Get ready for a tasty yet satisfying main with these high-protein pasta recipes, each with at least 15 grams of protein per serving. Making sure there is adequate protein in your diet can help you maintain healthy bones, promote muscle health and support healthy digestion. Plus, these pasta dishes have really impressed our readers, earning 4- and 5-star reviews across the board. Try our Creamy Basil-Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake or Baked Brie, Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Pasta for a yummy, protein-packed meal that you’ll want to make again and again.
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Creamy Salmon & Asparagus Pasta
Photographer: Hannah Hufham, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
This creamy salmon-and-asparagus pasta tastes like spring in a bowl—light, bright and packed with fresh asparagus and tender salmon in a silky, lemon-kissed cream sauce. It’s the perfect weeknight dinner for when you want something comforting and quick to pull together after a long day.
High-Protein Pasta Salad
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
This high-protein pasta salad is a satisfying dish packed with plant-based protein from chickpea pasta and chickpeas, with an extra boost coming from fresh mozzarella cheese pearls. Tossed with fresh veggies and flavored with zingy za’atar seasoning, this salad is perfect for meal prep, a quick lunch or a satisfying dinner.
Creamy Basil-Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist:Hannah Greenwood
This creamy tomato-chicken pasta bake is comfort food at its finest. Tender chicken breast is baked along with juicy cherry tomatoes and creamy Boursin cheese for a rich, herby sauce. The chicken is shredded and returned to the dish with cooked pasta and fresh basil, then baked with fontina cheese on top until bubbly. This easy pasta bake is a complete meal that delivers big flavor.
Baked Creamed Spinach Pasta
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Pricilla Montiel, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer
This baked creamed spinach pasta is comfort in a bowl—creamy, cheesy and utterly delicious! This crowd-pleasing dish combines the velvety richness of creamed spinach with tender pasta, all baked to bubbly perfection. It’s an easy, satisfying meal that’s perfect for busy weeknights. Serve it with a crisp green salad and some garlic bread for a dinner that everyone will rave about.
Pasta with Garlicky Tomato Sauce & Bay Scallops
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Lindsey Lower
This scallop pasta is an easy yet elegant dish that delivers restaurant-quality flavor without the fuss. Sweet, tender bay scallops are lightly seared to perfection and combined with a fresh, garlicky tomato sauce simmered with zucchini to deepen the flavors. When buying scallops, look for ones that are dry-packed and don’t feature artificial preservatives.
Baked Brie, Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Pasta
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Marianne Williams, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
This baked Brie, sun-dried tomato and spinach pasta is the ultimate comfort dish with a touch of sophistication. The creamy melted Brie creates a velvety sauce that fills in the ridges of fusilli pasta, ensuring the sauce clings to every bite, while Parmesan cheese gives it a nutty, savory depth. Sun-dried tomatoes bring a tangy sweetness that balances the richness. Add a hint of heat with a little crushed red pepper, plus wilted spinach for earthy notes and nutrients, and you’ve got a balanced dish that feels both hearty and refined.
Taco Skillet Pasta
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
This taco pasta casserole is the ultimate mashup of comfort food and Tex-Mex flavors. This one-pan wonder that combines pasta with classic taco ingredients cuts down on cleanup and packs a serious protein punch, thanks to lean ground beef and shredded Mexican cheese. Top it off with fresh cilantro, avocado, tomato and a dollop of sour cream for a nutritious, flavor-packed meal that’s sure to become a weeknight favorite.
Creamy Garlic-Parmesan Chicken Pasta Bake
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
This creamy garlic-Parmesan chicken-and-spinach pasta bake is a comforting crowd-pleaser that’s sure to satisfy everyone at the table. This dish features tender pieces of chicken, fresh spinach and pasta, all enveloped in a rich and creamy garlic-Parmesan sauce. While we love baby spinach for its ease of use, any green can be used in its place.
Fajita-Inspired Pasta Bake
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lindsey Lower
This easy chicken fajita pasta bake perfectly blends the vibrant flavors of classic fajitas with a rich and creamy pasta dish. The result is a mouthwatering fusion of flavors, offering the best of both worlds in a single, satisfying meal. Chopped jalapeño and canned chipotle chiles add heat to this delicious meal. You can cut back on both or leave them out completely for a milder version. Like it spicy? Swap out the Monterey Jack cheese for pepper Jack for an extra kick.
