Ingredients Pasta + Noodles 25 Fast Pasta Recipes to Make ASAP By Food & Wine Editors Updated on November 10, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: © John Kernick What's better than a steaming bowl of pasta at the end of a demanding day? One that makes it to the table in less time than delivery! This is our collection of pasta dishes that come together in a snap. If patience is in short supply but your pantry is stocked with a short list of key ingredients, these are the recipes to reach for. From classic comforts like Stovetop Mac and Cheese to more elegant numbers like Pappardelle with Red Wine and Meat Ragù, we've got just the recipe to please. 01 of 25 Linguine with Red Clam Sauce Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners Pasta tossed with plenty of chopped clams, garlic, and tomato sauce is an iconic Italian-American dish. Here, a few simple touches enhance that homestyle taste: A dose of anchovies boost the savory taste of the clams; herby vermouth stands in for dry white wine (although you could use either); and a touch of butter tossed in at the end unites the pasta and sauce in a truly magical way. Get the Recipe 02 of 25 Pasta Shells with Peas and Ham © Ngoc Minh Ngo Country ham — rubbed with salt and sugar, smoked for weeks, then hung to cure for at least six months — is quintessentially Southern. Because it's so salty, it's ideal as an accent in dishes like this homey pasta. Get the Recipe 03 of 25 Cavatelli with Roasted Broccoli Rabe and Harissa © Con Poulos Broccoli rabe rarely makes it into the oven; most cooks sauté or braise it instead. But roasting brings out its sweetness even more. Cookbook author Michael Natkin uses this smart technique for a fast pasta dish with cavatelli, smoked paprika, and the Tunisian chile paste harissa. Get the Recipe 04 of 25 Farfalle a la Vodka © Stephanie Meyer This amped-up tomato sauce gets a kick from vodka and a rich, smoky flavor from bacon. The kids will love it, and yes, the alcohol boils off. We sometimes take this a step further and put out a grater and three or four hard cheeses for folks to choose from: a pecorino, an aged goat Gouda, a Parm, or another salty, aged piece of magic to adorn their pasta. Get the Recipe 05 of 25 Linguine with Onion, Bacon, and Parmesan © Ben Dearnley The browned onions lend a slight sweetness to this dish. If you prefer not to have that caramelized flavor, just soften the onions for five minutes without browning them, or try the variation using leeks. Get the Recipe 06 of 25 Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe, Bacon, and Breadcrumbs © Susan Spungen For a pleasant change of pace, we toss crisp, golden breadcrumbs with the pasta instead of the usual grated cheese. If you don't have orecchiette, replace them with shells, bow ties, rotelle, or fusilli. Get the Recipe 07 of 25 Fusilli with Summer Tomato Sauce William Meppem For this light, uncooked sauce, you must have perfectly ripe tomatoes. Be sure they're at room temperature, too, not cold. In fact, tomatoes shouldn't be refrigerated at all; chilling permanently reduces their flavor. Get the Recipe 08 of 25 Cavatappi with Chorizo and Black Beans © Chas Plummer. Food styling by Alison Attenborough. The full, earthy Tex-Mex flavors of chorizo, black beans, and chili powder blend perfectly, if somewhat unexpectedly, with corkscrew-shaped macaroni. Get the Recipe 09 of 25 Penne with Asparagus, Sage, and Peas © Tina Rupp For a simple spring dish, chef Cindy Pawlcyn folds penne with asparagus and sweet English peas, then adds a little cream for richness. Get the Recipe 10 of 25 Pasta Bolognese © Susan Spungen We find this sauce, which is traditionally simmered for a long time, tastes just as good when cooked for less than half an hour. Now you won't have to consign Bolognese sauce to the lazy Sunday afternoon of cooking that never comes. Get the Recipe 11 of 25 Spaghetti with Parsley Almond Pesto © Karen Mordechai Parsley, rather than the traditional basil, makes this pesto a year-round staple. Because the taste of almonds is more delicate than that of the usual pine nuts, we've chopped rather than ground them. Their flavor really comes