Pasta and Noodle Recipes & Ideas

If Hamilton taught us anything about flipping the script on American stories, it’s that you have to play to your strengths to be successful and you shouldn’t hesitate to remix the familiar. So if Thanksgiving is a performance of America’s most-hallowed dinner, make this year the remix. Ditch the turkey (or keep it — that’s cool too), have a meal of only sides, break out that Tofurky, and most definitely serve lasagna. Yep, lasagna.

In my house, every season is mac and cheese season. Stovetop mac and cheese feeds our craving in the spring and summer, tossed with fresh peas or ripe tomatoes. Come fall and winter, baked mac and cheese reigns supreme. Mac and cheese can be a quick weeknight dinner or a hearty side dish for holidays and get-togethers. So whether you need a single serving or you are baking a big ol’ casserole, here are five things everyone needs to know about mac and cheese.

With pasta in our weeknight rotation, we’ve come to learn quite a few things in order to achieve dinner perfection. So in order to make the comforting bowl as delicious as possible, there are a few smart rules to follow and savvy tips to employ. But more than anything, it’s what you don’t do that makes a huge difference. Here’s our list of no-nos. Pasta needs room to breathe.

A box of instant macaroni and cheese carries a reputation of ease and comfort. While fancy isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind, it can be if you know how to dress it up. The fastest, fanciest upgrade is something you may already have in your pantry at this very moment. I am talking about good ol’ garlicky, herby pesto.

The addition of bacon in macaroni and cheese is one loved by many. Here’s a way to take that idea to the next level. Cubes of cooked pancetta give off a similarly meaty, salty flavor, but have a fast-and-fancy flair to them that make the whole thing feel upgraded. Pancetta is Italian unsmoked bacon. It has ample fatty richness to send your mac and cheese over the edge — and that’s a great thing.

The powdered cheese that comes in your box of instant mac and cheese does a very good job of coating the noodles in salty and savory flavor. You could leave well enough alone, but a bit of over-indulgence never hurt anyone. So adding more cheese — be it cheddar, soft goat, or even blue — to the pot is more than OK. It’s one of the easiest ways to build in an extra layer of flavor to your standard box of instant mac and cheese.

For those nights when you find yourself torn between a bowl of macaroni and cheese and a bowl of spaghetti, know that you can have both. Go right ahead and swirl some of your favorite marinara sauce into your mac and cheese for your sauciest bowl yet! Marinara sauce, with its garlic- and tomato-forward flavor, can completely transform your macaroni and cheese. It’s a simple addition that takes no effort — especially if you reach for the half-full jar stashed in the fridge.

Some nights or, let’s be honest, most weeknights, a complicated dinner isn’t an option. But that doesn’t mean you have to order takeout. The beauty of a jar of pasta sauce is that it really is an instant meal (so long as you have a box of pasta handy, of course). A simple dinner of spaghetti tossed in jarred marinara is something I grew up on when nights were busy and from-scratch sauce wasn’t an option.

Keep a bag of frozen tortellini tucked away in your freezer and you can rest easy knowing that a quick meal is always at the ready. This series on fast tortellini dinners will show you how to transform frozen tortellini into dinner using pantry staples and a few surprising techniques. Pasta sauce is just the beginning!

Keep a bag of frozen tortellini tucked away in your freezer and you can rest easy knowing that a quick meal is always at the ready. This series on fast tortellini dinners will show you how to transform frozen tortellini into dinner using pantry staples and a few surprising techniques. Pasta sauce is just the beginning! Put down the knife and fork — here’s your excuse to have a little fun and eat with your hands.

Keep a bag of frozen tortellini tucked away in your freezer and you can rest easy knowing that a quick meal is always at the ready. This series on fast tortellini dinners will show you how to transform frozen tortellini into dinner using pantry staples and a few surprising techniques. Pasta sauce is just the beginning! You already know that frozen tortellini makes for a hassle-free dinner, but what if you could make it even simpler?

Keep a bag of frozen tortellini tucked away in your freezer and you can rest easy knowing that a quick meal is always at the ready. This series on fast tortellini dinners will show you how to transform frozen tortellini into dinner using pantry staples and a few surprising techniques. Pasta sauce is just the beginning! Family get-together coming up this weekend and you need to bring something everyone will eat? Pasta salad. Need a fast, but fresh dinner between work and soccer practice?

Let’s face it — a simple salad just isn’t enough for dinner. (People tend to complain.) So when you’re looking to turn those last bits of spinach, half a cucumber, and a few chopped radishes into a dinner-ready meal, here’s a trick: Reach for that bag of frozen tortellini. This brilliant shortcut transforms the last bits of the crisper drawer into a dinner you can make for one or scale up to feed four or more. Here’s how!

Keep a bag of frozen tortellini tucked away in your freezer and you can rest easy knowing that a quick meal is always at the ready. This series on fast tortellini dinners will show you how to transform frozen tortellini into dinner using pantry staples and a few surprising techniques. Pasta sauce is just the beginning! Frozen tortellini deserves to be dressed up and made to feel a bit fancy sometimes.

Keep a bag of frozen tortellini tucked away in your freezer and you can rest easy knowing that a quick meal is always at the ready. This series on fast tortellini dinners will show you how to transform frozen tortellini into dinner using pantry staples and a few surprising techniques. Pasta sauce is just the beginning! Dinner tonight should most definitely be this almost-instant pasta soup.

It’s hard to beat the level of comfort provided by a pasta dish that’s coated in a heavy cream sauce, like fettuccine Alfredo or penne alla vodka. That kind of dish is really more of a once-in-a-while meal for some, or not an option for others depending on their dietary choices, but that doesn’t mean creamy pasta dishes can’t be on the weekly roster.

When I was in high school, my father discovered whole-wheat pasta and jumped on the bandwagon with full force, like so many other health-conscious people at the time. Our pantry was stripped of all traditional pasta, and boxes of brown stuff took its place. It clearly wasn’t the high point of my pasta-eating days. I ate the stuff hesitantly; it tasted dense and sad to me more often than not.

Lightning-fast mac and cheese already exists: It’s the stuff you’d microwave in your college dorm and quickly inhale in between classes. But if you want real-deal mac and cheese, with a healthier slant than that scary bright-orange stuff, you have to take the time to make it on the stovetop. That is, unless, you have an Instant Pot. Honestly, I think this recipe completely justifies the purchase of an Instant Pot. Mac and cheese in four minutes? With only five ingredients?

Of all the comfort foods that exist in this world, it’s hard to beat macaroni and cheese. What’s not to love about noodles bathed in a rich, creamy, cheese sauce? And yet gummy versions or dry, chalky versions are out there, and I firmly believe life is too short to endure them. There are a handful of secrets to avoid these travesties, leaving you to enjoy all the decadent goodness you so desire. Here are five things to always remember when you make mac and cheese.

Making Martha Stewart’s mac and cheese instead of the mac and cheese I grew up eating at Thanksgiving isn’t something I’d do if I was home for the holidays. My brothers would sulk, my mom would be forlorn about it, and I’m not quite sure my dad would notice. But for my first Friendsgiving, there was only one recipe that would do if I wanted to make a mark. I had to bring Martha Stewart’s mac and cheese.