Best Pasta Recipes and Pasta Cooking Ideas

While you likely won't find this at the best Italian restaurants in America, playtime pasta is great for kids ages three to six. They can make necklaces, art and more. This recipe is courtesy of McCormick.

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Pasta Primavera

A Mind Full Mom

This pasta is tossed with crisp-tender vegetables, Grana Padano cheese, and a garlic infused sauce. Grana Padano's rich flavor and flaky texture make it the perfect choice for this dish! Recipe courtesy of A Mind Full Mom.

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BLT Pasta Salad

The Daily Meal Staff

This recipe is courtesy of The Daily Meal Staff

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Pasta with Ramp Pesto

Will Budiaman

Ramps, if you've never had them before, are wild leeks that pop up with a very limited season during the spring. They taste a bit like scallions — spicy and pungent, but with fresh herbal notes. The leaves form a deep green pesto that's got more kick than any other pesto you've probably tasted, even arugula. So, a little goes a long way then. Use with caution. Click here to see Why You Should Cook with Olive Oil.

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Simple Pasta Salad

Oswald Rivera

This recipe is a simple salad perfect for summer: just red tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, parsley, and a plain vinaigrette of olive oil and vinegar.

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Pasta Carbonara Recipe

PinkyPink

Pasta Carbonara is one of the most popular Italian recipes. Here is a simple and delicious Carbonara recipe.

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Pasta with Peas and Cheese Sauce

Anne Dolce

This recipe was inspired by an hors d'oeuvre recipe I tried a few weeks back, where the filling for lettuce wraps was a crushed pea and cheese mixture. I love the filling wrapped in lettuce, but I liked it more served tossed with pasta. I've added my own variations to it, and I like to toss in some seasonal vegetables or shredded chicken to round out the dish. Click here to see Eat Your Legumes — They're Good for You.

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Feta Summer Pasta

Anne Dolce

Perfect as a main or a side, this is a great pasta that has an easy no-cook sauce and is filled with some of summer's best produce. The fresh arugula and spinach add a nice bite at the end.

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Greek Pasta Salad

Carly Goldsmith

This is a healthy pasta salad that's filled with tons of veggies and loads of flavor. It's super easy to make this in a big batch and bring it to work for lunch for the week.

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Picnic Pasta Salad

Emily Jacobs

This pasta salad recipe is perfect for a picnic or outdoor gathering. Bring it to a large barbecue to feed and please a large crowd. Just don't tell them about the secret (but flavor-boosting) ingredient. Click here to see more picnic recipes

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Pasta With Bean Marinara

Holly Van Hare

This recipe was contributed by The Better Bean Company.This recipe is a protein-packed vegan alternative to your typical pasta with meat sauce. Skip the beef and use beans instead to kick the fiber, and the flavor, up a notch!Click here to watch the video.

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Pasta Puttanesca

Will Budiaman

I can already hear the naysayers asking, "Why isn't your sauce red?" Despite being aesthetically challenged, this pasta dish is delicious, I assure you. I used some particularly ripe black olives that ended up giving the sauce a deep, rich flavor and also gave it a forebodingly inky color that, admittedly, gave me a bit of pause at first. However, one bite and I was sold — the sauce coated the pasta perfectly and had a nice balance of flavors. Briny capers, tangy fresh tomatoes, herbaceous parsley, and a slight bitter finish from the olives — perfection. Your sauce will be redder than mine, though, if you're using different (or less ripe) olives. I used Gaeta, a popular table olive in Spain. Feel free to get creative. Oh, one more thing: I'd go easy on the salt because there's plenty already from the capers and olives. Click here to see Fast and Furious Dinner Recipes — 20 Minutes or Less.

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