through when you bite into a nutty chunk. Get the Recipe 12 of 25 Cheese Tortellini with Walnut Pesto Christina Holmes Here's one of the quickest pesto sauces you'll come across. It's a perfect match for cheese tortellini, but you can use other tortellini such as mushroom or meat instead. The pesto is also great with just about any plain pasta. Get the Recipe 13 of 25 All'Amatriciana with Extra Umami © Christina Holmes Anchovies please! Top Chef finalist Sarah Grueneberg makes her amatriciana sauce with anchovies, so it's extra savory. Get the Recipe 14 of 25 Pasta Shells with Shrimp and Garlicky Breadcrumbs © Raymond Hom Parmesan and a lemon anchovy dressing coat shells, shrimp, and curly endive for a pasta salad that's second cousin to a shrimp Caesar. Instead of big croutons, sautéed breadcrumbs make a crisp topping. Get the Recipe 15 of 25 Orecchiette with Sausage and Chicory © Lucy Schaeffer Chef Michael White uses dandelion greens to give his slightly spicy sausage pasta a bitter edge, but chicory or escarole makes a great stand-in. Get the Recipe 16 of 25 Pappardelle with Red Wine and Meat Ragù © David Loftus This spectacular pasta dish combines pappardelle with a meaty ragù made from red wine, ground beef and turkey, and dried porcini mushrooms. It's table-ready in just 30 minutes. Get the Recipe 17 of 25 Spaghetti with Anchovy Carbonara © TINA RUPP Chef Chris Cosentino adds briny flavor to his pasta with cured tuna heart, which he shaves on right before serving. This recipe calls for anchovies rather than the tuna heart Cosentino uses. Egg yolks form a silky sauce. Get the Recipe 18 of 25 Ziti with Portobello Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, and Goat Cheese © HANNAH QUEEN Meaty mushrooms are enhanced by sweet caramelized onions and just enough tangy melted goat cheese in this delicious year-round pasta. Get the Recipe 19 of 25 Orecchiette with Broccoli and Tomatoes © Christina Holmes Balsamic vinegar adds a hint of sweetness to this savory sauce. If the slight sweet-and-sour effect isn't to your taste, either omit the vinegar completely or use wine vinegar instead. It'll be different but no less delicious. Get the Recipe 20 of 25 Three-Pepper Cacio e Pepe Victor Protasio A trio of peppercorns gives this pasta a subtle, floral heat. If you like, spice it up by swapping the Szechuan pepper with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Light-bodied, lemony Italian Frascati pairs wonderfully here. Get the Recipe 21 of 25 Summery Fettuccine Alfredo This extra-light Alfredo sauce for pasta gets its silkiness from fresh ricotta and grated pecorino cheese. Get the Recipe 22 of 25 Pasta with Guanciale, Radicchio, and Ricotta © John Kernick To make this rich pasta, chef Nancy Silverton sautés guanciale (cured pork jowl) and then cooks the radicchio and red onions in the rendered fat. She likes to use a little-known pasta called calamarata — which looks like thick squid rings — to catch the sauce, but any wide, tubular pasta is great. Get the Recipe 23 of 25 Spaghettoni with Butter and Brewer's Yeast Photo by Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox Italian chef Ricardo Camanini built an award-winning reputation on this incredibly delicious spaghettoni recipe topped with butter and a surprising ingredient: brewer's yeast. It has such simple, luscious, and funky umami appeal that legendary French chef Alain Ducasse declared it the best dish ever. Get the Recipe 24 of 25 Pasta with Sausage, Basil, and Mustard © Greg DuPree In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best. In matching spicy sausage with a creamy mustard sauce and fragrant basil, British cookbook author Nigel Slater created a quick pasta supper with warm, mildly spicy flavors. It's perfect for a cool fall or winter evening. Get the Recipe 25 of 25 Stovetop Mac and Cheese © Fredrika Stjärne We could wax poetic about mac and cheese forever. This version is especially easy, since it doesn’t require a roux or long stint in the oven. Oh, and it involves *four* cheeses: Gruyère, cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Fontina. Yes, please. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit