Busy weeknights and pasta dinners go together like, well… spaghetti and meatballs. Fixing up a pot of noodles is just the easiest, fastest way to take a family from hangry to happy. But if the thought of another night of the old pasta + marinara + Parmesan cheese formula bores you to tears, you need to check out our exciting Italian, Asian, and even Tex Mex inspired ideas for quick pasta dinners. These recipes take no time and hardly any effort — honestly, the hardest part is waiting for the water to boil.

1. The Easiest Shrimp Alfredo Pasta

   You won’t find an easier way to put together a dinner that’s quick enough for weeknights but special enough for date nights: plump shrimp, sautéed mushrooms and bell peppers, and fettuccine pasta tossed in a creamy, garlicky white wine Alfredo sauce from scratch.

2. One-Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta

   He wants Tex-Mex. She wants Italian. They both want to eat dinner in the next 40 minutes and to only have to clean up one pot at the end of the night. Here’s the solution!

3. No-Cook Tomato Sauce

   We didn’t think dinner could get any simpler than spaghetti with tomato sauce — until we discovered how to make pasta sauce without any actual cooking involved.

4. Creamy Tomato Basil Tortellini

   It only takes 25 minutes to get this satisfying vegetarian pasta dish on the table. Dress up your favorite cheese tortellini with spinach, tomato, and cream sauce.

5. Creamy Spinach Artichoke Ravioli Bake

   This easy 7-ingredient dish takes spinach artichoke dip and upgrades it from appetizer to the creamy centerpiece of the meal.

6. Avocado Pesto Chicken Pasta

   This healthy pesto makeover gets its creaminess from avocados instead of oil. It’s so quick to put together, you’ll have the homemade pesto ready before your pasta water has even boiled.

7. Creamy Chicken Bacon Pasta

   Penne pasta, perfectly-seasoned chicken, spinach and tomatoes, and a creamy garlic cheese sauce to carry the flavors of each component to every single part of the dish. And oh yeah… bacon!

8. Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti

   Chicken Alfredo and baked ziti are already two of your favorite dinners. Well, we had a big fat Italian wedding and married the two dishes into one bubbling casserole — that’s ready in less than an hour.

9. Roasted Asparagus Mushroom Carbonara

   We always get excited when asparagus season comes around, but then find ourselves at a loss for how to actually cook asparagus. So we kicked up an easy carbonara recipe with the earthy flavors of roasted asparagus and mushrooms.

10. Cacio e Pepe

    “Cacio e pepe” — it sounds so fancy! Calling a dish by it’s Italian name has that effect. But this insanely quick and easy pasta dish is really just an adult version of every kid’s favorite noodles with butter and Parmesan.

11. Baked Spaghetti & Meatballs

    Don’t believe that you can really improve spaghetti and meatballs? Bake it in a cas iron skillet with cheese on top, and then get back to us.

12. Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells

    Want to spice up the typical stuffed-shell pasta dish? Fill them with buffalo chicken for a spicy, cheesy dish that’s as perfect for Sunday dinner as it is for the Sunday game-time.

13. Skillet Lasagna

    We love lasagna, but building all of those layers individually can be a time-suck. This recipe shows you a quick way to make one-pot lasagna on the stovetop.

14. One-Pot Chicken Alfredo

    Here’s another quick one-pot weeknight dinner that will put smiles on your family’s faces. It comes together quickly and you only have one pot to clean afterwards

15. Italian Drunken Pasta

    You’ve probably tried drunken noodles at a Thai restaurant before.This delicious dinner gives an Italian twist to the dish and  absolutely coats pappardelle noodles in a just-spicy-enough white wine sauce with tomatoes, basil, and freshly grated Parmesan.

16. One-Pan Lemon Garlic Chicken Pasta

    On busy weeknights we love these one-pan pasta dishes that require almost no prep. Just chop up the chicken and snap peas and throw them in a pan with lemon and penne pasta for a divine dish that’s ready in less than a half hour.

17. Lasagna Soup

    It tastes just like lasagna, but takes less time to cook! This hearty soup with sausage and fusilli corkscrew pasta is perfect for a cold night when you’re craving pasta but need something even more belly-warming.

18. One Pot Spicy Noodles

    This Thai-inspired one-pot noodle recipe is a vegetarian’s (and lazy chef’s) paradise. Carrot, zucchini, and mushrooms are tossed with fried egg, peanuts, and cilantro, and doused with a spicy ginger-Sriracha sauce.

19. Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese

    Thought you only had time to enjoy your mac ‘n’ cheese when you’re so rushed that you have to turn to that popular blue box? This slow cooker mac n’ cheese recipe is so hands-off, it’ll change your mind.