls of basil and cucumber.

    View Recipe
  • miso pesto ramen noodles
    Photo by Alex Lau
    23/55

    Ramen Noodles With Miso Pesto

    Think of paccheri as the big brother to rigatoni that will catch and be draped in so much saucy goodness. Yes, seafood cooks quickly, but sometimes it’s worth it to spend some time building layers of flavor into a sauce as you would with a big pot of ragù.

    View Recipe
  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Animal Seafood Sea Life Lobster and Plant
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Andy Baraghani, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    24/55

    Paccheri With Shellfish, Squid, and Tomatoes

    Think of paccheri as the big brother to rigatoni that will catch and be draped in so much saucy goodness.

    View Recipe
  • Image may contain Dish Food Meal Noodle Pasta Spaghetti and Bowl
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Amy Wilson
    31/55

    Coconut Rice Noodles with Ginger and Turmeric

    This is a weeknight pantry curry that comes together in the time it takes to boil water for the rice noodles. Fast!

    View Recipe
  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Bowl Animal Seafood Sea Life Lobster and Plant
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Emily Eisen
    32/55

    Rice Noodles with Cashew Sauce and Crunchy Veg

    This recipe is inspired by Gado-gado, a colorful and crunchy Indonesian salad, made with a wide array of raw and cooked vegetables (and sometimes noodles). The dressing is usually peanut-based, but we used cashews. Feel free to try another tender nut such as pistachios or pecans instead.

    View Recipe
  • Image may contain Food Meal Dish Plant and Vegetable
    Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    51/55

    Fridge-Dive Pesto Pasta

    This pesto pasta recipe is the solution for any leftover hardy green, lettuce, or herb you don’t know what to do with. Cleaning out your fridge has never been so rewarding!

    View Recipe
  • Image may contain Cutlery Fork Food Dish Meal Animal Seafood Sea Life and Shrimp
    Alex Lau
    52/55

    Spicy Pasta with Shrimp and Tomatoes

    For a hearty vegetarian version of this pasta recipe, use squash, mushrooms, or eggplants in place of shrimp.

    View Recipe
Explore Bon AppétitPastaHealthyishDinnerVegetable