Who doesn’t love pasta? When I need a hug-in-a-bowl type of dinner, something cheesy and saucy is always what comes to mind first. Even when I’m thinking about making a special dinner, maybe for a date-night in or a friend coming over, comforting pasta recipes are always top of mind. If you find yourself needing a little something to look forward to at the end of the day, consider making one of these comforting pasta dinners this week. They all pair perfectly with a good rewatchable show that soothes your anxiety.
Chicken Parmesan Pasta
Chicken parm is a labor of love, but All The Healthy Things’ pasta version seems like a slightly faster take on the classic dish. It takes about an hour start to finish, and you’re left with a pot full of cheesy, tomato-y, tender chicken and pasta topped with fresh, melted mozzarella. Yes, please.
Extra Cheesy Tortellini Bake
Let’s say you just want something easy and cheesy. Averie Cooks’ tortellini bake recipe is the perfect dinner for you then. All you have to do is make a package of tortellini according to the directions, then toss it into a baking dish. Cover with sauce and cheese and bake to perfection.
Brown Butter Mushroom Pasta
If you love mushrooms, you have to try this comforting pasta recipe from Damn Delicious. It calls for mushrooms sauteed in garlic and thyme, toasted golden breadcrumbs, and a heap of pasta, all tossed in a delicious brown butter. Swoon.
White Chicken & Spinach Lasagna Rolls
This recipe from Dude That Cookz sounds insanely good. You get lasagna rolls stuffed with seasoned ground chicken and an incredible homemade basil pesto white cream sauce. It’s got plenty of fresh spinach in it too, so that makes it healthy, right?
Creamy Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
If you’re craving pasta but not feeling Italian, try Laughing Spatula’s broccoli chicken and cheese casserole instead. It’s hearty and comforting and, blessedly, makes enough for leftovers to eat a couple nights from now or throughout the week.
Crab Mac & Cheese
Similarly, The Stush Kitchen’s crab macaroni and cheese is a great option for a comforting pasta dinner recipe when tomato sauce just isn’t going to cut it. It’s got three cheeses, lump crab meat, and a little Old Bay, because of course.
Marry Me Chicken Pasta
Marry me chicken is a viral dish of chicken in a sundried tomato cream sauce. Naturally, it lends itself to being served over pasta. Averie Cooks’ recipe explains how to make it, plus enough of that delicious signature sauce to cover all the noodles your heart desires.
Ravioli With Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
While we’re thinking about sun-dried tomato cream sauces, you could put that on a shoe and it’d be delicious. Damn Delicious’ recipe will teach you how to make it to top your favorite premade raviolis from the grocery store. She describes it as a weeknight dinner hero — it only takes 30 minutes — that’s also fancy enough for a weekend dinner party.
Shrimp Alfredo
A classic for a reason, Princess Pinky Girl’s shrimp alfredo is probably what many people think of first when they think comforting pasta recipes. This recipe uses a jarred alfredo sauce to cut down the recipe’s total time to 13 minutes, so it’ll get you out of the kitchen and on the couch in record time.
Baked Spaghetti
Regular spaghetti is great, but if you need a little more out of it, try Princess Pinky Girl’s baked spaghetti recipe. It just adds some extra baking time onto the end of your usual spaghetti-making process, but the result is a gooier, cheesier dish. Your kids will be asking for this one again and again.
Time to add all these ingredients to my grocery list…
