15 Best Pasta Dinners for Two

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

This Southern-inspired recipe is packed with fresh veggies, skillet-cooked chicken, and flavorful seasonings. If you're short on time, home cook VBHOKIE uses a rotisserie chicken and tosses the meat in with the pasta, peppers, mushrooms, and green onions.

One Pan Orecchiette Pasta

"This delicious orecchiette pasta recipe only has a handful of ingredients, is very cheap to make, and most importantly: only uses one pan or pot for the entire procedure," cheers Chef John, who posted the recipe, of his creation which marries tasty spicy Italian sausage, pasta, arugula, and cheese.

• 15 Easy One-Pot Pasta Dinners

Quick Gnocchi

A restaurant-quality dish made simple, this recipe relies on instant mashed potato flakes and yields fluffy, pillowy gnocchi. To make it a meal, add some sautéed veggies or ground meat and top with your favorite creamy or tomatoey sauce.

• More Gnocchi Recipes

Fire Roasted Tomato and Feta Pasta with Shrimp

Canned fire roasted tomatoes add a touch of smokiness to this meal, which combines savory feta cheese and garlic with juicy shrimp and slurpable linguine. "This dish was spectacular," says home cook bri. "It tasted like I was eating at a very nice Italian restaurant, but it was so simple to make. This is something I will make again and again!"

• 9 Best Quick-and-Easy Shrimp and Pasta Recipes

Chef John's Spaghetti alla Carbonara

A simple egg and cheese mixture turns this recipe from a bland bowl of spaghetti into an impressive and delicious Italian supper. Chef John recommends seeking out pancetta (cured pork belly) or guanciale (cured pork cheeks) to give his Spaghetti alla Carbonara an authentic taste.

• Chef John's 19 Best Italian Recipes

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Angel Hair

Roasting fresh cherry tomatoes makes them sweet, soft, and delicious, especially when tossed with delicate angel hair pasta, olive oil, fresh basil, and Parmesan cheese. A perfect light spring supper, you could also add grilled shrimp or chicken for additional protein.

• What Is the Difference Between Parmesan and Parmigiano Reggiano?

Pan Seared Lemon Tilapia with Parmesan Pasta

"This recipe was great and easier than I expected," says home cook SHFURR. The light, citrusy tilapia pairs perfectly with the cheesy macaroni. To make it even creamier, choose shredded Parmesan cheese instead of grated.

• 22 Best Recipes to Make with a Freezer Full of Tilapia

Gnocchi with Sage-Butter Sauce

Premade potato gnocchi can take a weeknight supper from basic to wow-worthy, and this recipe for decadent sage-butter sauce is the perfect accompaniment. It's also easy to build on: Home cook jayne adds zucchini, while home cook Sabina cooks chicken tenders in the sauce and tosses them with the gnocchi.

Broken Spaghetti Risotto

In this unique dish, pieces of spaghetti are toasted in hot oil before being cooked risotto-style, with broth added a little at a time until you're left with an indulgently creamy and tender meal. "You can find a product called Fideo in the Latin section [of the grocery store], which is small packages of broken spaghetti, if you don't want the mess of breaking spaghetti into pieces," suggests home cook JoyceK.

Pasta Con Broccoli

This supper comes together in just 20 minutes and only requires one pot: After cooking the pasta until just al dente, you return it to the pot, add cream, tomato sauce, and fresh veggies, and simmer until everything is perfectly cooked. So simple and so scrumptious!

Asian Carryout Noodles

"Try this next time you have a hankering for takeout food," says home cook Christine L., who shared the dish. "Soon, people may be knocking at your door for the recipe." The best part: These noodles get their Asian flair from easy-to-find ingredients like sesame oil, soy sauce and hoisin sauce.

• 14 Asian-Style Noodle Bowls to Warm You Up

Artichokes in a Garlic and Olive Oil Sauce

With only six ingredients — pasta, canned artichokes, olive oil, butter, garlic, and basil — this recipe is light and crave-worthy. Home cook UAGAL tosses in other ingredients she has on hand, like mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and cooked chicken, and tops the dish with pine nuts before serving.

Bucatini All'Amatriciana

This classic, slightly spicy Italian sauce is traditionally flavored with guanciale, cured pork cheek, and Pecorino cheese. "Great flavors and easy to make!" cheers home cook Howard. "I love the serving size for two it was perfect. This is a recipe that delivers a great range of flavors in such a short amount of time."

Elegant Penne with Asparagus and Shrimp

Shrimp is a light, lean protein that works great with a white wine-based pasta sauce, while asparagus adds fiber, bulk, and flavor. Plus, it's easy to build on, with home cooks adding diced tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, capers, and artichoke hearts.

Shrimp Lo Mein with Broccoli

"We love Chinese at my house but takeout is always so greasy — problem solved with this sauce!" raves home cook HMG. Regular spaghetti is transformed, with help from just-cooked vegetables, eggs, shrimp, and a delectable sauce featuring soy sauce, oyster sauce, and brown sugar.

• See even more recipes for two people.