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Here are the 25+ Healthy Pasta Based Recipes.

Pasta is perhaps the most versatile option when it comes to preparing a fast meal. This dish is characterized by simplicity and the speed of preparation, and it is a favorite meal choice for most children. However, pasta has been one of the most stigmatized foods because of its low essential nutritional composition. Of course, not all pasta recipes give a healthy meal but that largely depends on how it is prepared. There are hundreds of ways to get and prepare healthy meal ideas from pasta. The idea is to join pasta with some ingredients that provide satiety and add good nutrients, for example, fruits, vegetables, fish, cheese, eggs, legumes, or lean meats. Here we present you 25+ delicious and healthy pasta-based recipes that you can prepare for your family, guests, or on any occasion. 

Pasta and vegetables: meals for one or more meal ideas for large groups

Vegetables are great friends of pasta dishes, allowing you to achieve a satisfying, balanced and very nutritious meal. Vegetables in their part add fiber, water content, and some minerals to your diet while carbohydrates are offered by the pasta. Although carbohydrates have a high-calorie value which may give more energy than needed, the vegetables will help the pasta to digest slower.

1. Red Lentil Pasta with Cherry Tomato Saute

This is a pulse-based flour pasta with much more protein and fiber than can be found in cereal pasta. This allows you to achieve an ideal dish for a meatless Monday and suitable for celiac. This dish is a perfect healthy college meal idea for a college student. Also, if you are considering preparing a healthy meal plan on a budget you can go for this. This recipe is an ideal cheap dinner idea.

2. Two-color Pasta and Carrot Noodles

This is a mixture of real pasta with Zoodles. Zoodle is usually referred to as zucchini spaghetti but you can prepare many different pasta dishes using other vegetables, so spaghetti made from other vegetables are also referred to as zoodles.  Unlike the traditional pasta, zoodles are a much lighter option because a large amount of hydrates derived from refined flours in pasta are replaced with vegetables that contain water, fiber, and a variety of nutrients that make it a healthier alternative. 

Likewise, zoodles are easy to prepare. Unlike pasta that can take a relatively long time to prepare if you make them by yourselves, zoodles only require cutting and cooking the chosen vegetables for a few minutes. Zoodles may not necessarily need cooking if you would like to eat it raw. Thus, they are healthy, light, tasty, and a very easy option to make at home. This presents a good alternative to add vegetables to the diet differently apart from the classic salad. This preparation can be transformed into a vegan alternative without the inconvenience and can be prepared in minutes.

3. Bavette Pasta with Broccoli Pesto

This is another healthy meal idea and a way to add broccoli to the diet of those who do not prefer the vegetable, especially the little ones at home. You can prepare this by placing the broccoli pesto in a bowl and blend it with other ingredients like garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, etc. The next thing is to drain the bavette pasta using a sieve. After that is done, return it to the pot or pan and add the pesto. Stir it so it can mix together. This is a perfect healthy college meal idea suitable for breakfast. 

4. Spring Farfalle with Goat Cheese Sauce

Farfalle are pasta shaped in a butterfly or bow-tie shape and it can go with any type of sauce. This recipe gives a good combination of a lot of fiber and protein. You can of course add other seasonal vegetables to the pasta to enrich it. You can prepare this by boiling the farfalle in salted water until it is soft to chew. While you cook the pasta you can prepare other ingredients and vegetables that you want to add by mixing them together with the goat cheese sauce until it is smooth. You can then drain the cooked farfalle and mix it with the mixed sauce. 

5. Pasta with Fried Egg and Purple Cabbage Salad

This is a tasty, delicious, and super easy recipe that is pocket friendly. Because it contains cabbage you can either heat the cabbage or serve with the cooked pasta cold. This recipe can easily provide satiety as well as offers excellent quality proteins because it contains eggs. 

6. Wholegrain Macaroni with Spicy Sundried Tomato and Chia Sauce

This cheap meal idea will provide you a lot of fibers, healthy fats, and quality proteins. This wholegrain pasta-based dish is prepared solely from a macaroni made from whole grain, which makes it to have a high fiber content that is of dietary importance to those dieting. You can prepare this by sautéing all the ingredients and later add it to the cooked and drained macaroni. This recipe is one of our perfect cheap dinner ideas. 

7. Wholemeal Pasta with Vegetables:

This is ideal for a Monday without meat. Vegetables and wholemeal pasta is a healthy recipe for one or could be one of the perfect meal ideas for large groups. You can add your twist to this recipe to achieve a satisfying preparation. The process of preparation is similar to that of others. You first have to cook your pasta and drain away some water. You can then sauté onions, mushrooms, spinach, and other veggies in olive oil until it softens. Mix with sauce and add it on top of your pasta. This recipe contains high fiber content and it is ideal for the dinner. 

8. Vegetarian Vegetable Lasagna:

This is a nutrient-dense and sweetly flavored recipe that you will like. You can use all kinds of vegetables and greens (pepper, zucchini, carrot, spinach, zucchini, tomato etc.) to fill these vitamins and minerals packed pasta. All you need is to dice the ingredients and sauté in olive oil until you obtain a golden color at the edge of the ingredients. This brings about a desirable flavor. Then you will layer the prepared ingredients into the pasta and cook. Alternatively, you can use a no-boil noodle if you don’t have time to cook it. 

9. Grilled vegetables Pasta Recipe

This is one of our favorite pasta-based recipes. This recipe is very simple to prepare and it is one of the healthy college meals ideas which is also perfect for vegans. The most difficult aspect of its preparation is vegetable grilling. If you have a grill you can do the grilling at home, but if not you may need to buy it outside. Another aspect is cooking the pasta which is very easy. If you do not know how to prepare pasta, kindly check the instruction on the packaging and follow it. An important thing to take note of when preparing this is to preheat the grill before placing the vegetables to avoid them from sticking and cooking which can make it mushy. The heating will sear the vegetables and give it a good flavor as a result of the caramelization process that has taken place.

10. Pasta Au Gratin with Vegetables, Nuts, and Dried Tomatoes:

Using whole wheat pasta and leftovers of vegetables, you can prepare this healthy recipe. 

PASTA Based Recipe with SAUCE

1. Spaghetti with Cheese Cream

Spaghetti with cream cheese is a recipe for true pasta and cheese lovers. Who doesn’t like pasta or cheese? It is an easy recipe that you can prepare with a few ingredients. You can prepare this by pouring plenty of water into a large pot and apply heat. When it boils, add a good handful of salt, so that the spaghetti is afterward tasty. You need to stir the pasta occasionally while cooking, especially at the beginning of cooking so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

Once it’s soft, after about 10 minutes, drain the spaghetti from the water, but reserve a couple of ladles of the cooking broth. Prepare the cheese sauce by heating a little oil over high heat in a frying pan. Then add finely chopped garlic and let it cook until it is golden brown. Add the cream and cheese and cook for a couple of more minutes, over more moderate heat, and constantly stir with a wooden spoon. Add the spaghetti, the cooking broth, a handful of chopped parsley and stir again, letting it cook over low heat for a couple more minutes. Let the spaghetti soak in and absorb the flavor of the sauce well. Finally, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. 

Pasta based Recipe with FISH or SEAFOOD

A different and appetizing way to add fish to the diet is to add it to pasta. You can combine seafood or fishes with your pasta to enhance its flavor. If too much fish flavor irritates you or you do not like it, you can reduce the quantity that you add to your pasta. Here we bring you some healthy pasta-based meal ideas with fishes or seafood.

1. Pasta, Broccoli and Tuna Salad

This recipe is very easy and quick to prepare if you use frozen broccoli and natural tuna. This recipe adds protein and fiber to classic pasta.

2. Shrimp Pasta

This meal offers good fats, quality proteins, and complex hydrates rich in resistant starch.

3. Pasta with Tuna Sautéed in Spicy Tomato Sauce:

This is an appetizing and filling meal that can raise your metabolism due to the hot spices and the high proteins. In addition, it offers a large share of healthy fats.

4. Pasta Salad with Avocado and Salmon Cream

This recipe can be served cold or warm. This healthy meal is a way to add a good proportion of healthy fats, among which omega 3 stands out. 

5. Pappardelle with Seafood and Tomatoes

A very appetizing, elegant, and satisfying recipe. Also, rich in iron and quality proteins.

6. Spaghetti with Prawns, Chili, and Pak Choi

If you would like to take advantage of all the virtues of pak choi, you can prepare this simple, colorful, nutritious and satisfying recipe.

7. Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Feta Cheese

This is an autumnal recipe option, with good fats, a lot of fiber and calcium as well as quality proteins.

PASTA WITH MEATS IN QUALITY DISHES

If you are a true meat lover, by adding quality meats you can also achieve healthy pasta preparations like the ones shown below:

1. Pasta Margaritas with Pork Ragout, Vegetables and Mushrooms

This is a preparation that takes advantage of seasonal ingredients and that can be ideal for meat lovers.

2. Greek Inspired Wholegrain Pasta and Turkey Salad

This is an ideal choice to nourish your body with good nutrients, lean protein and plenty of fiber.

3. Mexican Chicken Pasta

With quality proteins and fiber from corn, these pasta are an original proposal that can easily quell the hunger.

4. Green Chicken Curry Lasagna

An ideal recipe to share with friends or at a long table with the whole family. It’s very satisfying and nutritious.

PASTA WITH LEGUMES AND ITS DERIVATIVES

If you want an option rich in fiber and vegetable proteins, pasta with legumes and its derivatives are a good alternative. This option is ideal for vegetarians.

1. Lentil Pasta Spirals With Paprika Tofu

The legume and tofu pasta recipe are rich in protein well as offering quality hydrates and a lot of fiber to the body.

2. Minestrone Soup

This is an ideal spoon dish for colder days that includes various legumes and vegetables in large proportions.

3. Stewed Vegetables with Beans and Pasta

An ideal vegetarian dish to add good proteins to the diet without meat, since it is a combination of legume and cereal, you will obtain a complete protein as a result of synergy between the essential amino acids in the cereals and legumes. 

4. Pasta with Matcha Sauce and Crispy Tofu

For vegans looking for good protein and lots of antioxidants, this is a good preparation that we can prepare in no time.

In conclusion, we hope that you have seen some proof that eating pasta is not synonymous with eating a badly or unbalanced diet. From all the pasta-based recipe ideas we have presented above, we hope that you find many good options that you can prepare and enjoy at home. If cooking at home is not your preference, you can search any of these meals whenever you want to make a food order online directly on our eezly app. Do you have any other pasta-based recipe ideas? Kindly drop it in the comment section below.