Our 20 most saved pasta recipes

With so many delectable options, which recipes will you save?

Curious to see what everyone else is saving to MyRecipes—our free tool for saving and organizing your favorite recipes? Here's a peek at our readers' most-saved pasta recipes.

Pasta tends to be the go-to weeknight dinner for many of us, and the reasons are simple—it's easy to make, comes together quickly, and always hits the spot. This collection highlights the recipes that have been saved countless times, and we can see why, with dishes like Cheesy Hamburger Pasta Skillet, Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake, and Cowboy Pasta Salad. So, dive in and discover new favorites to add to your MyRecipes collection.

01 of 20

Midnight Pasta

"The brilliance of midnight pasta is how flexible it is. It's impromptu and asks for you to tweak it depending on what you have to have in your pantry." —Sheela Prakash, Recipe Developer

02 of 20

Cowboy Pasta Salad

"This salad gets its 'cowboy' name because of its bold Tex-Mex flavors and hearty serving of creamy black beans alongside the pasta. A combination of mayo spiked with store-bought barbecue sauce, spicy brown mustard, taco seasoning, and hot sauce creates a smoky, spicy flavor bomb of a dressing." —Afton Cyrus, Senior Editor

03 of 20

Spaghetti all'Assassina (Assassin's Spaghetti)

"This naturally vegan pasta really doesn't need further bells and whistles, but you can certainly add them. Freshly grated Parmesan cheese is an easy addition, but a soft cheese like a little fresh burrata is nice to help offset the heat." —Laurel Randolph, Associate Editorial Director

04 of 20

One-Pot Taco Pasta

"You don't even need to cook the pasta separately when making one-pot taco pasta. Enough liquid is added to cook the dried pasta directly in the pot, and it soaks up tons of flavor in the process. This one-pot meal makes for easy cleanup and minimal stress." —Julie & Amy Luxemberg, Recipe Developers

05 of 20

Lazy Meatball Pasta Bake

"It has all of the flavors of a lasagna with a whole lot less work. Melty pockets of three-cheese mixture and golden-brown mini meatballs top a baking dish full of saucy noodles, and the only prep you'll do is pouring, stirring, dolloping, and sprinkling." —Coco Morante, Recipe Developer

06 of 20

Pasta Carbonara

"Classic spaghetti carbonara is an indulgent yet surprisingly simple recipe. Made with pancetta (or bacon) and plenty of Parmesan cheese, our foolproof recipe takes just 30 minutes to prepare from start to finish." —Elise Bauer, Founder

07 of 20

Spaghetti alla Nerano

"If you've never pan-fried zucchini for pasta before, let this dish convert you. It softens into the pasta water, adds an earthy sweetness, and the crispy edges cling to the melty cheese. It also happens to pair perfectly with a crisp white wine and a slow summer night-my favorite combination." —Julie & Amy Luxemberg, Recipe Developers

08 of 20

One-Pan Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta

"Cooking everything together in a skillet with regular stirring, a la risotto, ensures that all the shrimp and garlic flavor stays in the final dish. I like to keep it simple with just butter, garlic, parsley, and a splash of lemon, but you can absolutely tweak it to the particular palate of the pasta lover in your house." —Lou Perseghin, Recipe Developer

09 of 20

Cheesy Hamburger Pasta Skillet

"This recipe comes from years of experience with one-pot, minimal-ingredient pastas. The base is ground beef and pasta, but it only needs a handful of other ingredients to come together: canned tomatoes, broth, cheese, and a little cream." —Meghan Splawn, Recipe Developer

10 of 20

Shrimp Pesto Pasta

"I made this recipe often for my clients as a private chef, and I was also told it was a kid favorite. All you need to make it are four key ingredients: some fresh basil pesto, thick-cut bacon, shrimp, and a box of your favorite curly pasta." —Danielle Campbell, Recipe Developer

11 of 20

Ground Beef and Penne Pasta Bake

"The ingredients—pasta, sauce, ground beef, cheese, and cottage cheese—were readily available at any grocery store and the bill was substantially lower than going to an Italian restaurant. It was also simple to make: parboil the pasta, then toss with the sauce and the cooked ground beef." —Sara Haas, Recipe Developer

12 of 20

Easy Spinach-Feta Pasta

"I love spinach pie, but I'm not always up for the effort of layering all that buttery phyllo, especially in the summer. This is a bright and savory alternative that will please the whole family, and the chilled version is exactly what you want on a hot day." —Robin Asbell, Recipe Developer

13 of 20

Creamy Crab Pasta

"While it truly is the Cadillac of pasta, it's also a snap to throw together, taking about 15 minutes start to finish. I can wear something fancy, sip a French 75 cocktail, and still get dinner on the table in no time flat." —Ivy Manning, Recipe Developer

14 of 20

Pumpkin Chicken Pasta Bake

"Despite my affinity for pumpkin pie, my ambitions for baking often exceed my available time, leaving me with a glut of canned pumpkin on hand. Puréed squash is a fantastic sauce for pasta, and using it in a pasta bake like this one offers the bonus of tons of crispy, crunchy bits from a little time under the broiler." —Lou Perseghin, Recipe Developer

15 of 20

Creamy Cavatappi

"This is one of my favorite recipes in my pasta tool belt. The ingredient list is short, it's ready from start to finish in just over 20 minutes, and it's wonderfully creamy and delicious." —Laurel Randolph, Associate Editorial Director

16 of 20

Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake

"The brilliance here really does lie in the dish's simplicity. With just four ingredients, you have a dinner that can feed a family for several days. Penne pasta provides the carbs, rotisserie chicken brings the protein, broccoli gives it a green veggie pop, and a good Alfredo sauce ups your flavor." —Joey Firoben, Recipe Developer

17 of 20

Copycat Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo

"You are 20 minutes away from the best, easiest, copycat Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo. The sauce is creamy, cheesy, and garlicky, and clings to the pasta effortlessly thanks to the easy béchamel sauce." —Sara Bir, Former Senior Editor

18 of 20

One-Pan Baked Penne alla Vodka

"This baked penne alla vodka takes our favorite dish and turns it into a low-lift weeknight meal with easy prep and minimal cleanup. It is made entirely in one pan (no boiling pasta separately!) and requires less than 10 minutes of preparation—freeing you up to do what you please while dinner bakes in the oven." —Julie & Amy Luxemberg, Recipe Developers

19 of 20

Chicken Piccata Noodle Casserole

"This variation on a theme wraps all the ingredients and flavors of a classic chicken piccata into the comforting format of a 9x13 casserole. This version skips the cutlets altogether for the convenience of shredded rotisserie chicken." —Megan Scott, Recipe Developer

20 of 20

Chicken Queso Spaghetti

"One of the reasons this chicken queso spaghetti has endured in my family is how flexible it is. On especially busy nights, I reach for preshredded rotisserie chicken, which keeps the prep minimal and gets dinner on the table fast." —Morgan Baker, Recipe Developer