Baked Feta-Mushroom Pasta
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
This feta-mushroom pasta bake brings together the creamy tang of melted feta with the earthy, savory notes of cremini mushrooms. The convenience of pre-sliced cremini mushrooms makes this dish a timesaver, but you can easily switch things up by incorporating other varieties like oyster, shiitake or maitake mushrooms for added depth and complexity.
Lemon Zucchini Pasta
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Styling: Lindsey Lower
This lemon zucchini pasta only takes 25 minutes to make, making it ideal for busy summer evenings. Fresh zucchini blends perfectly with the lemony sauce. If you have summer squash on hand, you can use that instead. You can also experiment with topping the pasta with different fresh herbs like basil or parsley to add variety.
Melting Cherry Tomato & Mozzarella Pasta
Ali Redmond
This simple yet delicious pasta dish combines cherry tomatoes with mozzarella, highlighting their natural sweetness and the mozzarella’s creamy, gooey texture. Mozzarella pearls are the perfect size for mixing into the finished dish. If you can’t find them, chopped fresh mozzarella will work well too.
Summer Squash Pasta with Sungold Tomatoes
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling
This warm summer squash pasta is quick to pull together and won’t disappoint. The roasted Sungold tomatoes add sweetness and subtle acidity to the dish that pairs winningly with fresh mint and Parmesan. We love the vibrant glow of Sungold tomatoes, but red grape tomatoes will work just as well.
Creamy Green Pea Pesto Pasta
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Melissa Gray, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
Mint and peas are a natural pairing in this creamy pasta dish. It works well as a vegetarian main dish or can be divided into smaller portions as a side dish. If you have pine nuts on hand, sprinkle them over the top for a little crunch. If you like your pesto to be totally smooth, process it a little longer, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Parmesan cheese grated fresh with a microplane grater will give you the best results.
Burrata Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes & Spinach
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
This luscious weeknight pasta dish features burrata cheese—a soft cow’s-milk cheese that looks similar to fresh mozzarella but features a creamy center that melts beautifully. You can substitute chopped fresh summer-ripe tomatoes for the cherry tomatoes. If they are plump and juicy they will moisten and flavor the pasta well, so you can hold back on adding the full amount of pasta water. Serve with crusty garlic bread and a green salad on the side.
One-Pan Chicken Parmesan Pasta
Photographer: Brie Goldman, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco
This chicken Parmesan pasta uses the one-pot pasta method to cook your noodles, chicken and sauce all in one skillet for a fast and easy dinner with minimal cleanup.
Ground Beef & Pasta Skillet
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
Add extra vegetables to your day with this easy one-skillet pasta recipe. Finely chop mushrooms to resemble the texture of ground beef and stir them into a classic meat sauce for a healthy twist on a dinnertime favorite.
Creamy One-Pot Orecchiette with Sausage & Peas
This easy one-pot pasta recipe earns the title “creamy” thanks to the addition of sour cream and Parmesan, which combine to create a savory cheese sauce that clings to the orecchiette, peas and sausage. The best part about this recipe is that it only requires one vessel to cook everything—pasta included. By using the exact amount of liquid you need to cook the pasta, the starch that usually gets drained off with your pasta water stays in the pot, adding even more creaminess. If you like spicy but not too spicy, use a mix of sweet and hot Italian sausages.
Chicken & Spinach Skillet Pasta with Lemon & Parmesan
Photographer: Jake Sternquist, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop Stylist: Natalie Ghazali
This chicken pasta combines lean chicken breast and sautéed spinach for a meal that’s garlicky, lemony and best served with a little Parm on top. I call it “Mom’s Skillet Pasta,” and she called it “Devon’s Favorite Pasta.” Either way, it’s a quick and easy weeknight dinner we created together and scribbled on a little recipe card more than a decade ago, and it remains in my weekly dinner rotation to this day. It’s a simple dinner the whole family will love.
Shrimp Pasta Salad
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell
This fresh and bright cold shrimp pasta salad features classic shrimp scampi flavors. Lemon and Dijon mustard brighten the dressing, and asparagus adds a nice crunch. Farfalle pasta works well with this dish, but any medium pasta shape will work.
