Pasta recipes are the best because of how versatile they are. You can do a lot with pasta and it’s still really affordable. Our favorite recipes include a variety of different ways to use pasta. And, not a single one of them involves dumping a jar of spaghetti sauce in and calling it spaghetti (although, there’s nothing wrong with that either).
What’s your favorite recipe to make with noodles? Let us know in the comments below!
Simple pasta recipes
One of the simplest recipes you can make with pasta is a basic butter parmesan recipe. All you need is a little parmesan (grated or shredded), some noodles and butter. You can use any kind of noodle. After they’re done cooking, add some butter and cheese to taste! You can also change this up to make different pasta recipes by adding other flavors into it!
Macaroni and cheese is a staple in many households with kids. While it may seem cheaper to buy the boxed stuff, it’s actually less expensive to do it yourself. This recipe makes more servings than boxed macaroni and cheese; it also results in creamier mac and cheese with less processed junk!
At around a dollar a box, it’s hard not to beat rotini pasta. Cook your pasta until it’s just about soft. Meanwhile, slice cherry tomatoes and some garlic. Add them to a pan with olive oil. Then, add some fresh or frozen spinach. When the spinach is wilted down, add your al dente pasta to the pan and mix to coat.
Creamy bacon pasta is perfect for family dinners and weeknights. It’s a quick recipe that comes together easily. The bacon and cream combination make it so filling.
There is nothing sad about sad boy pasta. The simple flavor of the silky sauce mixed with the slight crunch of the peas gives you a dish that is comforting and filling. It’s also one of the cheapest recipes we’ve found!
Meat and pasta recipes
Goulash is a traditional dish you can enjoy any time. This goulash recipe is easy, affordable and doesn’t lack in flavor.
Craving a cheeseburger, but don’t want to fire up the grill? The cheeseburger pasta skillet is your answer. It uses affordable ground beef and pasta along with other ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Don’t be afraid to add other burger toppings to this skillet dish!
by The Cookie Rookie
Chicken parmesan is a great meal, but it can be kind of expensive to make sometimes. Try this chicken parmesan pasta skillet instead. You use less chicken than you would in traditional chicken parm, but it’s more filling because of the pasta!
This meat and cheese pasta recipe from Delish provides you with the staples you need to feel full. Skillet meals are a great way to cook because they often only call for a few affordable ingredients, they include healthy options and they’re a breeze to clean up!
Pasta recipes that only taste expensive
We cannot get enough of the Olive Garden alfredo recipe! It tastes just like our favorite Italian chain but doesn’t come with the outrageous dinner bill. The sauce is easy to make and tastes great on fettuccine noodles, chicken, breadsticks or anything really.
If a name like pizzoccheri has you feeling overwhelmed, don’t be. The pasta, potato and cabbage dish is easy to make and only sounds difficult. Everything in the dish is well-known for being an affordable staple and the cabbage gives you a few fresh vegetables you need to jazz things up!
With Betty Crocker’s lemon pepper chicken pasta, dinner is easy! The sophisticated flavors of lemon and pepper round out the smooth texture of the pasta. The best part? You can do it all in one pot!
Garlic sausage and pasta in a bechamel sauce sounds like something you might get at a gourmet restaurant, but you can make it right at home. The relatively easy recipe comes together nicely and you’ll love the affordable ingredients.
Casserole dishes with pasta
For the cheese chicken pasta, you can use leftover chicken breasts or you can cook them before making it. While the recipe calls for penne noodles, you can use ziti, rotini or even macaroni if that’s what you’ve got on hand!
Cream cheese is the spaghetti ingredient you never knew you needed! When you use spaghetti noodles, sauce and cream cheese, you get a creamy dish you can put right in a pan and bake with parmesan on top. Add some fresh tomatoes, peppers or onions to totally change the flavor of this dish.
If you’re looking for Cajun cooking, the smoked sausage cajun alfredo can’t be beat. If you don’t have the smoked sausage the recipe calls for, consider any other kind you have on hand!
Pasta for breakfast? Yes!
Grab a box of no-boil lasagna noodles to make breakfast lasagna. Start out with the noodles on the bottom, add your favorite breakfast ingredients like eggs, sausage or bacon and layer the way you would any other lasagna. You can make this any way you want with any flavors! Don’t forget to add cheese. Hollandaise sauce is a great way to add flavor and some liquid to the dish!
Breakfast spaghetti is a great way to mix things up. If you have spaghetti noodles, a little flavor and eggs, you should have no problem making this breakfast dish.
There are many ways to make breakfast pasta. Try this tasty breakfast pasta dish that includes vegetables and eggs along with pasta and other breakfast staples.
Dessert-style pasta
Fruit, ricotta and pasta make up the fruit lasagna dish. During different times of the year, try subbing out some of the fruits in the recipe for ones that are in season and more affordable.
Strawberry pasta may sound like a wild invention your kids came up with, but it’s actually really tasty! Top with ice cream if you’re really craving something sweet.
Ok, we know, noodle pudding isn’t really a dessert, but it is sweet and one of our favorite pasta recipes. Noodle pudding has been a favorite Jewish dish for years and for good reason. The recipe uses egg noodles which are super affordable!
Want to make your own pasta? We’ve got you covered!
Even though pasta is already super inexpensive, making your own pasta is even cheaper! Many people find making their own pasta rewarding and very easy. Here are two of our favorite DIY pasta recipes!
Gnocchi is actually a relatively expensive pasta to purchase in the store. You usually don’t get much for what you pay for this potato-based pasta, either. Make your own for less money and get a lot more out of it!
Noodles are one of the easiest things you can make. If you have some flour, salt, milk and an egg, you can make homemade noodles.
