These 15 penne pasta recipes will become weeknight dinner staples
Cook your way through these fan favorites made in a pot, skillet, or Instant Pot!
These easy penne pasta recipes prove that shortened noodles can be very tasty. Whether you’re craving a cheesy penne pasta casserole, a semi-homemade penne pasta salad, or a restaurant-style penne pasta recipe, we’ve got a penne creation that’s sure to please everyone.
If you hate washing dishes too, your search for the best penne pasta recipe ends here. This is a one pot pasta recipe! Bursting with flavor from your spice cabinet and loaded with protein and vitamins via ground turkey, tomato sauce and fresh spinach, penne cooks in the same Dutch oven you use to brown meat.
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We love a “project recipe” that takes our cooking skills to the next level and teaches us something new, but let’s be real. Some days (okay, most days of the week) we only have the time and energy to mix up a reliable staple without a new ingredient list. This Bacon-Topped Baked Pasta is the penne pasta recipe we crave when we want comfort food without the extra shopping. Beyond penne (or rigatoni), you only need 5 ingredients
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Caramelized onions lend such a luxurious and naturally sweet element to a dish. Here we show you how to make a big batch in your pressure cooker to infuse even more flavor into hearty roast beef and mushroom pasta. Another secret that makes this one of our best pasta recipes of all time? Instead of boiling the penne in water, the vegetables, meat and pasta all cook together in a flavorful beef broth.
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On days when you can’t decide whether to take your menu to Mexico or Italy, we suggest diving into a dish that offers the best of both worlds. Bonus: This serves 8 from a single dish. Tomatoes and noodles bring a touch of Mediterranean energy, while taco seasoning-dusted chicken, black beans and corn provide a Tex-Mex twist.
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Whether you start with rigatoni, ziti, cavatappi, or stick with our theme and enjoy it as a penne pasta recipe, you’ll want this pesto pasta in your repertoire all summer and winter. year. When your herb garden is exploding, choose tender leaves to add to our easy homemade pesto recipe. Other times of the year, feel free to opt for store-bought pesto. Either way, the bright, punchy sauce helps coat the noodles inside and out.
Test kitchen tip: Roasting the radicchio until it’s lightly charred around the edges might seem like a mistake, but trust the process. This strategy helps tame the natural bitterness of the vegetable and ushers in a pleasant smoky quality.
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Refresh your pasta salad routine with this super summery and healthy penne pasta recipe. Besides being mayo-free, this 30-minute meal is also a solid choice if you’re looking for a balanced meal that isn’t too high in carbs. With fresh spinach, chicken, mushrooms, basil, tomatoes, and a brilliant balsamic dressing in the mix, no one will even notice there’s only 1 ½ ounces of pasta per person. After trying it at home, a BHG reader judges it, “delicious! I didn’t miss the mayonnaise at all.
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Refresh leftovers or roast chicken in a perfect potluck recipe that will have everyone asking for your secrets. We’re going to spill them now: purchased basil pesto and roasted red pepper elevate the penne pasta recipe. Those store-bought shortcuts and boiling broccoli with the noodles for the last 2 minutes of cooking means this healthy pasta dinner can be on the table in 20 minutes.
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We’re always tempted to order the shrimp or seafood pasta entrees on restaurant menus, but often find ourselves avoiding it due to fear of the mess of long, sauce-splattered noodles. There’s a lot less risk to your wardrobe — and a lot less impact to your bank account — when you make this quick shrimp recipe with penne at home. Although it only takes 25 minutes, it tastes surprisingly similar to a gourmet dish thanks to a touch of white wine and cream in the roasted red pepper sauce.
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It will be our little secret that this company-worthy casserole involves virtually no prep. Simply boil the penne, toss them with gravy and store-bought meatballs, and give them a head start in the oven. While cooking, stir together the ricotta and Parmesan to add a dollop on top and melt into the easy meatball dinner for its last 15 minutes. Just add a salad and you have a feast worthy of a Sunday dinner.
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Think of this Buffalo Chicken Remix as a pick-and-choose adventure game. Opt for penne or farfalle, then load up on protein with chicken breasts or plant-based “chicken” strips. Either way, these ingredients will shine in the spicy cream sauce that’s loaded with Alfredo sauce, blue cheese, and hot cayenne pepper sauce. It’s amazing as is, but even better served with carrots, celery and extra blue cheese to complete the pub experience.
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Slow cooker roast is probably our favorite home fragrance. But why stop at beef alone? To recreate this hearty dinner idea, you’ll cook the spice-rubbed roast and aromatic vegetables over low, slow heat in a pool of tomato-basil pasta sauce. Come dinnertime, shred the tender, crispy meat and pile it with the veggies on a bed of penne pasta for a crowd-pleasing roast riff you’ll come back to again and again.
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Although a healthy chicken breast and penne pasta recipe might not sound so exciting, we’ll leave BHG home cooks who have tried it speak for us. They describe the Mediterranean-style meal as a “nice light meal” and “perhaps the most beautiful dish I’ve ever cooked in 53 years of marriage.” It’s sautéed tomatoes with garlic, fresh spinach and the punchy honey mustard vinaigrette.
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Combine a classic tuna casserole, a comfort dish made just like grandma, with a side of vegetables for a complete one-pot meal. Penne and new potatoes check the carb box, asparagus and olives sneak into produce, and canned tuna acts as an affordable source of protein. It all turns into a dinner that’s creamy on the inside, crispy on the outside (hat tip with breadcrumbs!) and beautifully jazzed up with lemon zest.
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Make the most of your time in the kitchen by multitasking. While the penne pasta cooks on the stovetop, roast the ingredients for the Mediterranean-inspired “sauce” on a baking sheet in the oven. By doubling up, this 7-ingredient dinner can be on the table in just 25 minutes. No one will ever guess this was a quick and easy dinner recipe; verdant thyme and oregano and briny olives and marinated artichokes give this taste a refined, restaurant-quality meal.
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Here’s a pasta dinner that will help keep the peace! No one will need to fight for the biggest spoon when you serve a casserole of penne pasta in single-serve ramekins. You won’t want to sacrifice a single bite of this cozy dinner; mustard-infused cheese sauce swims in and around each noodle, spinach leaf and cube of leftover ham.
Test kitchen tip: This same basic penne pasta recipe would also be brilliant with diced chicken or drained and rinsed white beans if ham isn’t your jam.
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